Twin Outboards-Pro&Con?

[Day Late]

In the early research stage here. Looking hard at 17 & 19' Arima and 18' Trophy. I'm a fair weather ocean fisherman who likes the security of twins although I don't see many. Total weight of a pair of 50's is about the same as a 90 with a 9.9 kicker. Talking 4-strokes only here. Would appreciate your thoughts (pro & con) on the subject. (I couldn't find anything in the archives on this subject). Thanks much for your input. :smile:

Day Late

[HawgJaw]

It is nice to have a motor that you can pull start. I had a wiring problem (defective perko switch) fishing out in the ocean this summer and had to come in on my kicker. I've tried to start some bigger motors with a rope and almost fell out of the boat trying. Sometimes I have a hard time trolling slow enough with my 9.9. You might have to pull a really big drift sock to troll slow enough for the chinooks using a 50. Just my .02. HJ

[Denali]

Cons: Cost, maintenance, Cost.
Pros: While you may come in on your kicker, coming in on your other "big" motor would be more comforting, especially if you can plane on one.

Twins are the norm in the Southeast but they are also trolling at 8-12 knots. I also don't think two 50's will give you the performance of a single 90 in your example. Two lower units in the water cause quite a bit of drag on the same horsepower.
Personally think you are better off with a single and a kicker on a boat that size.

[Rod Holder]

I run twin Hondas on my 22' C-Dory. Things I like about the twins, 2 seperate batteries and charging systems, can get on plane and actually travel with just one engine, piece of mind, don't have to stand at the stern and operate a kicker, maintenance costs is about the same as a main and kicker, piece of mind, initial cost is about the same as a main and kicker, you gain a small bit of extra manueverability for docking, looks cool.

[Rod Holder]

Arrrg....hit the wrong button before I completed the last post....About the only beef I have with the twins is you can't stand back at the stern and troll, I can throttle one engine back and troll slow enough but somebody needs to be at the helm. As far as dependibility goes, it's a non issue, todays engines will get you out and back with no trouble whether you one or two engines.

[Birdnest]

I might be wrong, but I don't think the 50's come with the electronic fuel injection like the larger motors do. Might check on that one.

Joe

[KeyWest]

I have a 22' with a single 2003 Honda 225. Used to have a 1999 Evinrude FICH 200. The Evinrude left me offshore once in Flordia (luckily I have SeaTow), but was very, very (I can string many verys together here) unreliable. I moved out to Oregon in March (brought boat with) and haven't had a lick of trouble with the Honda (knock on wood). So, while I would have liked to have two motors if they are unreliable, one seems to work fine as long as it's reliable. Also, I tend to run out with a partner so if there is a problem... Primarily fish out of Hammond for Salmon and Tuna so trolling speed isn't really an issue.

[Captn]

Any comments about fuel consumption? This is something I have thought alot about. Twins look cool on offshore brackets, but are they a good solution to our common offshore problems?

1 reliability

2 fule comsuption

3 overall performance

I would like to see a bit more discussion. Kujo, any thoughts?

[KeyWest]

My single 225 Honda averages around 3+ mpg, 22' boat - center console. I have read that twins can get better mileage depending upon speed (two twins work less than a single if you push the single out on it's RPM range too far). I believe there are web sites that do these performance tests. Yamaha has one as does Honda. Could also check with Boat Test reports

[Rod Holder]

here's some performance numbers for twin Honda 40's and a single Honda 75
www.c-dory.com/22%20performance.htm