Twin outboards vs single outboard

[700dollarhat]

Just a random question, I see some Polar boats on ebay with twin 115 outboards.  What is the benefit of dual outboards?  Why not just have one 225 on instead? 

[Hotrod]

I seen that also on a newer 23' Parker Pilot house. Twin 115's 

[Mr Limpett]

One reason is safety. If you fish offshore and
1 motor goes, the other will get you back.Although if you have a smaller "kicker" for trolling, that should suffice. Another reason is better boat handling, But is that worth the extra cost of maintanence and weight and drag created from the extra prop? The last reason is the "He Man" cool look twins give a boat.

[CapBob]

You will get many opinions on this topic.

Twin outboards will give you better control and manuverability

Should one engine fail you will have a backup to get you in...good thing when far from shore.

Waht you have to consider is the weight, drag, performance of twin vs single, all boat manufacturers should be able to supply you with this.

Next is cost on 2 vs 1 engine......depending on where you go if you picked up 2 Yammi 4 Stroke 115's it is close to same cost as 1 Yammi 250 4 Stroke.

Next is maintanence 1 vs 2 engines not a big problem if you do a lot of it yourself. If you have the work done, cost is doubled.

I have had both single and double, both have plus and minus points.....

..I will say I now have a 24' Grady with a 225 Yammi, my next boat is going to be a 25' Parker with either twin 115 of 150 Yammi's

But i would consult the boat manufactuer before making any moves, hope it helps

(we did have a post on this subject quite some time ago)

[Luna Sea 5]

control, but mostly, even with alot of weight in the boat, you won't lose much top end with the 2 engines.  get into heavy seas, and having 2 props in the water will help you alot.

[Paijo]

Capt. Bobs post is on the money. Just want to mention to make sure you have realistic expectations of the handling in reverse that you'll expect from twin OB's. Especially if you have a bracket.

Placed further back on the bracket, the prop wash hits your transom a great deal and you'll need to tilt the motors up a bit to realize any sort of control.

That said, having owned both a single OB, single IO and now twin OB's I love my twins and do feel you have more control. Just don't expect to rotate on your own axis if you have a bracket like a larger inboard sportfisher can do. Can't beat the peace of mind of a little redundancy offshore either.

My $0.02

[PHIL]

Bottom line. If you plan on going offshore, twins is the way to go. If you stay within lets say 15-20 miles offshore, I would definetly stay with a single. If they are offering the boat with a single, then its probably not to big of a boat to worry about handeling it. Save yourself a ton of money on purchase price, maintenance, etc. get the single. Outboards these days in my opinion, are built amazing. Trust me keep up on the maintenance and you will thank me. good luck pal.