I am looking at a 35 CHB aft cabin model.She has twin 80hp. lehmans. After looking at the engine layout I am puzzled by how you access the outboard side of both engines. For this reason I am wondering if the benefits of twins are worth the difficulty in servicing them. This would be my first trawler - any advice from experienced trawlers would be appreciated.
35 chb
- Thread starter Waterman
- Start date
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RT Firefly
Enigma
Greetings,
Welcome aboard! Outboard sides????? Children, petite spouses or Weight Watchers.....
Welcome aboard! Outboard sides????? Children, petite spouses or Weight Watchers.....
Engine access
When you remove all the engine hatches you can get to area in between both engines. But if you want to work on the port side of the port engine or the starboard side of the starboard engine it would appear that you have to crawl under the fixed floor to gain access to those areas. Maybe not so bad in my twenties, but not very easy as I am approaching my sixties!
Is this a common issue on twin powered trawlers?
I previously had a large gas powered fly bridge and the entire floor could be removed to gain full access to both engines. Of course there was no galley to contend with in the salon.
It would seem that this all points to a single engine trawler having much better access to both sides of the engine.
When you remove all the engine hatches you can get to area in between both engines. But if you want to work on the port side of the port engine or the starboard side of the starboard engine it would appear that you have to crawl under the fixed floor to gain access to those areas. Maybe not so bad in my twenties, but not very easy as I am approaching my sixties!
Is this a common issue on twin powered trawlers?
I previously had a large gas powered fly bridge and the entire floor could be removed to gain full access to both engines. Of course there was no galley to contend with in the salon.
It would seem that this all points to a single engine trawler having much better access to both sides of the engine.
FF
Guru
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2007
- Messages
- 22,552
It would seem that this all points to a single engine trawler having much better access to both sides of the engine.
In addition to double maint.costs , at trawler speeds the fuel consumption will be better with a single.
The protection of a CL prop by the keel is also a huge plus.
In addition to double maint.costs , at trawler speeds the fuel consumption will be better with a single.
The protection of a CL prop by the keel is also a huge plus.
Unless you have a really - really wide boat, you'll have issues with easy as pie access to the "outsides" of the engines. Singles are going to be centerline (at least I hope they all are). As long as the ER isn't cramed full of other toys you should be able to access both sides pretty easy.
Access to the outboard sides of the engines is as others have described--- you crawl around them. This can be easy, not so easy, or hard depending on the installation and other equipment in the engine space.
While a single engine boat generally has good access to both sides of the engine there can be advantages to having two engines that make the more difficult access to the outside of the engines worth it.
The single vs twin decision is based on things like economics, access, cruising area,and personal preference. I've run singles and have no particular predjudice against them. But having run a twin for the last 14 years we would never buy a single engine boat were we in the market for another one. Other people feel the same about singles.
I believe one can accomplish anything in a single that can be accomplished in a twin except come home under power if power is lost in a way that cannot be repaired on the spot, which happens. But in terms of maneuvering, anything that can be accomplished in a twin can be accomplished in a single even without a thruster. The techniques will be different but the end results will be the same.
While a single engine boat generally has good access to both sides of the engine there can be advantages to having two engines that make the more difficult access to the outside of the engines worth it.
The single vs twin decision is based on things like economics, access, cruising area,and personal preference. I've run singles and have no particular predjudice against them. But having run a twin for the last 14 years we would never buy a single engine boat were we in the market for another one. Other people feel the same about singles.
I believe one can accomplish anything in a single that can be accomplished in a twin except come home under power if power is lost in a way that cannot be repaired on the spot, which happens. But in terms of maneuvering, anything that can be accomplished in a twin can be accomplished in a single even without a thruster. The techniques will be different but the end results will be the same.
