I stopped by Marlow Marine yesterday to shoot the sh#t with my friend the
owner, David Marlow, while he was in town. A rarity these days with all his
travels to China.
And while there he took myself and a customer over to look over one of his 3
engine option boats that he's building more and more of now.
About 50% of the 78s are now being ordered this way as I recall. And he will
be putting them in his smaller boats as well.

Basically there is a smaller 280 HP Yanmar with a V drive built in on center in
a pod under a heavy duty waterproof hatch under the swimplatform that can power
the boat and all its hydraulic systems while pushing the boat at about 9 knots
(And yes the access for service was OK) saving fuel and much wear and tear on
the large CATs.
And with both powerful bow and stern thrusters it's still a breeze to dock. So
there's no need to fire up the twins just for that.

With this setup you seem to get the best of both worlds, speed when you
need/want it and fuel efficient cruising at most other times.

Vary slick!
Worth a look the next time your at a boat show. Of course it should go without
saying that the whole boats worth a look as well. :-)


Capt. Bill