go on plane on only one engine?

squidslayer · Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 11:26 pm Post subject: go on plane on only one engine?

Will a Tomcat 255.... with twin 150hp engines ....go up on plane on only one engine???? If one failed or fouled it would be nice .
Has anyone with a Tomcat tried it???

Dick E
Orinda,Ca

Byrdman · Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 9:42 am Post subject:

I'd be REAL careful with this... A large, real large amount of torque taking place back there...that is/would be "out of balance"... That is a heavy boat, and the 150s each provide "focused" pressure on the "braket" rather than the transom areas to push the boat.

I will defer to the real engineers, and folks that may know the technical answer to this.

One afternoon on my TC24, with twin 90s, I wanted to know the same thing... Answer:... Well... if I was going down and needed to get to shore faster than 7 knots (which seem to be the highest speed mine would go without just feeling all bad and weird).....then I'd do it if the water was real cold or had more than me on board. But...just to possbily save fuel, I would not go there. Just too many things out of whack.

But then... my motors were mounted right to the boat... so... just how does or does this change with the Armstrong brackets? Hummm

I know it should not/would not take but about 50-80 hp to keep it on plane once on plane... but is it just too much twisted torque...?

thataway · Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 3:25 pm Post subject:

The answer is NO. I have tried it under multiple conditions. What I did not do is to pull the other motor all of the way up--but I was told by Teleflex that it is hard on the Liquid tie bar to bring one montor up and pour on the coals on the other. Having had one steering pump fail at idle, I am not going to tempt fate!

The Tom Cat 255 begins to pull strongly to the side of the single engine, even with the other engine down--and there is a lot of steering torque. About 8 to 9 knots is max comfortable speed with the single. This speed will get you safely home--and that is all that is important.

If you want to run planing speeds on a single of twins, there are a few fairly flat bottom outboard monohulls which will do this. However, most likely you will be lugging the engine--doing it no favors, even with a monohull.