1 engine vs 2
 

hey all i have a 27ft fletcher v hull with fixed surface drive and single yanmar diesel 440 running about 60mph i was thinking of upgrading to twin 440s on fixed surfacedrives
would the xtra weight kill the boat
or is twin fixed drives adviseable
i would like to hear your what you guys think and what kind of speeds i would get
should i or should i not
o the current all in weight is 5000lbs
cheers gerard

How much does that Yanmar 440 weigh? We had a 26' with twin 350's and it didn't mind the weight on the transom at all. The boat ran great, but I'm guessing that the diesels weigh a bit more than a SBC.

I would imagine the cost of converting would be prohibitive.

Why not just put a 700HP 540 in it and enjoy?

With one surface drive?

Why not, it's a rudder boat, should handle pretty well around the docks.

Yes, but probably not at 80+ mph.
700 hp by cca 5.500 lb will be probably 85 mph or more.
I am hear, that two classic surface drives are the best of the best, but one it is "murder" for fast boats.

thanks for your replys guys
i had thought of one big v8 but at todays gas prices over here is $10 a gallon
the fixed drive im using at present is brilliant at low speeds tho anything over 50 in a chop becomes hard work
the diesel engine is 1000lbs i can cruise at 50mph for 20miles and use 5 gallon of diesel witch costs less than $4 dollars a gallon

cheers gerard

Well you know you'll have to do a lot of transom work for twins but I say go for it. You could drop down to 370s and save some weight too.