Replace inboard engine with two outboards?

[44'cruisingcat]

One 10hp outboard is lighter and will push your boat faster than two 5hp ones.

[Hugo B]

Thanks for all the information, very informative. Clearly yes, of course outboards have a raw water intake, how stupid of me. Secondly, I suppose the idea of having two outboards is indeed a bit crazy, and most people do not seem to recommend it. The dangers of having highly flammable fuel on board .. people say different things but overall it looks like a risk.

The thing is, I am happy to take a boat out anytime for a sail, but engine repairs and maintenance, I have to admit, I know very little about. Maybe I should do a course but I don't think I will ever be really that good at it.

So I look at these yachts, I see a fine yacht and a rusty engine, and think, there is a problem there. Then I ask for quotes to put a new engine in and the costs are astronomical. But now people tell me engines can last a long time, presumably even if they look pretty bad.

Maybe, but on the last sailing boat I had, the engine needed major repairs even though it only had a couple of hundred hours on the clock (seaweed got sucked into the raw water intake and it had to be completely taken apart - $750 in costs). And this is not including an intake filter which I put in separately.

Perhaps I was just unlucky and maybe I can nurse an old engine through for a couple of years and hope for the best with a small auxilliary outboard as a backup. Not ideal, but maybe the best solution under the circumstances. By the way, the boat I am thinking about is a Twister 28. I have to admit, an outboard wouldn't look pretty on a beautiful boat like that!

[stewie]

Best sailing boat I ever had was a 25 footer with a 9hp outboard in a well. When we did not need it we stored it in a locker. Without the weight of an inboard engine and prop darg it sailed fantastically and we had more time for sailing without an engine to look after. When I think about it that will be my next boat.

[KP44]

On our 26' sailboat, I often used an electric trolling motor for anchoring, docking, and shorter distances. It was as quiet as sailing and even the small motor was sufficient power. We also had a longshaft 8hp that ran forever on a 3 gallon tank.

[taxwizz]

I had a Northern 25 with a 9.9hp outboard for 10 years.
Loved it.
And.....When it died, it was easy to replace.
But you may only need one. Two might look goofy.

[Don C L]

Aha! A twister 28! Pretty famous little design in certain circles! No, if that is the boat, take the diesel out and get it rebuilt. Definitely keep a diesel in her! Once in good shape, diesels run a long time. Some rust does not indicate a bad engine necessarily. If it were me I’d be down in there disconnecting the engine right now (if it truly needs to be rebuilt yet.)
Besides, even if you wanted to the transom angle is just severe to make it work imo. Well you could do it but it would need a huge wedge in there to get the bracket out a workable angle, or better, vertical.

[john61ct]

Pretty heavy boat in the first place.

Lots of similar sized boats are much lighter without pulling out their engine

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by Hugo B

Hi


Negatives:

1. Higher fuel consumption (outboards do not run on diesel - unless there are some, please let me know, could not find any on the web)

diesel is too high of a fuel consumption already, and the smell makes sea sickness worse

2. Fuel is more flammable.

so are a lot of things

3. You may have to mount / unmount the outboards from the stern bracket, especially in a storm.

Why would you be doing this in a storm?

4. Even if they have a long prop shaft, they may not reach the water properly especially in big waves and when sailing offshore.

Again, off shore you wouldn't be using them, at all.

What do you think, any comments?

You are halfway there. Removing or not having an inboard diesel is good. But why do you need to replace it with anything? I can sail everywhere on my 27ft boat.

Engines are for people who are impatient, incompetent and inconsiderate.

I use sculling oar, much better you use that.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

diesel is too high of a fuel consumption already, and the smell makes sea sickness worse
so are a lot of things
Why would you be doing this in a storm?
Again, off shore you wouldn't be using them, at all.


You are halfway there. Removing or not having an inboard diesel is good. But why do you need to replace it with anything? I can sail everywhere on my 27ft boat.

Engines are for people who are impatient, incompetent and inconsiderate.

I use sculling oar, much better you use that.

Sean, you’re not making any friends with the last two sentences. You’ve insulted almost everyone, and beaten your own chest.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

Sean, you’re not making any friends with the last two sentences. You’ve insulted almost everyone, and beaten your own chest.

I've sailed into a marina because the engine died. Not something I would like to do again. I guess doing it and watching the people's faces was a plus. I'm sure they were saying look at this crazy bastard.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by Cadence

I've sailed into a marina because the engine died. Not something I would like to do again. I guess doing it and watching the people's faces was a plus. I'm sure they were saying look at this crazy bastard.

HA! Ya oughta try sculling or rowing in some time!They'll haul you off as certifiable!

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

Sean, you’re not making any friends with the last two sentences. You’ve insulted almost everyone, and beaten your own chest.

I don't know what kind of place you want the world to be. One where 90% of coral reefs die?

All because you use a thing you don't even need to use??

If I insulted you just consider that you insult me every time you fire an engine.

Originally Posted by Cadence

I've sailed into a marina because the engine died. Not something I would like to do again. I guess doing it and watching the people's faces was a plus. I'm sure they were saying look at this crazy bastard.

Why wouldn't you do it again? I did it plenty of times, each time it gets easier, and so I am honestly trying to understand why you wouldn't want to.

Originally Posted by Don C L

HA! Ya oughta try sculling or rowing in some time!They'll haul you off as certifiable!

ok... it is more of "look at this crazy bastard"

sculling gets even stronger reactions than sailing, so it's fun to do it.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

I don't know what kind of place you want the world to be. One where 90% of coral reefs die?

All because you use a thing you don't even need to use??

If I insulted you just consider that you insult me every time you fire an engine.



Why wouldn't you do it again? I did it plenty of times, each time it gets easier, and so I am honestly trying to understand why you wouldn't want to.



ok... it is more of "look at this crazy bastard"

sculling gets even stronger reactions than sailing, so it's fun to do it.

You’ve got some good ideas, and I applaud your sailing ability. But please consider that you’re a zealot. There are a lot of us who minimize our use of the engine and are far “greener” than 90+% of the population. Yet still burn on the order of 20-30 gallons of diesel a year.

Now lets weigh the harm to a coral reef from an engineless boat being hurled onto it being skippered by a less capable sailor with no engine. VS the same boat with a small auxiliary that manages to motor past.

This is gray area.....not black and white.

[fatherchronica]

We have an acquaintance who owns a 63'? steel boat that he migrated each year between Morro Bay and La Paz with a 60 ish h.p. outboard for awhile. Eventually he got his diesel running though. I was always embarrassed for him while he was in Mexico because no self respecting panga owner down there has less than 3 250+ h.p. outboards on a 30 foot boat, and he had room for maybe 2,000 h.p. on his stern. I always wondered about i/os on a sailboat.

[Talbot]

My last catamaran had a 30hp petrol outboard. I hated the amount of petrol I had to carry for any decent range.


I swapped it for a 27hp diesel outboard (Yanmar). Lots of power. Much easier to stow fuel, and not nearly as dangerous. Fairly noisy but no more than the old 2 stroke 30hp.


Biggest drawback for both was lack of alternator for decent charging (other than lights).


My new boat has 2 x 3YM30 diesel engines each with 80 amp alternator.


I did sell the old 3GM30 with their saildrives for abt $1500 each. They still had a fair bit of life, but I was doing a half life re-fit.