Quote:
Originally Posted by WesK
I remember seeing a trawler with an outboard engine on eBay years ago. Speculation was that it was a "dock queen" and could probably be moved from slip to slip.
I think the difference in torque, not horse power is what is keeping inboards the favorite power for trawlers. We are typically trying to move a heavy boat at a slow speed. Outboards are better at moving lighter boats at higher speeds.
Also, a slow RPM inboard is likely to have a longer service life than a high speed outboard.
And then there's the choice of fuel. For a boat we may be living on for months at a time, many of us would feel safer sitting on top of 200 gallons of diesel than 200 gallons of gasoline. And, diesel is more economical to operate.
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There are outboards with very high torque designed for work boats. Mercury calls their commercial line "SeaPro". Yamaha has a High Thrust series.
Engine life would be an issue but not to the average user and when one dies you just clamp another on.