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Now, before you get all condescending and roll your eyes around your head in disgust or disbelief, think again. Even if you are a “purist,” and I’ve known many, you’ll find that an outboard and an autopilot tremendously enhance the quality of your trip. I myself scoffed when my husband Tom and I were advised to purchase an outboard motor before we left on our first journey to Alaska. I remember distinctly thinking, “What the heck? What kind of a cruising boat has an outboard? That’s what oars are for, for Pete sake!” One thousand miles later I eagerly bought my first outboard, a small two cylinder Johnson that we employed for many years. For the previous three months, one of us (usually my husband) fought currents and wind trying to row our inflatable from ship to shore or hither and yon while the other of us (guess who) tried “trolling under oar power” to catch fish. (You’ve surely rowed an inflatable enough to know how grueling that can be.) Most importantly, not having an outboard limited the range of exploring we could do. We couldn’t run up an estuary or inlet in the inflatable because it was too far to row. We always had to take the big boat, if even possible, or forgo the pleasure of poking about and seeing the sights. Many boaters object to the mess of gasoline on board, and they have a point, for gas can be a smelly hassle. Lifting the outboard off and on the skiff takes balance, and transferring it to the stern of the boat may take teamwork, or a good pulley system, or both. But the freedom the outboard offers to explore, fish, crab, shrimp, and just get to shore easier, makes the small inconveniences worthwhile. A skiff with an outboard makes fishing kelp beds a breeze, and an outboard makes running island to island quickly, feasible. Once, having been becalmed in the North Pacific for a week, out of desperation and boredom my husband launched our skiff, mounted the outboard and began towing our sailboat. He only made it five miles before he ran out of gas, but miraculously he ran into a breeze! As for the autopilot…I know many sailors think an autopilot doesn’t belong on a sailboat. Only wind vanes belong on sailboats, right? Wind vanes break. The torque on these vanes is tremendous, and no matter the vane, I guarantee you it will spend part of its time in sick bay. Wind vanes cannot be used when one has to motor (and unless one enjoys sitting for days on end waiting for the wind to waft, one may just have to motor, particularly in the Inside Passage). Harking back to that first trip north, my husband and I made our first trip to Alaska hand steering the entire way there…and back. My first purchase when we returned after two years of exploring S.E. Alaska, was an autopilot. Months later, when Big John, our heavy gauge sturdy wind vane, broke in the middle of the Pacific Ocean due to unrelenting trade winds and mountainous swells, I unpacked the little autopilot and shook my head as I looked at the pitifully small gadget and then at the enormous swells. “This’ll never handle it, Tom,” I wailed. “We’re gonna have to steer all the way back!” Our doubts were instantly dispelled, however, when the wondrous gizmo performed like a champ. It was the best crew member imaginable! The little contraption steered us several thousand miles under sail and didn’t even eat us out of house and home. That particular autopilot was the Tillermaster, probably not suitable for all steering assemblies. There are autopilots galore, however, but not all of them may work well under sail, so explore your options and make sure you buy one that does. Our current autopilot works well while motoring, or while sailing. It does not work well while motorsailing. Go figure. An outboard and an autopilot. Don’t leave home without them. Becky Coffield is the author of the humorous, travel/adventure Life Was A Cabaret: A Tale of Two Fools, A Boat and a Big-A** Ocean, the award-winning suspense novel set in S.E. Alaska, Northern Escape, and the irresistible One Pot Galley Gourmet. ...back to 48° North title page.
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