Off-center Main Engine?

[JKG]

One issue have not not seen discussed is the possibility of placing a main engine off the boat's centerline. Any thoughts or relevant experience? Renn Tolman indicates that placing a main off-center poses no problem on his Tolman skiffs, and I believe he recommends it to make more useful space for a kicker.

Seems to me that placing an E-tec 75 or 90 slightly to starboard would make a little extra room for a Honda 8 or Yamaha 9.9 to be mounted on the transom (on a bracket, if necessary) with room for more effective tiller steering of the kicker. That would avoid tying it to the main. I like the simplicity. But I suspect trim tabs might be advisable with this set up to account for various crew arrangements.

I doubt the off-center placement would have a significant "sideways" affect on the propulsion. I suspect many people would be aesthetically offended by the appearance of an engine in the "wrong" place. But it wouldn't bother me.

I'm giving some serious consideration to buying a C-Dory 22 in the next year, and the two issues I'm trying to think through now is where to put a fish cooler and how to arrange for trolling from the cockpit - I don't want to be limited to the cabin. Various options are on the table right now, including twin 40s/50s and a dual helm, which would allow for placement of a cooler on top of the splashwell.

I appreciate all the discussion on this site about the advantages and disadvantages of twins and kickers. Look forward to any thoughts on the merits of this off-center option.

[thataway]

I have driven a number of sail boats with offset outboards and offset props, with no major problems. I have also run twin engine power boats both Inboard and outboard on one engine. At slow speeds it makes no difference--at higher speeds there is steering torque. I suspect that there would be some steering torque at higher speeds with the C Dory--and of course the weight balance issue is present. Also you will probably have to remove the fuel tanks to get at some of the mounting bolts--but that is not a major issue.

Steering from aft can be easily done with auto pilot remotes--some of the auto pilots have specific trowling patterns. I have heard of auto pilots following a depth contour. I personally prefer a jog stick / auto pilot steering over the second wheel option. There are several options on the shifter and throttle. There are also auto pilot options for the kicker--which will have the controls on the engine.

[Chris Bulovsky]

There is enough room for a big fat four stroke and a 9.9 kicker keeping the main centered. It is a little tight but it works on a 22. I have not had any balance issues that couldn't be fixed so my boat is still without trim tabs. I would recommend hanging the engines before drilling and see what it looks and feels like. Then do it.

I would make a duel helm a priority if you are fishing allot especially if solo fishing in a 22 bucking a wind. (wish I did) my controls are in the cabin for the kicker. It would be nice to have boat controls in the cock pit when fighting fish or docking in a wind.........solo. The tiller would do this for you but its nice to get out of the elements. Your kind of committed with a tiller.

Just some points to consider.


Chris Bulovsky
Washburn Wi

[starcrafttom]

besides the auto pilots mentioned, I have one, you could place a second steering wheel in the cockpit just for the kicker. I hae seen this in many guide boats on vancouver island. should not be two hard to rig.

[JKG]

Thanks for the feedback thus far. I should learn some more about auto-pilots. I've just skimmed the discussion of them in other posts because it seems like yet one more system, and I'm really trying to keep it simple. But that's no reason not to learn about them.

The idea of having a cockpit helm that is only connected to the kicker, independent of the main, seems worth considering. It seems any dual helm arrangement would allow a cooler to be mounted over the splash well. That placement of a cooler would interfere with a tiller if the kicker has only tiller steering. In this regard twins, a main and kicker tied together, and an independent helm (for the kicker only) all seem about the same.

Seems like the real disadvantage to an extra helm is the extra money and need to special order, assuming I don't want to try to retrofit a second helm, which is probably right. Need to talk to a dealer for the details, I suppose.

I still can't let go of this idea of putting a main off-center, though. If the steering really is affected at speed, as predicted above, I suppose that's probably reason not to do it. Otherwise, I wonder: why crowd one side of the transon rather than space things out a little?

[flapbreaker]

JKG,

I had the same thought process regarding trolling from the cockpit. So many people here seem happy at the helm but for me I need to be "out back" most the time. You can see from my picture that I have the kicker mounted near the main. You are correct that if you were using the tiller handle you don't really have full turn capability. Not to mention it's hard to reach and an extension isn't really a full time option in my opinion.

My solution was to buy a TR-1 Gold kicker autopilot. It's expensive but it works great and solves my problem. They are not cheap (around 2k) but there is nothing else on the market that does with this will do. You can check it out here http://www.nautamatic.com/gold/index.htm

Basically you have a waterproof wired controller. Hit one button and you have heading control. You also have throttle control from the remote (no other solution does). You can be trolling along and when you get a fish on you just hit standby and the throttle drops to idle and the pilot stops trying to hold a heading. From there you can either leave the kicker in gear or reach over and put it in neutral. Once you've landed the fish put you just hit resume and the pilot goes back to holding your heading and the throttle goes back to the speed you were at. It's really quite slick. The throttle control can be adjusted in small increments than you could ever achieve on the tiller handle. The remote cable is long enough that you could be up in the cabin if needed.

Another feature I use at times is on anchor in the river if the wind or currents keep moving the stern around I can put the kicker in reverse and then set the TR-1 to operate in reverse. Then just have it hold a heading. Works great.

One more note, I'd rather put the majority of my trolling hours on my kicker motor than on a main. Just a personal preference. However I do find that the kicker doesn't always keep up with electrical demands on a full day of trolling so sometimes I start up the main.

As far as a cooler goes you might consider a fish bag. The one I'm using in the picture is only 20"X50" and will hold quite a few fish. I added snaps to the handles. As you can see you could easily use a larger bag than I'm using.

Anyway I hope you find some of this info helpful. Good luck.

[drjohn71a]

With hydraulic steering it is easy to add another steering station by yourself, whether using a wheel or toggle control. As mentioned, most of the newer autopilots have a hand held remote with which you can steer also.

Going to the electronic Morse controls is extremely expensive, but the best way to remotely control the engine functions also.

With such a small boat, I think a two station cable engine control ought to work just fine.

John

[flapbreaker]

[flapbreaker]

Hey for you c-brat website pro's, how do I unclude a URL in my posts without displaying the full text. I've seen you add hyperlinks with just a small description.

[Sneaks]

[flapbreaker]

test

Ok seems to work. Do I understand correctly that you have to manually delete and add the appropriate brackets and = signs?

[Sneaks]