O/B well plug

[D. Fox]

I'd like to build a plug for the outboard well in my B27. When sailing long distances or racing, I can take the motor out of the well and lay it flat in the lazarette, reducing drag. I haven't actually done this yet while underway because a significant amount of water can (and does) enter the lazarette through the well in heavy conditions. So, I'd like to construct some sort of cap or plug for the well. Ideally, the plug would extend to the bottom of the well and conform to the shape of the hull on the exterior. This would be a challenge as curves under the transom are complex. Any thoughts on how I could do that? If that's not possible, I could make simple square cap that either covers off the top of the well and seals it or fits just inside the top.

As an aside, I read on the Pearson Ariel list that OB versions of those boats came with a plug. No one seems to have one anymore, though.

Any thoughts are appreciated,

Dan

[Figment]

A member of my club made a plug for his well a number of years ago. I've forgotten what model of boat it was, he's since moved onto another boat. He made a blank out of styrofoam, stuck it in the well, and then faired the bottom to the rest of the hull with one of those "surform" cheese-grater things. This gave him the basic shape, so he just glassed over the whole thing and fixed a handle to the top.

For what it's worth, he grew tired of wrestling with the motor after a season or two, and used the plug as a male-mold to make sort of a filler piece that fit snugly around the outboard's lower unit. He still had the drag of the motor, but had eliminated the drag of the well itself. It really just looked like a SailDrive that was located too far aft.

[Tim]

James Baldwin did a similar project to a full-keeled boat named Islander . I used to have a copy of the article he wrote from an E-book called "Practical Boat Improvements", which featured this and a number of other interesting projects. Unfortunately, that file is now somehow corrupted and inaccessible; it used some silly sort of e-reader that is no longer functional. Bummer.

Because Islander didn't have the well to begin with, he had to build the entire thing. But the point is, he created a "plug" around the motor to seal the wide opening with the engine installed; the plug is attached to the motor so it comes out when the motor is removed. Making one to blank the opening out when the engine is not in use would be a similar procedure.

Anyone else out there have a copy of this article?