Sailboat to Trawler/Shanty Conversion (Ep 1) 

I have a 23 foot Paceship that I'm looking to do something similar with right now. I paid $50 for it 😃, it's perfectly fine, the guy just wanted to get it out of his hair because he already bought a 37 footer and can't handle 2 boats. The only issue with the Paceship P23 is all the standing rigging, the mast, the boom etc is all at the bottom of the waterway somewhere where it's moored, it's been down there for a long time, it's buried in the silt, not sure where it is now. So it's a motorboat now. Got a Johnson 9.9 on the back, it's a small boat, you can practically water ski behind it with the 9.9 back there, I love that other people are doing this too.

I built nearly the same boat from a 26 ft sailboat in 2011. The old boat filled with a ft of ice was $250 in a two axle trailer :-) I DID keep my keel which had been cut down to about 12 inches. The keel was 3/4 inch steel 6 ft long. People said the top was to heavy, I argued the original top WITH a sail would be heavier and added pressures when sailing. I finished the inside with 1/4 inch underpayment (one good side) then used amber shellac to finish it off. The inside had been cleared and just had a floor of plywood. The boat previously used as a camper in a local lake. I used new unfinished upper kitchen cabinets (17 inch’s deep) to save room using amber shellac for them too. I added an old 8hp outboard but wish I has put on a 9.9 when I crossed Mobil Bay (Alabama) while spending the winter cruising from Biloxi to Tampa. The boat didn’t tip over but did roll a little when going thru 4-5 ft wakes left by huge shipping container ships in the bay. I removed one bench of the table, put up a wall then hung a 24 inch flat screen TV for entertainment and navigation and added a Small dorm size fridge. I covered the cockpit well with a plywood door setting it on top of the old seats, I stored a 12 gallon gas tank there under the new floor (added an additional outside vent) so I had less climbing around to do. Put two heavy patio chairs in deck and headed out for the ICW in Gulf Shore AL. With the 8hp I got tremendous mileage, better than 16mpg based on my GPS readings. Good luck, your boat is prettier than mine, you will get looks and questions endlessly.

Looks like a great project- look forward to the next videos!!

I think it's a great idea.

Looking forward to seeing the progress.

On the video I am watching you are installing the steering. NOTE; You are putting the steering cable on the wrong side :-( That will require you to steer just opposite of most boats and cars. Actually I did mine conversion the same way (left side) because the hatch door to the galley on my sailboat was offset, not enough room in the right side for a wheel and seat.. STEERING… I went to a boat junkyard and bought 3 stainless steering wheels 18,20,24 for just $25 each. I didn’t need three but the cost on Cabbalas was about $140 each! It’s fun watching you figure it out.. doing quality work too

saw you on Facebook now subscribed. Looks like you've got good plan. We're onboard.

I just got a 19ft O'Day for next to nothing. Maybe to much to make it sail again, you showed me the way. It might make a good Mississippi mud puppy.

Glad I found this! I'm going to start something similar with an Ensenada 20 (hopefully this spring). Now subscribed and will follow closely. Good luck!!

Glad I found this video I have 25 ft McGregor I wanted to convert to a just a houseboat didn't know if you could do it by not having a keel thank you for answering my question.

Nice! Looking forward to following. I’m doing something similar.

Have you tested this boat with the keel removed? I would do that before you spend a bunch of time and money and then find out the boat is unstable with the keel gone. I had the idea to do this to have a sleep on slow speed fishing boat. However it is just an idea for me and I don't have the time to actually do it. Good luck with the project.

That'll look pretty nice with a platform step setup on the transom

Cool how did it handle the wind

Why not just mount your long shaft outboard on the notch in the transom rather than build a bracket? Having it mounted on the transom will make it a lot easier to use. Just remove the traveler if it's in the way.