1 engine or 2?

Egregious wrote:
I've always called boats like this a "penis extender."

Never thought about questioning my own masculinity, only other people's

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*

I'll bet that rig uses gasoline at a rate that is like water from garden hose.

Did you see the pics of the $40,000 outboard at the Miami show made from a Caddilac CTS-V motor? Somehing like 575 h.p.

But Tom, *THat isn't even half what the penis boat has.

It is interesting to read all the different views of everybody... I always try to keep a open mind regarding one's selection in boats... some people will never venture further than 100 miles from home... others go thousands annually. As I have mentioned before we have... for a time moved away from "passage maker" trawler types and gone to a fast***** ( 25kt ) 40' cruiser. We will be back aboard a passage maker... either sail or power in a few years.. but for the time being we will go through fuel at a rate that makes my wallet pucker.****************************************************************************************************************************** As I post on this board.. and a board for the brand of cruiser we have I do find a vast disparity between the knowledge base of trawler types vs speed boat types.. for the majority of speed boat types seem to have most of their repair work done by others. I believe it comes from the need of " passage makers" to be self sufficient as they may be hundreds ( or thousands ) of miles from help.

My view is a "proper" passage maker would be single main screw, bow thruster,get home engine with folding prop, para vanes, and a huge watermaker and freezer. Most commercial fish boats that rely on a single engine in a life or death struggle make it on just one engine. I hate working in the engine room on one main engine... working on two stuffed in my present boat drives me nuts.

I have gone from a 60000lb 150hp boat to a 20000lb 800hp boat.. not a smart financial move with the current cost of fuel... but it sure is fun for awhile..

HOLLYWOOD


-- Edited by hollywood8118 on Monday 28th of March 2011 09:07:31 PM

There is really no choice if you contemplate blue water .

A quality motor sailor a a true 90/90 will get you across vast distances with the best fuel burn and lowest hassles.

But if you stick in rivers and along shore the extra work, and loss of BLOAT might be restricting to your lifestyle..

Single or twin , who cares if Sea Tow is in the area.

3*or 4 outboard engines in the fast offshore fishing boats is becoming very common. Read THT website for an eye opener. The many boat tests I have read show pretty good fuel economy as compared to a pair of bigger outboards. Not all are interested in go slow or leaky deck and window trawlers. Babe magnets can be fun, especially if you are under 50.

*

Tom,

We talked about multi-engine fuel economy and most everyone here except me thought the single engine boat was most fuel efficient. Should I take my 40hp OB off my skiff and put 4 9.8s on it???

"Babe magnets can be fun, especially if you are under 50." Under 75 ????

I won't talk to much about the reliability issue. We had an engine overheat in the GICW between Houma and New Orleans due to one engine sucking up debris. It was in a congested narrow area. Lots of commercial traffic. it could have been much worse if we didn't have another engine to get us out of the trouble area.

The other issue is manueverability. If you go with a single you may want to look for one with a bow thruster. I know people dock boats every day with a single and can be done. With twin engines we can stuff the boat anywhere we want even in high current and wind.

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Baypoint wrote:

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With twin engines we can stuff the boat anywhere we want even in high current and wind.

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Them's fightin' wurds there bub!

*

Willy... I was only commenting that the pictured boat at WOT surely uses fuel at a STAGGERING rate for an outboard. And yes... swap to triple outboards on your dinghy and I'll buy the drinks!

Gonzo,

My dinghy is 10' and I use 2 to 8hp on it. My skiff is 16' and 450lbs. I considered 2 15 or 20hp engines but the thought of controling them put me off. Saw a skiff in Klawock w 2 20hp Honda's and thought about asking the guy how he mannaged them but I had already bought the 40 E-tech.

sunchaser wrote:
3*or 4 outboard engines in the fast offshore fishing boats is becoming very common. Read THT website for an eye opener. The many boat tests I have read show pretty good fuel economy as compared to a pair of bigger outboards. Not all are interested in go slow or leaky deck and window trawlers. Babe magnets can be fun, especially if you are under 50.

*

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*1200 HP = Penis Extender, especially if you got only one head.* I stand by my original statement.

Yes, some people like to go fast, that is why I have a Grady White which goes 40MPH, and that is as fast as it should go.* If you need to go faster than that to get to fish then you are fishing the wrong area.* Spend your money by starting in the correct area instead of speeding to it from the wrong one.* Just my $.02.

*

Why hasn't the OP posted since his original post? Have we been duped into an argument by someone here with a ghost account?

Tom-

Excusing us slow trawler owners for a moment, boats like cars and other means of sport travel are great fun when powered up and going fast. The Romans raced chariots, Newfies have slip backing contests and the Americas Cup goes to trimarans. The Reno air races draw big crowds, a pure jet is faster than a turboprop*and Iditarod is alive and well. I have a friend who just bought a road (pedal) bike for over $3K - it is 3 lbs lighter than his old one!

Speed contests are in our genes*along with good graphics paint jobs (plumage in aviary sex attracting lingo) on the hull side.

Now, back to plotting my 32 mile course that I plan to do in 4 hours.

sunchaser wrote:
Speed contests are in our genes*along with good graphics paint jobs (plumage in aviary sex attracting lingo) on the hull side.

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*Uh, know where I can get one?

GonzoF1 wrote:
Why hasn't the OP posted since his original post? Have we been duped into an argument by someone here with a ghost account?

Tom-

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*It's*a pattern.* This anonymous poster has started five topics/threads but has only made six posts.

*

markpierce wrote:Xraycharlie wrote:
*What would happen if you lost power out in the Gulfstream?

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*Maybe you'll make landfall on Iceland.*

One of two locomotives responsible for creating the breakwater for the harbor at Reykjavik:



I don't disagree with any of the earlier responses.*



-- Edited by markpierce on Saturday 26th of March 2011 11:48:39 PM

*Yep, that would be 2 engines, for sure

*

I too, am new to trawlers and I am currently doing research on my future "looper" boat. What I have learned is:

1 You WILL run aground. A full keel protecting that prop/shaft/rudder is invaluable.

2 Those great big fishing boats? Single engine.

3 Great percentage of diesel malfunction is fuel. Same fuel for both engines.

4 #1 should be etched in granite as the posting I read from another boater should be as well*- "If you can't fix stuff, you will be miserable owning a boat"

sunchaser wrote:
Excusing us slow trawler owners for a moment, boats like cars and other means of sport travel are great fun when powered up and going fast. The Romans raced chariots, Newfies have slip backing contests and the Americas Cup goes to trimarans. The Reno air races draw big crowds, a pure jet is faster than a turboprop*and Iditarod is alive and well. I have a friend who just bought a road (pedal) bike for over $3K - it is 3 lbs lighter than his old one!

Speed contests are in our genes*along with good graphics paint jobs (plumage in aviary sex attracting lingo) on the hull side.

Now, back to plotting my 32 mile course that I plan to do in 4 hours.

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*Reno Air Races start next week. We're headed there at 0800. Go fast, turn left.

*

Let me be the first to give you a great big WELCOME to the Trawler Form party.

A single engine boat running sounds good.

A twin engine boat out of sync sounds terrible.

A twin engine boat in sync sounds WONDERFUL>

Today I'm not even going to make a small peep about which one's best.

*

"You WILL run aground. A full keel protecting that prop/shaft/rudder is invaluable."

AND the water has trash so again the twin gets the most damage.

A single may damage the prop , but the twin may loose the strut and rudder too.

When I ran a yard , we LOVED twins!!!!

I own a single, and love it.

I personally think twins are more desirable in most respects but as I recall the original poster was shopping for a trawler and the issue of economical operation seems very important to the majority. And if economy is of great importance twins should be avoided. Singles will be much more economical and anyone keen on economy will be running at a speed that a single engined trawler can easily maintain w one engine. On most other counts the twin is better. I'm talking specifically about typical trawlers w one or two Ford Lehmans.

Eric, keel-protected propeller and rudder is a frequent attribute of single-engined vessels.* That was one of the three-highest criteria for my boat selection.* It's not merely the economy of purchase and operation.

Mark, thanks for reminding us*you have a single in your new vessel.

During the past year I talked to 3 recent and nearly sunk grounding skippers/yard owners*- all singles. In all cases the damage was severe. The issue was a hard grounding, falling tides and potential tip overs. Guess what - in one case the big Nordhavn was*auto steered to a misplaced way point! In another the sailing was too good to alter course. In the third, whale watching got in the way of prudence on a large commercial wooden vessel.

IMHO, singles vs twins nonsensical debates pale in comparison to poor decision making when underway. Thank God my wife has a good eye for crab pots.

Baker wrote:
Wowie....this is the humdinger of all topics and you will get opinions all over the map.

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Actually, it's just the same old topic that keeps coming up every couple of months and ends up nowhere!! Really what difference does it make. There are two opposing opinions on the matter and nobody is going to change anyone elses mind. What it really boils down to, is which system you prefer and what you can afford.

So rather than have a bunch of pissed off people and hard feelings, let's all agree to disagree and leave it at that. :no:

Since there is no correct or wrong answer as to whether single or dual engines are best, the "argument" can never end.* You pays your money and takes your choice.



*

Xraycharlie wrote:
I am planning to purchase a used trawler in the 40-45 foot range in the next few years. One of the things I am not sure about is going with one engine or two. I would feel safe with one engine while coastal crusing the ICW and Chesapeake bay but I want to go to the Bahamas, and going across the Gulfstream waters from Florida with only one motor makes me a little nervous. Can I get some input from my experienced friends on this site? What would happen if you lost power out in the Gulfstream? Or what would happen if you lost your only engine in the Bahamas, tow yourself in with a dingy? Can you get repairs done for a reasonable price in the Bahamas? At this point I feeling that it is worth the extra money and maintenence to have the second motor.

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Charlie

If you'd like to pursue this further, you can click on the word "Search", just above here. White letters on the blue bar. Enter the search words "single vs twin" in the drop down box.*Many, if not all topics have been thoroughly discussed already on this forum. Take a look at the past discussions, and see if maybe you come up with new questions or comments.

For blue water cruising across large bodies of water and for MV less than say 75 feet, singles are the dominant choice and*"rule" the modern new build market. But wing engines abound (small twins if you may). The only blue water exception I've seen to this "rule" is the twin powered 65' Fleming Venture owned by Tony himself.

Dashew's 64 MV gets by for blue water cruisers without a stand alone wing engine by relying upon a jury rigged sail ala Coot. Since most of the Dashew buyers are sailors, this emergency option is*just *fine, but IMHO a non starter in coastal*waters where crab pots*and*leave-the-dock-quickly cruisers*(I'm one) abound.

The latest PMM has a nice article on wing engines. But also the magazine has an article on a 62 Horizon*which flies in the face of trawler logic. Steve D's final treatise on fuel additives was limp.*He also got taken to task by a reader who chided him for*a recent article on 120/240 and 3 phase.*At least Steve D puts himself out there!


-- Edited by sunchaser on Monday 12th of September 2011 06:52:11 AM

sunchaser wrote:*At least Steve D puts himself out there!
*

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More like PM magazine doesn't have anyone to fact check or is capable of editing a technical article.

The down side of publishing as many articles as SD is that he doesn't have time to research his material properly and the magazine doesn't differentiate between reportage and opinion or have a policy that requires*writers to inform the reader when technical writing becomes an editorial.*

I think in the future when this subject comes up (over and over and over...) I will just say I have two singles, everbody should be happy with that I think.

Avista wrote:
I think in the future when this subject comes up (over and over and over...) I will just say I have two singles, everbody should be happy with that I think.

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*That's a good one