One engine or two?
 

I want to order a new 26' walk around from a local dealer.
It could come with a pair of 4 stroke 150's or one 2 stroke 300.
What would be the characteristics of each set up?
About all I know is that the pair weights 932 lbs, the 300 weighs 543.
Lets leave initial cost aside. All engines are Yamahas.

This question is a real personality test. It comes down to flat out
speed and bragging rights in the bar against just about everything
else (if you leave out cost).

The two stroke will have higher fuel consumption plus you will be
burning oil at the same time which isn't cheap. You'll also be
polluting like crazy. The twins have redundancy but the higher weight
and the drag of an additional lower unit will cost knots. That will
cost you big points in the bar.

It's pretty much a no-brainer for an outboard boater.

Enjoy that two stroke :)

--

Roger Long




"Jim and Becky" wrote in message
...
I want to order a new 26' walk around from a local dealer.
It could come with a pair of 4 stroke 150's or one 2 stroke 300.
What would be the characteristics of each set up?
About all I know is that the pair weights 932 lbs, the 300 weighs
543.
Lets leave initial cost aside. All engines are Yamahas.

are you going out of site of land? can you picture a time when losing
power would not be a good thing? I would rather power up to the local
bar than be TOWED to it...Bragging rights kind of go to hell when you
are towed home.... ALSO... resale value in coastal towns will be
substantially higher on the twins.

Roger Long wrote:

This question is a real personality test. It comes down to flat out
speed and bragging rights in the bar against just about everything
else (if you leave out cost).

The two stroke will have higher fuel consumption plus you will be
burning oil at the same time which isn't cheap. You'll also be
polluting like crazy. The twins have redundancy but the higher weight
and the drag of an additional lower unit will cost knots. That will
cost you big points in the bar.

It's pretty much a no-brainer for an outboard boater.

Enjoy that two stroke :)

OTOH, with the twins, you can still get home if one breaks.

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
This question is a real personality test. It comes down to flat out speed
and bragging rights in the bar against just about everything else (if you
leave out cost).

The two stroke will have higher fuel consumption plus you will be burning
oil at the same time which isn't cheap. You'll also be polluting like
crazy. The twins have redundancy but the higher weight and the drag of an
additional lower unit will cost knots. That will cost you big points in
the bar.

It's pretty much a no-brainer for an outboard boater.

Enjoy that two stroke :)

--

Roger Long




"Jim and Becky" wrote in message
...
I want to order a new 26' walk around from a local dealer.
It could come with a pair of 4 stroke 150's or one 2 stroke 300.
What would be the characteristics of each set up?
About all I know is that the pair weights 932 lbs, the 300 weighs 543.
Lets leave initial cost aside. All engines are Yamahas.

Ed wrote:
are you going out of site of land? can you picture a time when losing
power would not be a good thing? I would rather power up to the local
bar than be TOWED to it...Bragging rights kind of go to hell when you
are towed home.... ALSO... resale value in coastal towns will be
substantially higher on the twins.

Roger Long wrote:

This question is a real personality test. It comes down to flat out
speed and bragging rights in the bar against just about everything
else (if you leave out cost).

The two stroke will have higher fuel consumption plus you will be
burning oil at the same time which isn't cheap. You'll also be
polluting like crazy. The twins have redundancy but the higher weight
and the drag of an additional lower unit will cost knots. That will
cost you big points in the bar.

It's pretty much a no-brainer for an outboard boater.

Enjoy that two stroke :)



Docking with twins is a tad easier too. More control.

Amen to the majority opinion so far: two 4-strokes are the way to go.
Handling, reliability, fuel efficiency, environmental friendliness, sex
appeal. If you can handle the weight and cost, this is a no-brainer.

Read again. I think you missed the tongue in cheek.

--

Roger Long



"Ed" wrote in message
. ..
are you going out of site of land? can you picture a time when
losing power would not be a good thing? I would rather power up to
the local bar than be TOWED to it...Bragging rights kind of go to
hell when you are towed home.... ALSO... resale value in coastal
towns will be substantially higher on the twins.

Roger Long wrote:

This question is a real personality test. It comes down to flat out
speed and bragging rights in the bar against just about everything
else (if you leave out cost).

The two stroke will have higher fuel consumption plus you will be
burning oil at the same time which isn't cheap. You'll also be
polluting like crazy. The twins have redundancy but the higher
weight and the drag of an additional lower unit will cost knots.
That will cost you big points in the bar.

It's pretty much a no-brainer for an outboard boater.

Enjoy that two stroke :)

Jim and Becky wrote:
I want to order a new 26' walk around from a local dealer.
It could come with a pair of 4 stroke 150's or one 2 stroke 300.
What would be the characteristics of each set up?
About all I know is that the pair weights 932 lbs, the 300 weighs
543.
Lets leave initial cost aside. All engines are Yamahas.

Jim and Becky

First off, lets try to bring the group back to reality. Fuel
consumption, and all the real life studies show this, a fuel injected
two stroke outboard will burn the same amount of fuel as a four stroke
at the same cruse speed. To get the same cruse speed out of a four
stroke as a fuel injected two stroke you have to run them at higher
RPM's, at that point the fuel usage is the same. On pollution, the four
strokes typically have slightly higher immisions at the true cruse
speeds than a fuel injected two stroke. The four strokes typically
weigh more than the two strokes, so the transome height above the water
line will be lower on the four strokes. And four stroke engines have a
lot more moving parts, this has got to have some effect on reliability
and cost of ownership. On the down side for the two strokes you do have
to purchase oil and not let it run out, the four strokes only require
oil changes and checking it, so the four strokes have an advantage
here. Their really is no clear winner here, they both have their good
and bad points, you have to decide for yourself.

On the subject of twins or a single engine it all depends on the size
of the boat, how far off shore you tend to boat, cost and
manuverability. On a boat this size, if you want a single engine, go
with the 300, the smaller engines may not have enought power for this
big a boat. A single engine will cost less to purchase, typically burn
less fuel, cost less to maintain and cost less to replace. A twin
application will be faster, it may burn more fuel, it will have
manuverability advantages, and it will have the advantage of having an
operational engine should one fail. But it will cost more to purchase,
cost twice as much to do normal maintence on, the stern will sit lower
in the water due to the weight, and be much more to replace both
engines when the time comes.

My preferance would be twins if I tend to operate more than say twenty
miles from shore on a regular basis, less than that I would go for the
single, the twins just don't make sense. I also prefer two stroke fuel
injected outboards, they've been around for a while, and have most of
the problems worked out of them. To me, the four strokes are just too
new and too slow. Let someone else work the bugs out for the
manufacturers.

Just my two cents,

John

In article ,
says...
I want to order a new 26' walk around from a local dealer.
It could come with a pair of 4 stroke 150's or one 2 stroke 300.
What would be the characteristics of each set up?
About all I know is that the pair weights 932 lbs, the 300 weighs 543.
Lets leave initial cost aside. All engines are Yamahas.



There is a reason why the USN likes to buy it's jets with two engines.

--
Mike G.
Heirloom Woods

www.heirloom-woods.net

Mike G
I served on the USS Tripoli LPH-10, a helicopter carrier. It was about
600 feet long. Had just one engine. One time off the California coast we
floated for about 12 hours while they worked on it. This was a brand new
ship, I was part of the commissioning. This was around 1966. Perhaps
that's why it's now mothballed.
Paul


Mike G wrote:

There is a reason why the USN likes to buy it's jets with two engines.

Paul Schilter wrote:
Mike G
I served on the USS Tripoli LPH-10, a helicopter carrier. It was
about 600 feet long. Had just one engine. One time off the California
coast we floated for about 12 hours while they worked on it. This was a
brand new ship, I was part of the commissioning. This was around 1966.
Perhaps that's why it's now mothballed.
Paul


Mike G wrote:

There is a reason why the USN likes to buy it's jets with two engines.



We can all mention incidents of single engine vessels breaking down with
no "take home" capability, however in the ship department, there are far
more single engine ships running around ... reliably .... than multi
engine ones.
Yes, there are advantages to multi engine/shaft vessels, but, especially
with today's engines, for what most boaters are doing, one should should
be sufficient if properly maintained .... especially if you have one of
many "take home" possibilities.

Clearly I confused the issue by mixing two strokes with four strokes.
My inquiry was 1 or 2 engines.
If both setups were 2 strokes, which would have a faster top end and why?
Which would be more economical fuel wise and why?
Which would be faster out of the hole?


"Jim and Becky" wrote in message
...
I want to order a new 26' walk around from a local dealer.
It could come with a pair of 4 stroke 150's or one 2 stroke 300.
What would be the characteristics of each set up?
About all I know is that the pair weights 932 lbs, the 300 weighs 543.
Lets leave initial cost aside. All engines are Yamahas.

On Sat, 9 Apr 2005 00:01:09 -0400, "Jim and Becky"
wrote:

If both setups were 2 strokes, which would have a faster top end and why?
Which would be more economical fuel wise and why?
Which would be faster out of the hole?

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

Assuming equal horsepower, the single engine boat will be faster,
primarily because of reduced drag and weight. Speed out of the hole
depends a lot on conditions and prop selection.

In article , Paul Schilter
""paulschilter\"@comcast dot net" says...
Mike G
I served on the USS Tripoli LPH-10, a helicopter carrier. It was about
600 feet long. Had just one engine. One time off the California coast we
floated for about 12 hours while they worked on it. This was a brand new
ship, I was part of the commissioning. This was around 1966. Perhaps
that's why it's now mothballed.
Paul


Mike G wrote:

There is a reason why the USN likes to buy it's jets with two engines.




LOL, Did my time,also in "66" as a Bosuns mate on an APA that was
commissioned in 1942. We spent a lot of time drifting around.

However, that's a ship with lots of snipes to fix such things, not a jet
with no way to fix things if the engine flames out a long way from home.

Take care

--
Mike G.
Heirloom Woods

www.heirloom-woods.net

I have a 7.3metre (25foot) 'Whittley sea legend' sports fishing boat.
(I live in Western Australia)and I decided on twin motors and bought
135 Mercury OPTIMAX 2 strokes. I can't fault them. Fuel consuption has
averaged 15ltrs per hour (thats 7.5 ltrs per motor)over the 3 years I
have had the boat, but at a cruising speed of 25 knots I get about
22/25 ltrs per hour.(11/12.5 ltrs per hr EACH MOTOR)I reckon thats
pretty good . Do you NEED 2 motors? Only when one fails..... and that
happened to me 3 months ago, about 10 nautical miles offshore, in a
20/25 knot wind, with seas to 2metres and a 1.5/2 metre swell. Not a
very good situation to be in if you only had one motor I can tell you.
What happened was the that the 'thermostat' had **** itself, along
with the impeller, and the engine overheated. Mmmmmm... However, I
limped back to the mainland and into port with just the one motor...
no worries. and I'm still alive to tell the tale. My advice is buy
TWIN outboards...they are SAFER, and they are so much easier to
manouvre in and out of the dock....oh yes, and did I mention...TWO
MOTORS ARE SO MUCH SAFER THAN ONE...do you really need another reason?
tomtwice,




"Jim and Becky" wrote in message ...
Clearly I confused the issue by mixing two strokes with four strokes.
My inquiry was 1 or 2 engines.
If both setups were 2 strokes, which would have a faster top end and why?
Which would be more economical fuel wise and why?
Which would be faster out of the hole?


"Jim and Becky" wrote in message
...
I want to order a new 26' walk around from a local dealer.
It could come with a pair of 4 stroke 150's or one 2 stroke 300.
What would be the characteristics of each set up?
About all I know is that the pair weights 932 lbs, the 300 weighs 543.
Lets leave initial cost aside. All engines are Yamahas.