Twin engines?

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
Are they worth it? Looked at a few boats today, one being a Four Winns 288 Vista with twins. Still not sure if I want twins though. Just thinking about twice the maintenance, twice the fuel, and possibly twice the problems? Boating on the Ohio River don't really need the redundancy.

I dunno. Just asking random questions now. Probably more of a Chevy vs Ford type question here....lol. This boat search isn't going to be fun...lol
 
To me it's not worth it for the reasons you listed. For most situations that is going to mean that if you want a bigger boat you're going to be boating more slowly (trawler). It's a major reason why I don't think I'll ever get a larger boat.

Even the guy who owns my boat yard - who would stand to profit from me having twin engines - discouraged me from getting a twin due to the cost and hassle.

The only line of "larger" (30+ foot) single engine boats that can cruise in the 25 MPH range are Back Cove downeast style boats. They range from 30-41 feet and are all powered by a big single diesel engine. Unfortunately my favorite, the Back Cove 34, is above $450k new. Even used ones are in the $350-$400k range.
 
The search is all the fun. Check out as many as you can. Go for on as many rides as you can. The twins are really nice to have if you have a failure. Also works nice when troubleshooting. Can swap parts between the 2 motors to see if issue follows the move. We have had a single engine for 30 years and got into our first twin 3 seasons ago. Love it. Plenty of power with a lot of people on board is biggest noticeable difference. Yes - it is twice the maintenance, cost, etc. But if you are doing most of the routine stuff yourself, it really isn't that bad. Try them all single and twins and have some fun doing it. You will know when the right one comes along. Took us almost 3 years to find our 340, drove the broker crazy, but it has all the accessories we were looking for and then some.
 
This is just my opinion - at about 30ft twin engines really make a difference. My 290 for example had twin engines (5.0), a dockmate had an older model that was roughly the same size that had a single 7.4.. It had plenty of power to get up on plane cruise around etc - buy holy cow it was a beast in close quarters. And again, my opinion, but if your are looking at 30-35ft yes get twins (most will have twins) and get v-drives - the difference is night and day in a bigger boat. The biggest regret I had about my 290 was that it was not a 310 or 340 with v-drives.
 
Take a look at an early-mid 90’s Sea Ray 300WE inboard. They were a really nice boat, handled extremely well had twin small block GM engines, were efficient and simple to maintain and easy to work on. They were very popular with divers and fishermen because the cockpit is huge.
 
My 280DA has T5.0's. The engine room is tight. I used to take care of everything in there but it was always a chore. I'm not the biggest guy 6'1 about 210lbs. The boat is parked in the garage the last 2.5yrs and I dread the idea of getting it ready for sale. I've put on a little weight and my bum knee is stiffer and less flexible than ever, I think I'll have to hire stuff out. If it had a single engine I'd be in seventh heaven and still able to take care of things myself.

I wanted twins because I cruised that boat on Lake Superior. It doesn't sound like twins are so important for you on the river.

Are you looking to keep the boat trailerable?
 
If you travel at all I think twins are a must. I’ve come back on one motor twice, once was at midnight on July 4th from 6 miles out. That would have been ugly without a second motor.

Maintenance wise, I don’t feel it too bad compared to if I had a single. Yearly stuff is a little more but not by much, and the handling advantage around the dock is worth it to me.
 
Strecker25 said:
If you travel at all I think twins are a must. I’ve come back on one motor twice, once was at midnight on July 4th from 6 miles out. That would have been ugly without a second motor.

Maintenance wise, I don’t feel it too bad compared to if I had a single. Yearly stuff is a little more but not by much, and the handling advantage around the dock is worth it to me.
Click to expand...
Would twins be as important to you if you were always within 250 yards from shore?
 
I had a 11 260 DA w/single and now a 98 290 DA w/twin 5.0's and love them.

Forgive the terminology but the 260 was tipsy and the 290 is so smooth and stable.

Of course they are different boats from a different era but just love the twins in power and overall smoothness...... I'm one that does not like to maintain cocktail speed for very long when I need to get down the river..... so putt putt putt is not me.
 
Trailerable? Yes. Will I trailer it all around? No. Only trailering from the marina to storage and back. The only local place that will store it charges about $2k/year to pull, winterize, shrink wrap, and put back in. I could pay for a trailer in a few years at that cost. I have been storing mine underground about 10 miles from our marina and would like to continue that. Just not much around us that handle pulling and storage unless you have your own trailer so that is the main reason I'd like a trailer.

The search is the fun part? lol. By the time I pay for the gas in the car I won't have money left for a boat...lol. The closest would be about 2 hours to Erie, 2 hours to Cleveland, etc.

Any good boat dealers around Lake Erie (PA) or Cleveland? Port Clinton? Ashtabula?
 
fwebster said:
Take a look at an early-mid 90’s Sea Ray 300WE inboard. They were/are a really nice boat, handled extremely well had twin small block GM engines, were efficient and simple to maintain and easy to work on. They were very popular with divers and fishermen because the cockpit is huge.
Click to expand...
I agree with Frank. I know that model well and agree for all the same reasons.

You'll need to be cautious here. It sounds like you want a bigger boat but bigger boats need more power to get them going. That often means twin engines. Yeah there is more maintenance with twins but handling a boat with twin engines is just plain fun. I know you have some physical challenges and are concerned about twins but I bet you have been overcoming those challenges most of your life. You will overcome this as well.

Check these out https://www.yachtworld.com/core/lis...&city=&cint=100&pbsint=&boatsAddedSelected=-1
 
fwebster said:
Take a look at an early-mid 90’s Sea Ray 300WE inboard. They were a really nice boat, handled extremely well had twin small block GM engines, were efficient and simple to maintain and easy to work on. They were very popular with divers and fishermen because the cockpit is huge.
Click to expand...

Yes - friend had one, might have been an 89 or so, nice boat.
 
Woody said:
Would twins be as important to you if you were always within 250 yards from shore?
Click to expand...

For us, I’d still say yes. We travel the shoreline of Lake Ontario and there are stretches without as much as a cove to duck into so I like being able to get home.

I get your point though, if it’s river boating I’m sure it’s not as valuable
 
Not necessarily 'bigger'. In fact 31' LOA is the max we can go and stay in our slip. I'm thinking a 290 would be the biggest we would want. I'd be happy with a nice 27'er if it had what we wanted.
 
A couple of years ago, to avoid shoulder surgery, I ran my boat for most of the summer with my right arm in a sling or immobile. IT took a bit of getting used to but the shoulder didn't keep us off the water. One trick I learned and still use today is to pivot the boat in front of the slip facing forward then stan up and turn to face the stern and dock the boat left handed facing the rear. That puts you viewpoint near the center of the boat and the gear levers right at your finger tips.

I think twins would actually be an advantage for one handed operation in the over 30 ft size boat.
 
Just my opinion having had both, but over 27 feet twins are great.

My last boat had a 10’ beam with twin IOs and it was a bear to work on.

Currently I have a 14’ beam with straight drive inboards and literally everything is cake to work on and knowing I can get in on one screw is a good feeling.

I’ll never own an IO again and V drives are out of the question due to cramped engine room conditions.
 
I definitely won't be going big enough to get to an inboard. I kinda need to limit my LOA to about 30-31' due to my slip size.

Good to hear the comments on 1 handed operation so I can probably eliminate that as a decision factor.

The cramped engine bay is definitely something to think about. 10'6" is probably the widest we would go (hopefully under 10'). Twins would be a tight fit and I'm not a small guy.
 
boatman37 said:
I definitely won't be going big enough to get to an inboard. I kinda need to limit my LOA to about 30-31' due to my slip size.

Good to hear the comments on 1 handed operation so I can probably eliminate that as a decision factor.

The cramped engine bay is definitely something to think about. 10'6" is probably the widest we would go (hopefully under 10'). Twins would be a tight fit and I'm not a small guy.
Click to expand...

I'll make the case for our boat (although it's not for sale yet lol)

the 1997.5-2001 290DA's are pretty common, we love the layout of both the cockpit and cabin, and if you find one loaded up will get all the amenities you would need. We found ours with T5.7EFI alphas, generator, air/heat, windlass, etc. Prices are pretty reasonable. The engine bay definitely isn't huge, but with sterndrives I can service everything without issue. Although the genset can be a PIA. I'd try to find one with at least 5.0's, and the later models came with BIII's. The alphas are nice for me because I can yank them myself and bring home yearly to service. LOA is 31.8" and has a 10'2" beam. They can be hard to find with a trailer though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,154
Messages
1,427,349
Members
61,060
Latest member
Danileo
Back
Top