odd question (1 handed operation)

boatman37

boatman37

Well-Known Member
Jun 6, 2015
4,248
pittsburgh
Boat Info
2006 Crownline 250CR. 5.7 Merc BIII
Previous: 1986 Sea Ray 250 Sundancer. 260 Merc Alpha 1 Gen 1
Engines
5.7 Merc BIII
So last week we listed out 1986 250 for sale with plans to upgrade. Been debating on single or twin engines. We don't 'necessarily' need/want a bigger boat but definitely not smaller. Been looking at some 270's to 290's. Not sure if we want twins as I'm not looking forward to the added maintenance and fuel, as well as the cramped engine bay. I do 99% of the work myself and I'm not exactly a small guy. So something else to consider....

I can only used my left hand. I injured my right hand when I was young and can't use it at all. I have no issue at all with the single control but have never operated a twin. Not concerned about being out on the water but more in tight quarters when docking. I can back ours in and change directions just fine with ours if I need to. Initially I thought twins might make it easier but now I'm wondering if it might be harder?

Anyone operate your twins single handedly? Will it be harder? And keep in mind I do things most humans can't...lol. Only because I have lived with it almost my whole life. I am able to do things one handed that 99% of the world can't do one handed but understand that there are limitations.

So am I further ahead sticking to the single engine? This would be sterndrives. No inboards.
 
You need both hands to operate a twin. We have a 270 with twins. Definitely added difficulty if missing a thumb to push buttons on side of levers
 
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If you end up with twin stern drives just put one engine in neutral and dock it like a single I/O. I did this for years. On a twin I/O there is little tight quarter handling advantage over a twin. On our boat, it was easier to dock with one engine rather than two.
 
Sounds good. Pretty sure I can do it but wondered if anyone else had any experience with it.
 
Separate throttle and shift levers might be tough but you can shift single lever controls with one hand. Especially if you end up with a dts boat, they shift so easily. Or just go for axius?
 
Strecker25 said:
Separate throttle and shift levers might be tough but you can shift single lever controls with one hand. Especially if you end up with a dts boat, they shift so easily. Or just go for axius?
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Axius would be great but not in my price range...lol. Looking to stay around $30k
 
boatman37 said:
Axius would be great but not in my price range...lol. Looking to stay around $30k
Click to expand...

Haha yea I hear you. I’m sure you could get axius for 30k, minus the boat? Lol

Anyways, anyone on your dock that would let you swing their boat around a bit to test it out? That would be best
 
The majority of my time docking is just waiting to see what the boat is going to do. I dock really slow. I will rarely use throttle, just shifters, and I’m betting you would have zero issues. I put one F, one R, then back to neutral, wait, and see how the boat responds. I have a bow thruster, and if you had one, that would make it really easy.
 
I am sure a friend with a boat with twins would let you try it out for yourself. It would be really hard for someone on the forum to give you good advice on how well you would be able to do it. You have a whole lifetime of adaptation experience that we just can't relate to. I will bet there are many things you are already doing that we would say can't be done one handed!
 
Creekwood said:
I am sure a friend with a boat with twins would let you try it out for yourself. It would be really hard for someone on the forum to give you good advice on how well you would be able to do it. You have a whole lifetime of adaptation experience that we just can't relate to. I will bet there are many things you are already doing that we would say can't be done one handed!
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Probably true...lol. I guess when we find a boat if it has twins I will try it out.
 
I would wager you have adjusted to your situation and would be fine.

Friend of mine lost the use of his right arm when he was young. He has operated farm equipment his whole life. He does some things different, but it works.
 
I have a 320 with outdrives and I find it easier to dock using only one engine. As noted above, there is little two engine handling advantage with IO's.. Of course I kind of cheat..........I installed a Bow Thruster.
 
Anything to do with docking should be done in slow motion giving you time to think and react. I suppose if you went with twin inboards with separate shift and throttle levers it could be challenge, as you effectively have 5 controls to manage. (2 shift + 2 throttle, + steering). That's a lot to manage with one hand.

If the boat combines shift and throttle in a single binnacle, it might be easier. As for twin vs. single, that's a dead horse that will never be cured. There are arguments to be made in either direction. (redundancy vs. maintenance). The key is to get something you can live with over the long haul.

As you move into bigger boats, your choice becomes limited (very few > 30' with single). There's some irony there, because smaller boats than that with twins can make maintenance a nightmare, due to the narrower beam, especially for a bigger guy with dexterity issues.

It really sounds like a single may be your better choice given your stated parameters. Address the redundancy issue with meticulous maintenance, appropriate safety equipment, and towing insurance.
 
Not sure where you are located but, if any where near central Indiana I would be more than happy to let you try mine. It is V drives not IO's.
 
Thanks all. Yeah the single vs twin is a point of 'concern'. Not so much concern but do I want twice the maintenance, cost, fuel, etc. As for redundancy, where we boat it isn't really a necessity. We boat on the Ohio river and have no tow service available except fellow boaters and I'm pretty good with keeping up with maintenance. Our trips are usually pretty close to our marina since we are locked in by locks and dams unless we go through the locks, which have haven't done yet in 4 summers. The closest down river is about 3 miles away and the closest up river is about 10 miles so we stay in that 13 or so mile stretch and usually no more than about 3 or 4 miles from our marina.

The other concern is just overall size. If we go too big then we can't use our slip so will probably won't be boating this year. I will also need a different plan for towing since my truck won't tow anything over about 27'. There are only a couple of marinas around that have haulout service and they are pretty packed so not sure if we can even get in. I will definitely need a trailer to at least have a place to store it in the winter. We actually store in an underground mine about 15 miles from the marina so would likely continue that. There are a few 31' and 32'ers that trailer theirs there for the winter.

This is one reason we have lived in the same house for 20 years. Too many decisions...lol
 
When I first got mine, I was a newbie to big boats but was able to dock with one hand under most circumstances--for me, having integrated shift/throttle plus counter rotating props helps.

Good luck and have fun with your search!!
 
boatman37 said:
So last week we listed out 1986 250 for sale with plans to upgrade. Been debating on single or twin engines. We don't 'necessarily' need/want a bigger boat but definitely not smaller. Been looking at some 270's to 290's. Not sure if we want twins as I'm not looking forward to the added maintenance and fuel, as well as the cramped engine bay. I do 99% of the work myself and I'm not exactly a small guy. So something else to consider....

I can only used my left hand. I injured my right hand when I was young and can't use it at all. I have no issue at all with the single control but have never operated a twin. Not concerned about being out on the water but more in tight quarters when docking. I can back ours in and change directions just fine with ours if I need to. Initially I thought twins might make it easier but now I'm wondering if it might be harder?

Anyone operate your twins single handedly? Will it be harder? And keep in mind I do things most humans can't...lol. Only because I have lived with it almost my whole life. I am able to do things one handed that 99% of the world can't do one handed but understand that there are limitations.

So am I further ahead sticking to the single engine? This would be sterndrives. No inboards.
Click to expand...
My Father lost his left arm at the shoulder during WW2. I fully understand your situation. Self employed his entire life, logging, bulldozing/excavating, building/carpentry. He could have operated any boat I've had so far with no problem.

No pun intended, he was pretty handy. About the only problem he had was swimming....ready for it, because he always swam in a circle.:D
 
Woody said:
My Father lost his left arm at the shoulder during WW2. I fully understand your situation. Self employed his entire life, logging, bulldozing/excavating, building/carpentry. He could have operated any boat I've had so far with no problem.

No pun intended, he was pretty handy. About the only problem he had was swimming....ready for it, because he always swam in a circle.:D
Click to expand...
lol. Yeah, I can swim pretty good...and in a straight line...lol. Sounds like the consensus is I should be able to figure it out. Next step if our boat sells is to find the next one. The guy that looked at it Saturday texted me last night and said he would be calling me today. I figure he either has more questions or wants to make an offer. I actually started getting a little sad after that thinking it might be gone after this week. Will be a sad day. Has been a great boat.
 
Well got a call this morning and offer was accepted. Supposed to do the transfer later this week. I am a little sad and hope we are doing the right thing...lol. I'm sure once we get the next one we will be happy we did it. The buyers are getting a good boat!
 
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