25ft. pilot house repower... twins???

[aquadreamin]

Hello,

I am rebuilding a 25ft. C-hawk pilothouse. I do alot of offshore diving and need a 50-100 mile range. It had a single 200hp outboard mounted direclty to the transome. I have already decided to go with a bracket and twin engines. I have read several of the threads on this site concerning brackets vs. transom mount and see pros and cons for both. I feel that a bracket will give me a better dive platform for entry and exits. The twin engines will give me peace of mind if something happens to one I can limp back home on the other. I was wondering what people have been repowering with when switching to twins. My concerns are the following:
1. additional weight of the engines on the bracket causing the scuppers to be below the waterline and creating a wet cockpit
2. having enough h.p. to haul 6 divers, 15 tanks, two 170qt. coolers (full of fish, beer, etc...) 100lbs of weight and all other gear.

I own a pair of 200 hp suzuki 2 strokes will this be too much?

 

[Megabyte]

The 25 Standard and Sport Cabin C-Hawk models show a 12 degree deadrise and a maximum horsepower rating of 300.

http://www.chawkboats.com/boats.html#25standard

Honestly, I think that a single 250 on that boat would make it a rocket ship, but if you are convinced that you want twins, I'd go with 140 Zukes, 150 Yamahas, or similar sized Etecs as they are about as light as you will get (and twin motors will not be light).

Due to the weight issue, and the fact that a 12 degree deadrise boat won't need a boatload of horsepower to make her perform well, If it were mine, I'd opt for single power.

If you're looking to twins for "get home" safety, I'd look at a single motor paired with a high-thrust kicker.

Hopefully others will weigh-in with other options for you.
Good luck!

 

[TopShot25]

With the reliability of today’s engines I too would go with the kicker. You might even be able to have someone customize a bracket for a diving platform.

 

[Burtona]

Two rules!
1. Aways have two of everything important!
2. Twin engines double the chance of a failure!

Which rule to violate?
I'd opt for the single on a bracket. Use some of the money you save to buy a SSB radio, towing insurance, an EPIRB, and a life raft.

 

[MaxOut]

Two rules!
1. Aways have two of everything important!
2. Twin engines double the chance of a failure!

Which rule to violate?
I'd opt for the single on a bracket. Use some of the money you save to buy a SSB radio, towing insurance, an EPIRB, and a life raft.

I agree! Twins are nice but the weight and cost to maintain offset there value to me. Also twin engines with a single fuel tank is a big drawback. A true twin design needs twin fuel systems to be a true twin. The main advantage for twins to me would be close quarter manuverabillity.

 

[B-Faithful]

Unless you over power the boat, you wont be able to plane on one engine anyhow. Get a single with a kicker if you want. It is less expensive and most the time you can run home at the same speed you would with twins if you lose an engine. My last boat had twins and would do 8 knots on one but would run over 40 knots WOT

 

[mrGeeze]

My home port is Hatteras NC Mostly I fish the Gulf Stream out of Hatteras or Oregon Inlet. The shortest run to 30 fathoms is 18 nautical miles & the longest I make is about 40 miles. I usually troll 4-8 hours each trip.

Mostly I drag bait (ballyhoo) and lures fishing for dolphin, tuna, wahoo, billfish (i wish). I troll around 1800rpm & go 6-10 knots depending on current.

I repowered my boat in February. I have about 80 hours on the new motor.

After much consideration (twins, size etc) i opted for a single 150hp yamaha 4 stroke. I also purchased Sea Tow Insurance. I try hard to respect the efforts of the commercial guys & charter captain I run into on the water. You never know when you'll need friends out there.

I only fish the pretty days offshore. Repeat- I only fish the pretty days.

My boat makes 22knots at 4000 rpm. Thats normally as fast as i need to go in the ocean. Wide open (about 5200) she'll make 30knots. Very rarely can I run her that hard. Honestly, I no longer care if you get to the dock 15 minutes before me.

On a normal day I burn around 30 gallons of fuel. At that burn rate I can afford to fish any day I want. With fuel, bait & Ice Its about $150-$200 a day to fish my boat. 3 guys can handle that pretty easy.

I think twins might be nice but it turn a $10-12k re-power into a 25k wallet thumper. Then you have to run & maintain them. So far I'm pleased as punch with the single.

Now if I could just get a blue marlin hooked on that shotgun bait.

Catch 'em up

 

[TheOtherLine]

If you're looking to twins for "get home" safety, I'd look at a single motor paired with a high-thrust kicker.

Good luck!

I have a single 250fs on a bracket. There have been a few times when out 100 miles or so when I start thinking about what I would do If I lost the engine. I have all the safety equipment and Sea Tow, but that's a long tow!

How would the mounting setup work? What would be some of the disadvantages other than cost and added weight?

I've never heard of a "high thrust" kicker. Who makes those? What size would you need to push a 2520?

 

[B-Faithful]

I've never heard of a "high thrust" kicker. Who makes those? What size would you need to push a 2520?

Look at the Merc Big Foot or Pro Kicker:

http://www.mercurymarine.com/engines/ou ... .php?ID=67

Of course Merc makes all necessary marine motors!

 

[Megabyte]

Yamaha 9.9 high thrust.
http://www.edsmarinesuperstore.com/yamaha.htm

 

[TheOtherLine]

Hmmm...I'd like to see a picture of how that kicker would tie into the existing steering. Isn't there someone on this site who has a kicker? I thought I remember seeing that pic somewhere.

With the price of fuel being what it is, I am doing fewer 150-200 mile trips but it sure would be nice to have a backup. Even new, reliable Yamaha motors get visits from the mechanical gremlins....

I need to ponder on this one...

 

[skipperhub]

I agree with the 250 and the kicker combo. You know even with dual motors there is always the possibility that your problem will be an issue with the fuel or the fuel system, which is a common source of problems, and both engines are basically operating on the same system. Use a seperate fuel supply for the kicker.
An argument for two engines is that if they are widely spaced on the platform you can get a great deal of manuverability without even touching the steering wheel.
You will burn a lot more gas with two engines if that is a consideration. Your maintenance bill will be literally twice the amount of one engine.

Capt Hub