Cal Vanize wrote:


(at the risk of sounding naive, but a question to help clear my
understanding...)

Other than some of the obvious ones ("spare" engine reliability,
single operating engine economy), what are some of the reasons to get
a single engine trawler ( 43 feet) over a twin and vice versa?


The basic trade-off is speed versus economy.

A lot of people say they feel "more secure" in a twin engine
boat, but the most usual cause of engine malfunction is
either dead battery, fuel problem (lack, big globs of crud,
air leak, etc etc), which would affect both engines in 99%
of cases... or some lack of basic maintenance.

There seem to be excellent vessels in both configurations.


True, but it's a basic difference that in most cases will
profoundly influence how the owner is satisfied. Guys who
like to go fast will not like cruising in a single engine
trawler. Guys who don't like to pay for hundreds of gallons
of fuel will not like cruising (or even riding around for a
few hours) in a twin (unless somebody else is paying for it).

One benefit of the single is that the engine room is much
roomier. This can make a big difference when doing
maintenance, and when upgrading or installing new equipment.
For example, I put a diesel fueled furnace & heaters in our
boat a couple of winters ago... it was difficult to find a
place to install it properly, and our boat is a 36' single
engine with an engine room that I would describe under most
other circumstances as roomy.

A benefit of twins is maneuverability. It's not difficult to
dock a twin engine boat, and usually you can ignore the
finer points of using prop walk. Backing up is a breeze.

Another issue is grounding. If you haven't run aground, you
either haven't been anywhere or are lying. With a single it
is easy to have quite good prop protection. Our boat has a
full keel & skeg and it's difficult to imagine anything
damaging our prop. OTOH while some twins have good
protection, most do not and most will pay for some expensive
damage every couple of years (another scenario in which a
spare engine does little good).

Needless to say, I am better at justifying the "go slow &
cheap" type boat, because that is what we have, and my wife
& I like it a lot.