On Apr 4, 9:34?pm, "Danlw" wrote:
"Wayne.B" wrote in message

...

On 3 Apr 2007 10:58:07 -0700, "Chuck Gould"
wrote:

Funny
how fickle the public can be, who would have thought that singles
would become much more popular than twins?

=============================

Misplaced priorities in my opinion.

Maybe--but with bow and even stern thrusters available, along
with "get home" systems, including wing engines, a single makes a lot sense
when you count fuel cost. Speaking as a person with twins... ;-). Dan



- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Among medium size and larger boats, the hottest sellers (in this area)
are currently single screw pilothouse boats. If you want to order a
new Selene, you go to the bottom of a 40-some boat waiting list for a
slot. Nordic and American Tugs are selling as fast as they can be
built, with virtually no unsold new boat inventory.

The fuel comment is a factor, but so many of these boats are being
built with engines large enough to so ridiculously overdrive the hull
that I'm not sure that fuel economy is always realized. Take the 37
Mariner trawler, for example; it burns about 2 gph at 8 kts- just
about what you would expect from a trawler near its displacement
speed. The very same boat with the very same engine will do 16 knots,
but turning twice the speed requires almost exactly *10 times* the
fuel!

Fortunately, the latest generations of electronically controlled
diesels don't seem to suffer from running at 1/3 throttle or so like
many of the older engines did. I guess if you're not harming the
engine by running it too slowly there is a case to be made for putting
450 HP in an 8 knot semi-displacement hull. You can always run a large
engine on a slow bell but if the day ever comes when you really need
15-16 knots, that old 130 HP Ford Lehman just ain't gonna cut it.