Twins to be or not to be
 

I am new to boating and looking to up grade. I had a Baja 202 Islander and now looking to go up in size. I was first looking to go to a 25 Outlaw and now thinking of going to 29 or 30 with twins!!! Can someone help me with the pros and cons!! And give me some advice!! Is it go big or go home?:cartman:

Biggest downfall with twins. 2 of everything to break and maintain. I have a 272 sr1 with twins and I love it. Of course it is a smallblock boat so cheaper than big blocks.

2nd downfall to twins especially side by side. It's a b*tch to work on sometimes.

Pros- lose 1 you an still get home. Usually easier at the dock. Not that a small single is hard at the dock.

Love the twins and gonna keep it till I get to a 35-38 with twin big blocks.

Just my take

Depends on where and what kinda boating you want to do, I had a 24 Formula and a 27 Formula with a single, we wished we skipped the 27 and went into the current 30ft with twins, I boat alot 80-100 hours this year wound up being around 85 hours almost identical to last year, cost me about 1200 more in gas, but worth ever penny, its nice cruising at 50/55 mph and not feeling like your straining the boat, as mentioned above the maintence is double and can be very hard due to the lack of room,, I got a guy thou LOL:lolhit:

Hey mike....I know about a soon to be radically customized twin bb 357sr1 that just might be available come summer time:party-smiley-004:

Bigger boat, bigger water. If it is a heavy vee, then big water days in a single become glass days for you. Your boating season just got double/tripled....unless you can't afford fuel....then it got cut in half.

As above, you can limp home on one if you have a failure with twins.

With the single.....cheaper to run, maintain and insure. But, you are the basic minivan at the stoplight.

Sb or bb twins With through-hull always brings a crowd at the dock.....ramp....

I have a good mix of both.....and hands down, I enjoy 25' up twins over a single anything. Just me....

tells us how you use your boat?

Family

How many people

Poker runs

Trailer it alot

Tow rig

Rough water

Stay overnight

etc.

Where you boat is relevant as well. If you are boating the smaller inland lakes a single 20-25 footer is perfect. Now if you are boating any body of water such as the Great Lakes or Ocean type waters you will want to be in the 30 foot range. Just my 2 cents.

Hmmmm wonder what boat that is. No doubt it will be nice as hell. My 272 gonna have to do me a few more years till I I ish redoing it ten i can step up.

skip the 25 and go for some thing over 30 u wont regret it. it will be a much better ride and more options. the down side with twins for me was the gas, i stop keeping track when we hit 3,000 and that wasnt even half way throw the season.... :eek:

+1.....and our season is year-round.....

B.O.A.T. Bring out another thousand......and that is just a fillup:eekdrop:

Like they said above. We need more info. The biggest thing is money. How big of a boat? How old are you going? If you find something right at 30 foot with older 454 mags, 365-385HP, I would think you would be better off with a higher HP single in the upper 20 foot range. Half the moving parts, much better on gas, and might even perform better, except you might give up the quality of the ride. If you are currently at about 20 feet, what about a 25-29 with some HP? That size boat can be extremely fun with a single engine over 500HP on a budget.

No singles. Twins only. :lolhit: they are just cooler. Especially if you find some stock small blocks. Parts are cheap. Fuel at cruise isn't bad. Once I get finished with my floscan sensor installs ill be able to give you exact numbers. Most 27ish with twins will run around 55-65 depending on hull. Actually Diego on here has a nice twin engine nova for sale on a trailer fairly cheap. Needs power and drives. Might be worth a look as you can put what you want to it an you'll know your motors and drives are fresh. Could make for less headaches.

stock efi twins are cheaper and less maintance cost than a single high h/p motor. dont let the maintance and such scare you at all. as for fuel economy... running same boat single or twins and trying to achieve the same speeds. the twins is way better and cheaper on fuel. i have both a single and a twin for sale 28 ft pantera. wave crushing machines!!

I had a 290 power quest i sold a year ago with twin 454mpi's 45mph cruise, 70mph wot and 2.7mph regardless of speed.won't find better reliability than low hp twins.

this is true, current boat has twin 502 EFI's old boat had a single 502 carbed, there definitely easier on fuel, that's probably why my fuel cost didn't dbl

and the 502mpi's make plenty of reliable turn key power

twins are always good to have... it is way much cooler than others.. but double the problem...

My 27 has a 454 carbed and is about 7k lbs my donzi has 500 hp twins and is about 12k and the gas is a big difference. But the ride,cruseing speed and top end is also a big difference so it is all about what u r looking for. Big boat + big motors = big money just the way it is. If u r looking to save money then get out of boating. Lol

One thing I've noticed, firing one single big block with headers sounds cool and gets attention, but when you fire the second engine you turn heads.

:lolhit::lolhit::lolhit::lolhit: True statement :lolhit::lolhit::lolhit::lolhit::lolhit:

find a 30' or under with twin small blocks like 29 Formula, 29 Fountain, 29 Scarab and you'll be happy.
I have a 25'7 boat with twin EFI small blocks and fuel economy is great compared to BB. Smart Craft flow scan shows 7 gal/hr per engine at 3000 rpm ,crusing 40 mph. WOT @5000 rpm is about 20 gal/hr per engine ,max 75mph. Twin small blocks give extra space between the engines compared to BB.If you boat further off shore, twins provide the extra security, for sure

http://www3.telus.net/spectrasonly/E...ect%20complete

If you compare apples to apples, say a single HP500 or 525 EFI to twin small blocks the maintenance is a wash.

It's really hard to compare a single engine 25 footer to a bigger with twins. That's all over the map.

My opinion though... once you have twins you probably won't want to go back.

Like I told you befor. Go 28+ with twins. Save your self from buying bigger and twins in a few years.

^^ what he said ^^

If you can swing it go twins.

not all boats have room!!! change sea pumps on a twin small block formula 272sr1 and your eyes will be bleeding from standing on your head. on the other hand i can reach the oil drain plugs and starters in my 28 pantera twin big blocks with ease. stick with stock power and you wont be working on them all the time

Like many have said depends on where you are boating, and what you want to do.

I started with a Baja 190, then went to the 260 thinking it would be big enough for Lake Michigan but still able to get it into the little lake. The 260 was no where big enough for Lake Michigan on most days unless the waves were under 2 foot. So we ended up with the 280.

Going from a 24-25' single and a 30' twin is a big jump in boat size. Even these 28' single boats like the Sunsation don't compare in size to a 30' twin.

If you are going to be in any kind of big water go with the twins. Maint, and gas is not that bad unless you are running WFO all the time. Yes working on a twin engine boat is not as easy as a single, but it's not impossible. I'm am no mechanic and actually I hate working on engines, but I can do it in my boat.

Also knowing that if something breaks you have a second engine to get home with. Hearing what some people pay for a tow when they need it, the twins pay for them selves :drink:
Real windy day with a current at the dock, and you will love twins.

But if you are just a river boater, or small lake boater. A single 25 would be a great boat. And something like a 25 Outlaw is plenty capable of big water from time to time.

I really hate twins, I`m going back to a single...

SAID NO ONE EVER!!

\

truth.

came from a Baja 252 single 454 Mag.

now baja 342, twin 496 mags....

boat cruses faster, at same RPM
rides like a caddy unless in some RUFF stuff in the gulf
5 times the room
does use more gas. BUT its relative, its not 2 times as much. they are working less. IT DOES suck it down at WOT though haha.

:lolhit::lolhit::lolhit: So true!

Buy what you can afford!!! I know some people that got way in over their heads and can't afford gas in the boat. Don't blow all of your money on the purchase price either. Once you buy the boat then you start buying everything else: pay sales tax, get insurance, new dock lines, fenders/bumpers, anchor, life jackets, a cooler that fits and matches the boat, matching towels to lay on the seats or hatch, fresh oil change in the drive and engine, new impeller, tune-up: new cap, rotor, wires, spark plugs, PVC valve, fuel filter, new trailer tires, brakes, and repack the wheel bearings, upgrade the stereo, and any unforseen breakdowns in the first year. It is not cheep as we all know.

you just made a list of what i have blown all my money on this year. haha. bought a new boat, and in 2 months dropped 5-6k on **** for it. but its pretty set up now.

I had a 23 Baja with a 454. Nice boat, just wanted to go bigger and faster. I moved up to a 27 Fountain with a single 502. Better boat, better ride and faster. I came across a deal and moved up to a 29 Fountain with a single 500hp. Better ride, faster, and more room in the cockpit. I got the "bigger and better" bug again and decided to go 32' to 35' with twins. I am now in a 35 Fountain Lightning with 500hp's. The gas is not that much more than the 29' with the single. I LOVE THE TWINS AND WILL NEVER GO BACK TO A SINGLE. Docking is a breeze and the sound of the twins turns heads. The engine compartment has plenty of room to work on the engines. I do all of my maintenance, oil, filters, plugs, etc, and I can get into the engine compartment with ease and do not have to stand on my head to get to things. I boat on Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia so the water does'nt get that rough except on holiday weekends and the ride is great.
Just my .02

In most cases, I would think the biggest advantage would be having your power running through 2 Bravo drives, rather than worrying about putting big HP through a single Bravo, or spending a bunch more on a beefier drive. Just about everyone on here with a larger single engine boat appears to run into drive issues at some point, a pair of 496's or 502's with Bravo 1's would be pretty much the same cost up front as a single blue motor and fancy drive, and easier/ more affordable to deal with given the same size/ weight boat.

If you run in big water, or true offshore, having the piece of mind of an extra engine and drive makes it a no-brainer if you can afford the fuel.

Also, If you tow, especially longer distances, don't forget about the bigger tow rig and fuel cost needed just to get to the water if you move up from a 25' to a 30'+ boat.

i dont get why everyone is scared of a cost in fuel in twins vs single... heres an example. 96 single 548ci 650 hp 28 pantera went 68mph and got 1.5 mpg. my 94 twin stock efi 502mag goes 77mph and gets 2.5mpg so where is this massive fuel consumption ????

Never understood it either.

For me it was a big difference but I went from 360 hp to 1000 hp on my old boat went to kelleys from my dock and back 4 times on $100. My new boat can make it only one time there and back.

Fuel consumption isn't complete witch craft, can't it be somewhat "calculated"? I believe 1 hp takes .008 gph to make as a general estimate. So at any given cruise speed whatever power it takes to move it is what it's burning. Twins add weight and additional drag through a second drive so it will take a little more fuel, but probably not too noticeably much.

However, this takes no consideration for efficiencies of the engine at different RPM's as well as carb vs efi etc which will alter this. So if you have twin EFI's at more efficient rpm's to make the total power than a carbed single I'm sure you can get better efficiency.

twins may add more weight but way less prop slip resulting in lower rpm higher cruising speeds