single v.twin engines - unnecsssary anxiety, perhaps

Yellowstone

I know this topic has been beaten to death, but perhaps it has created unnecesary anxiety for some boaters. The latest Boating magazine Nov/Dec. has an article on boating myths, among them "Those who run offshore with one engine will eventually regret it." See pp. 51-56. A number of myths (I believed in several) were exposed. Interessting article. Yellowstone

potter water · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 1:15 pm Post subject:

The only ones who regret it are the ones who's single engine quits and are unable to get themselves pointed into the seas so they can safely await a tow back to the dock. I'll look up the article to to see if my thoughts are poorly conceived.

Yellowstone · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 1:31 pm Post subject:

I'm absolutely amazed at the number of power boaters I have seen who have no anchoring system aboard, not to mention drogues or parachutes, or no small auxilliary engine to help maintain direction if needed, particularly in inland waters. But C-Dory owners are the exception.

Yellowstone

Sunbeam · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 3:20 pm Post subject:

C-Nile

Sea Wolf · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 4:01 pm Post subject:

Without comment, here is the text of the article itself:

Myth #20:
THOSE WHO RUN OFFSHORE WITH ONE ENGINE WILL EVENTUALLY REGRET IT.
Talk to a recreational fisherman, cruiser or go-fast enthusiast who has sat adrift because his single power source died and you’ll get support for this theory. But consider that if you have a fuel problem, it’s going to affect all the engines. And if you hit something, it’s likley to disable all the props. Commercial fishing boats, tugs, and other workdboats all have single engines and go out in the nastiest weather. Their secret? Good maintenance.
MYTH: BUSTED

Joe. Teeth

thataway · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 4:12 pm Post subject:

C-nile--5 failures on a 16 foot boat!
The question is how many could have been prevented, or you should have had adequate materials aboard to repair the engine. (plus having a kicker to "get home".

Generally modern outboards are extremely reliable--especially when well maintained. Sure I have had two spun props--but always had an extra prop, and kicker aboard, so i could get to a place where I could replace the prop (or launch the mini dinghy to replace the prop on the spot). I have had a transmission failure on a big boat--but due to a broken engine mount I missed. I still got home safely.

Agree that you not only have to have adequate anchoring gear--drogue type materials, kicker, tools and materials which can substitute for what is broken. Bad fuel--separate fuel source for the hand started kicker!

20dauntless · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 4:39 pm Post subject:

With 845 hours on my Honda 90 on the C-Dory (hopefully just broken in!) I've yet to have the engine fail to start or shut off for any reason other than me turning the key off.

Same story with the Yamaha on the Whaler, though only about 500 hours on that engine.

I've had overheat alarms go off twice...because of kelp wrapped around the lower unit. Both times the engine was up and running in about a minute.

I'm happy with my single, but I'd probably also be happy with twins.

C-Nile-what caused so many failures on your 16?

C-Nile · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 5:45 pm Post subject:

Bob, Joe, Retriever Et. Al.:

I was running my CD 16 Cruiser w/40 HP Suzuki on the Thames River in Connecticut, when the engine stopped dead. It was a brand new engine with about 20 hours on it. You can't blame that on bad maintenance. Seatow rescued us. I'll put a plug in for them now -- they were great! I can't tell you how helpless I felt without power. We had 100 feet of rode and an anchor, but it was nearly impossible to hold the bottom, because that section of the river has a smooth rock bottom, cut out by the last glacier. Upon reflection, I don't think we would have held bottom with 200 feet of rode. At any rate, we had the boat towed back to the dealer. Suddenly, it started working again. Then later it failed. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to install a 4 HP kicker I previously owned on the stern, and the other four failures I got back without help. As it turned out, an electrical connection in the wiring harness was deemed faulty. Essentially, a wire inserted into a round connector was crimped into an oval shape. Changing motor trim from time to time would cause the connection to either break or re-establish itself. It was weird. What I never told the group before is that according to my dealer, Suzuki knew about a faulty wiring harness situation in some of their engines, but did not tell them. Interesting, isn't? It took the dealer to take the wiring harness out, examine it closely to notice the oval, imperfect crimp job. Then Suzuki acknowledged they were having problems with some of their wiring harnesses and gave us a new wiring harness gratis. Suzuki makes a great engine, regardless of what I went through, but please note that when I got my new boat engine, it was a Honda.

My father owned a service station in the 1960's, and I worked for him many summers. I knew how to work on cars. My father was also an electrician, and you know what he hated the most about working on cars? -- shooting intermittent electrical problems. This brings us back to modern outboard motors: they are too dammed complex for a person to fix them on the water for all but the simplest of problems. And Bob -- I'm not going to jump into cold New England waters to change a prop in the middle of Long Island Sound. My common sense obviates that possibility.

It just so happens that when I was giving "Primetime Steve" a test ride in our boat, he confided that he had a failure in his primary engine on his current boat, and believes so much in the need for an auxiliary motor, that he is putting one on his new Marinaut.

About four year's ago, my bother-in-law had several failures on the water caused by a malfunctioning circuit board on a 26' Seaswirl with a Volvo Diesel I/O and having less then 70 hours on the engine. I was with him on one of those occasions. It wasn't pretty, because he did not have an auxiliary or Seatow membership.

Modern engines are always dependable. You don't need an auxiliary or second motor. You can't beat modern technology. Really? To be fair, modern motors are better then then those from the past, but they do fail. How much? Well, here I have presented three cases I know about. Seatow seemed busy this year at times, so something has to be keeping them in business.

The fact is that Murphy strikes all the time, which is why I will always have a good tow service subscription, an auxiliary motor that I frequently test, and plenty of rode. I'll leave you with the following. I had the honor of hearing the world famous "Father of Disaster Recovery Planning", Mr. Edward S. Devlin, at a seminar more than 10 year's ago. He said that everyone seems to think that Murphy never strikes, but in fact: it strikes all the time, and he went on to illustrate with specific examples, such as a town on the East Coast that was solely dependent upon a factory for its economic survival. One day, its well-practiced volunteer fire department helplessly watched the factory burn to the ground, because the fire had coincided with a 500-year flood that prevented them from crossing a bridge. This bridge spanned the waterway separating the island (upon which the factory stood) from the mainland. In all levels of business, government and even in our own lives, we need to plan for the unexpected. This is why it is important to perform a risk analysis along with appropriate procedures and funding to mitigate loss. That's what we C-Brats do by having back-up motors, and ignoring those who would tell us otherwise.

C-Nile · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 5:46 pm Post subject:

Deleted duplicate post

breausaw · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 5:54 pm Post subject:

OMG, Not this again!

C-Nile · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 6:01 pm Post subject:

El and Bill · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 6:23 pm Post subject:

Rich -

We agree with you. New to boating folks are often on this site.

Redundancy = Safety

T.R. Bauer · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 9:39 pm Post subject:

I have never needed the twins. But, I don't regret having them either as I have seen many a boaters stranded without power. And most of the time, it isn't fuel, a log, or anything like that at all. It is just, the damn main won't run....

hardee · Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 1:42 am Post subject:

Oh boy, here it is again. I agree. I have over 550 hours on my twins. Only needed a second engine twice. Both times it was a prop failure, (plastic ProPulse prop broke some blades out. Came into the marina on the other engine.)

I think it depends on where you boat, more than anything, but there are many things to consider. I happen to like comfort, and for me comfort is redundancy, and in the case of the OB's, redundancy is 2 of them hanging on the transom.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon