26 venture twins or single with a kicker ?

Catskinner

Hello C Brats,

Thank you for including me in your group! A big part of why I decided that I want a C-Dory is this group. That being said I’m trying to decide on my next boat. I had my heart set on a tomcat but I keep looking at the 26 venture. I really like the looks of the venture.
My question to you experienced boaters is, twin 90s or a 200 and a kicker be your preference and why. Also, how would you get in the boat if you have twin 90s? Will a swim platform still fit in there on one side?
I have gotten some great ideas looking at pictures of your boats.
Thank you for your help!
Howard Harrow

olsurfdog · Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 8:45 pm Post subject:

Cskinner
You waded right into it. There's pages on this website of arguments over the years on the twins vs single+kicker vs single alone. I'm not too good at searches but just a quick try "twins vs single outboard"'brought up lots of info.
Harvey should not be allowed to reply to this question because his defense of twins is so eloquent that all of us singles advocates are reduced to mumbling around!

Good luck!

thataway · Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:12 pm Post subject:

It is an old question--I prefer single with a kicker. Especially if you are fishing. The kicker is often better at slow trolling. You have one main to maintain, with less maintenance on the kicker. (depending on use).

The twins allow better maneuverability (but not to the degree of twin inboards where you can walk a boat sideways.) The fuel costs are going to be about the same. It depends on the boat, but most likely one of the twins is not going to allow the boat to plane--even if it does, it probably will be lugging the engine--(unless you change out the props, to a lower pitch for the single. (90). You probably will get home faster with a single 90 over a 9 hp kicker--but the difference will not be a lot of speed. One of the Ventures has made a number of trips from San Francisco to Catalina Island. That boat had twin 90's, and that combination is great for the long offshore runs.

Failure of a modern outboard is rare. Clean fuel, good batteries, and they run well. Expect at least 2000 hours if you care for the engines. Remember the 90's before 2007 had carburetors and smaller alternators. I would want a 90 with injection and the 44 amp alternator. Personal preference.

Also look at the layout of the Venture vs the C Dory 25. I personally choose a good 25. The reasons are: no bilge under the cabin floor. I like the layout of the 25 over the Venture. The dimensions of the boats is not really significant. I don't like the vinyl over thin foam liner--I prefer the utilitarian interior of the 25 (remove the upholstery and hose it out). The Venture series has a slight greater dead rise. All of the boats are going to be challenged to make speed in heavy weather into waves and winds. The Tom Cat is the best of the lot for chop up to 2 to 2.5 feet. But there are issues with the Tom Cat also...(Marie's favorite was the Tom Cat, but she loves the 25 we have now....)

robhwa

hardee · Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2020 8:10 am Post subject:

Well now, Welcome neighbor and oh, by the way

"....Harvey should not be allowed to reply to this question because his defense of twins is so eloquent that all of us singles advocates are reduced to mumbling around!"

I resemble that remark Wink

No question here, Twins it should be (and I will take some heat for that blanket statement) so I will add, that if it was my choice, it would be twins for sure. But, now we have a new option, Triple's on a 22 -- sort of a combo bow-thruster troller, and an electric kicker. That docking trick sounds cool.

So, unabashedly, my vote is for twins, for redundancy and for slow speed maneuvering. And with a bigger boat, 25 or 26, that will come in handy at the docks. I would toss my hat in the ring with Bob, too, for the 25, for his reasoning. It is sound. I think in the CD-22 vs the V-23 the 23 is a better ride in chop, but by the time you add the weight and size of the 25, the extra foot doesn't really add that much more practicality to the boat.

You brought up a valid question to which there are 2 answers, but the real one boils down to what is your preference? So you really need to figure out what you are going to do on your boat, Fish, cruise - high speed or slow. Mostly marina docking or mostly anchoring out will be the main deciding factors. Now there are those who just think twins are great because they look cool, and they do, but that is only a by product. They are really there for functionality.

And if you copy this line and paste it into the C-BRAT Search box you will get about 2 pages of discussion on your topic --- NO, not 2 pages of discussion, but 2 pages of threads of discussion so . . . . . Happy reading.

twins AND single AND outboards

and if you want to chat about this, send me a PM and I'll get you a phone #

Harvey NOT Embarassed

SleepyC

DayBreak · Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2020 12:33 pm Post subject:

Howard, will you be fishing on your boat and trolling at under 2 mph? If so, I would suggest that you go with a main and a kicker. We fish a lot on ours and sometimes the kicker runs all day at low speed for trolling and helps keep hours off the main.

As far as a swim step, I don't think you will be able to have a factory swim step on the boat with twins. You will have to check with the factory on this though.