Single vs Twin: It's Baaaaack!

Six...

Five...

Four...

Three...

Two...

... and one for Marin.

It's a goal! Lol

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singles and twins, redux . . .

No, no, a thousand times no! I am not rehashing that ancient argument. But just want to comment that when one backs out of the slip, ready for a day of boating, and finds to one's horror that the hydraulic steering is kaput, and there is a strong incoming tide, and there is a brisk wind blowing . . . that it is awfully nice to have those twin engines to maneuver back into the slip!

Spoken with the voice of experience, by the way. Today.

John

Greetings,
#668....#669....The world wonders..



And I hear ya' about the steering failure. I have a bit of a hydraulic steering leak. Normal practice is to top up with an ounce or two of fluid, if necessary, before heading out. Last season, slowly edged out of slip, NOT touching the wheel at all, as is per usual, aligned with the fairway and.....instantaneous but momentary pucker moment. Used the gearshifts to maneuver through short (100 yds or so) s-curve channel out into river where there was no traffic and room to drift and topped up reservoir. No wind, no current but I DO hear ya' Mr. jwnall.

I am a believer in twins on a boat... especially if you travel to remote areas. Always have a way out or a backup plan. Lost a prop on a single engine once and did not have a spare. Bought a spare prop after that experience, but of course it never happened again.

subsailor,
Sounds like you may be from Ak. Sure wish you guys would say what state your'e from.

Also sounds like you do have experience. I'm for twins too. I've got a 40hp single and would like two 20s but I think the're all twins as in 2 cylinder engines. Two cylinder engines I can do without. Can you imagine trying to sync 2 Harley motorcycle engines?

jwnall,
Very good point. The only times I lust for a twin is when my engine quits, when I back out of a slip and when I back down setting an anchor. Going through a bunch of kelp I like my single.

manyboats said:

Sounds like you may be from Ak. Sure wish you guys would say what state your'e from.

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I'm thinking chandler, AZ.

jwnall said:

No, no, a thousand times no! I am not rehashing that ancient argument. But just want to comment that when one backs out of the slip, ready for a day of boating, and finds to one's horror that the hydraulic steering is kaput, and there is a strong incoming tide, and there is a brisk wind blowing . . . that it is awfully nice to have those twin engines to maneuver back into the slip!

Spoken with the voice of experience, by the way. Today.

John

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here we go again..............more proof that twin owners tend to overlook maintenence relying on that, extra engine to bail them out. Kinda like the guy that wears suspenders and a belt huh?

But I must say that I'm happy to hear your breakdown didnt result in any damage except to your pride. In my boat owners emergency repair kit is a bottle of good scotch and a roll of duct tape which works everytime.

I've got a creeping wheel right now...that is, when I get to the point that it should stop, it just kinda creeps more and more to that direction. Two weeks ago while waiting for a bridge to open on the ICW around 6:30 AM, my single engine wouldn't respond with any throttle, and the current was pushing me toward the bridge. I used the bow thruster to spin the boat around and barely idled back south on the ICW to a small lake nearby, and once there, everything started working again. I changed the filters for the heck of it, but never learned what it may have been. Still looking

healhustler said:

I've got a creeping wheel right now...that is, when I get to the point that it should stop, it just kinda creeps more and more to that direction. Two weeks ago while waiting for a bridge to open on the ICW around 6:30 AM, my single engine wouldn't respond with any throttle, and the current was pushing me toward the bridge. I used the bow thruster to spin the boat around and barely idled back south on the ICW to a small lake nearby, and once there, everything started working again. I changed the filters for the heck of it, but never learned what it may have been. Still looking

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scary. So you had no throttle, just idle? Your wheel creeps? Two separate problems correct? The transmission was working ok right?
Sorry for all the questions i am just trying to visulize what was going on during this incident

Have at it guys, this is the topic that refuses to die gracefully

bfloyd4445 said:

scary. So you had no throttle, just idle? Your wheel creeps? Two separate problems correct? The transmission was working ok right?
Sorry for all the questions i am just trying to visulize what was going on during this incident

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I was on my way up to Stuart, FL, where I am now, and rebuilding the cylinder that obviously has a bad seal (fluid under pressure leaking to the other side). I had no throttle, and when I tried, the diesel acted as if it would stall. I was facing the bridge and the current was directing me toward it. When I spun the boat, thankfully there was no one else around, I bit my lip and put the tranny in forward. The engine kept running, but barely. Against the current, it took me forever to get back to the lake where just as suddenly, everything was working again. The trouble with a creeping wheel is that your rudder has a lot less resistance to currents, and one needs to adjust the wheel more. Not such a bad problem in itself, but when you've got a weak rudder control and no throttle to direct against the rudder, holly cow, what a pucker factor.

healhustler said:

I was on my way up to Stuart, FL, where I am now, and rebuilding the cylinder that obviously has a bad seal (fluid under pressure leaking to the other side). I had no throttle, and when I tried, the diesel acted as if it would stall. I was facing the bridge and the current was directing me toward it. When I spun the boat, thankfully there was no one else around, I bit my lip and put the tranny in forward. The engine kept running, but barely. Against the current, it took me forever to get back to the lake where just as suddenly, everything was working again. The trouble with a creeping wheel is that your rudder has a lot less resistance to currents, and one needs to adjust the wheel more. Not such a bad problem in itself, but when you've got a weak rudder control and no throttle to direct against the rudder, holly cow, what a pucker factor.

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I can feel it.Whew...thanks for the explanation.

I've had that issue before but not in a boat i think with a tractor...can't remember what the solution was. Seems to me it had something to do with water or air bubble cutting off the fuel flow. Yes, it would start and idle fine but wouldn't go..... No, i remember now, it was the strainer in the tank that was disintergratimg from rust that wouldnt allow fuel to flow. I replaced the strainer filters and bleed the system and she has been fine ever since. That was my old Ford 2000 diesel tractor. That strainer was the last thing i got to after checking everything else. what a dummy i was. Hope you find the problem before she strands you some place or worse

twin vs. single but single is better

With a single one saves approximately 1/3 in fuel costs and 50% of engine maintenance costs. So, my question is, does the advantage of the twin allowing one greater maneuverability and possibly get home protection off set the extra expense of owning a twin?. Remember there are singles that have extra get home motors

Yes, but as Charles Lindbergh said, with three engines one has three times the failure rate as one engine. THAT'S WHY HE CHOSE TO HAVE ONE ENGINE RATHER THAN MORE WHEN CROSSING THE ATLANTIC.

Greetings,
Aw jeeezz....What's that #669 or #670?....Oh look, something shiny....

markpierce said:

Yes, but as Charles Lindbergh said, with three engines one has three times the failure rate as one engine. THAT'S WHY HE CHOSE TO HAVE ONE ENGINE RATHER THAN MORE WHEN CROSSING THE ATLANTIC.

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well thats a good point. In another thread the question was asked about crossing the atlantic and it was mentioned that the best would be a single engine because of the fuel economy and the reduction in weight allowing more capacity to carry fuel for a long trip. Also was mentioned that often twins are of the same age and when a component goes down the other engine soon has the same component go down. The recomendation is, carry spare parts

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Aw jeeezz....What's that #669 or #670?....Oh look, something shiny....

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no no no. i aint done yet. This is an issue that could cost someone their life if they make the wrong one. Geeeezzz..
Aftere 700 or so comments it was obvious that a single was far superior to a twin so i need this simple point reafirmed if you dont mind

Keep in mind the toonie factor

bfloyd4445 said:

So, my question is, does the advantage of the twin allowing one greater maneuverability and possibly get home protection off set the extra expense of owning a twin?.

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There is no right answer. Because, as was hashed to death on the other twins vs singles thread, every boater has different priorities.

In our case, as I've stated before, we will never have a single engine boat in a cruiser (a narrowboat in the UK is another matter). OUR reasons are (in order of importance):

1. While neither my wife nor I have any qualms flying single engine airplanes, my wife is more confident on the boat with two engines under the floor. Which makes her more comfortable which makes her enjoy the boat that much more. Which is far more important to me than saving some money on fuel, service, and maintenance.

2. We enjoy running multiple engines. We find it much more interesting, challenging, and fun than running just one.

3. Particularly with an older boat, having another engine to keep going with in case one needs to be shut down for some reason is far, far preferable to us than trying to find and fix a problem down in the engine room with the boat heaving around, or calling for help and coming home on a rope.

Those are our reasons, but they are totally irrelevant to the next guy on the dock.

You're going to have to make up your own mind on this question because what's important to you may not be important to someone else. So you need to make your own list of pros and cons to single engine and multi-engine and then decide for yourself which way to go. Asking other people what they like might be an entertaining excercise but it's not going to get you much closer to an answer that YOU and only you can answer.

Re-read the 600-post single vs twin thread again if you are still unsure of the pros and cons to the number of engines in a boat.

Greetings,
Mr. 45. What is the toonie factor and how could the "wrong" decision cost someone their life? I don't think ANY consensus was reached regarding superiority of a single over a twin unless I missed something.

Marin said:

There is no right answer. Because, as was hashed to death on the other twins vs singles thread, every boater has different priorities.

In our case, as I've stated before, we will never have a single engine boat in a cruiser (a narrowboat in the UK is another matter). OUR reasons are (in order of importance):

1. While neither my wife nor I have any qualms flying single engine airplanes, my wife is more confident on the boat with two engines under the floor. Which makes her more comfortable which makes her enjoy the boat that much more. Which is far more important to me than saving some money on fuel, service, and maintenance.

2. We enjoy running multiple engines. We find it much more interesting, challenging, and fun than running just one.

3. Particularly with an older boat, having another engine to keep going with in case one needs to be shut down for some reason is far, far preferable to us than trying to find and fix a problem down in the engine room with the boat heaving around, or calling for help and coming home on a rope.

Those are our reasons, but they are totally irrelevant to the next guy on the dock.

You're going to have to make up your own mind on this question because what's important to you may not be important to someone else. So you need to make your own list of pros and cons to single engine and multi-engine and then decide for yourself which way to go. Asking other people what they like might be an entertaining excercise but it's not going to get you much closer to an answer that YOU and only you can answer.

Re-read the 600-post single vs twin thread again if you are still unsure of the pros and cons to the number of engines in a boat.

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Marin, this issue is not regarding your wife it is regarding which ic a better choice in an economy cruser a twin or a single.

bfloyd4445 said:

.
Aftere 700 or so comments it was obvious that a single was far superior to a twin so i need this simple point reafirmed if you dont mind

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If it is "obvious" it need not be "reafirmed".
Even if not obvious, the subject has been done to death. Stop it. Now.

Pay your money, and take your choice.

BruceK said:

If it is "obvious" it need not be "reafirmed".
Even if not obvious, the subject has been done to death. Stop it. Now.

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I spent my life in research and untill one has ascertained the quantitative advatage or disadvantage regarding the subject under consideration the research must countinue...or,until you run out of funds.

However, this is a new question not just, twin vs. single, but, is the economy of the single offset by the mauverability of twins and if so is it offset by enough to warrant the expense

thats it in a nutshell.
Thats for your comment Bruce
Best wishes

bfloyd4445 said:

Marin, this issue is not regarding your wife it is regarding which ic a better choice in an economy cruser a twin or a single.

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Chose wisely and the wife will support anything you chose to do. Go cheap and she'll be constantly worrying and asking "What happens if the engine breaks?"

Twins every time in my book.