Montauk Crossbow

Audiofn ,made a good point ,twins suck when you upgrade because every part has to be bought in pairs,so a nice set of stainless marine manifolds just went from 1650.00 to 3300.00 and thats just exhaust ,got to have deep pockets to feed them twins!!!But I wouldn't ever go back to a single now that I have twin BB's,just bite the bullet and do it,you won't regret it!!

jafo

I have two twin SBC powered boats: a 24' Formula 242LS ('86) with Alphas, and a 28' Active Thunder ('99) with Bravos. Been an owner of the Formula for 9 years. Both boats are 70+ boats.
My observations of twins in this size boat-
1) Twins will get you home when you have a problem (I have experience here). When things get quiet with a single, call seatow. They are also more manueverable, and the cool factor has already been mentioned. If you're on lake that doesn't get real rough, and a lot of people are around to help out, a single BBC would be fine, unless you like the cool factor of twins. I personally will never own a single-engine offshore boat.

2) SBC engines live longer than BBC's. They were designed to be a higher revving engine as well. They are also easily upgraded, stroked, or supercharged. A Whippled 350MagMPI has the same perf numbers as a HP500EFI, at a very low boost level.

3) Have never had a problem with the Alphas in the Formula, even with 360 hp engines. They share the load. If I keep the boat I will install a counter-rotating drive (port). Twins in a boat this small makes it transom heavy, but this was greatly improved by aluminum intakes and exhaust .

4) The AT is a very well balanced 'fly-level' boat with the twin SBC's (the boat is not offered with twin big blocks). I am a firm believer in BBC's giving boats this size a less-than-desirable center of gravity. I looked at Powerplay, Pantera, Sonic, and Cig 28's before buying the AT.
A twin Scorp powered 28' AT, Sonic, Donzi, or 29' Formula or Fountain will go 80+mph economically.
I know if I go bigger, I will be in big blocks. Small blocks do make great boat engines though!

Bo Knows

Bought my first boat with twins a couple of years ago. A 28 footer with twin big blocks. I could never go back to a single engined boat again. Why you ask ? Could it be the solid feeling it has going thru the water, the ease of docking, the ability to get home on one engine if need be, or maybe the extra speed & power, no my friend , it's none of these !! I don't know if I can put this into words properly because it's sort of a feeling or aura that can only be experienced by driving a boat with twins. It happened to me the first time I test drove the boat & I loved it !I think some of the other guys tried to explain it too, and I quote, Jafo called it " the cool factor " JT29 said " the sweet sound these make when running in sync " STEVE H notes " nothing sounds better than starting up 2 engines " RUSS calls it " awesome feeling that you get from having one motor running and having to fire up the second, how cool is that ! Put all this togeather, throw in some Tim the tool man Taylor logic, ARRG, ARRG, ARRG, and you get the twin engine boat mystic. You really have to drive one to know what we're talking about here. And as long as your going to buy a boat with twins, do you really want one with teeny, weenie, tiny small blocks, or one with GIGANTIC BIG BLOCKS !!! I know that the small blocks can be built to similar horsepower but you still have small blocks here. Wouldn't you rather tell everybody that 2 BIG BLOCKS are sittin under that hatch ?? Yes you would !! Well I hope this helps you make up your mind & I'll see you on Lake George In 6 months.

Bo Knows

Da Patriot

I have a 91 26' Nova with twin big blocks 454's and the boat is very stern heavy. The big blocks are 330's stock with silent choice. A guy at my marina had a 93 26' Nova with a single 502 magnum. His boat does 61 mph. My boat does 67 mph and it has bottom paint. I'm about to put some hopped up small blocks in mine to see if I can get better speeds. After owning both twin and single screw I recomend the twins. But Remeber everything you do cost double. But Steve H is right nothing sounds better.

mopower

Twins,Twins,Twins,
Got my first with twins three seaons ago. LOVE it. Like others have said cool sound when starting , better yet more manuverability when docking , and best of all...an extra engine to get you home.
Been there , done that. Last one was 22 miles at 10 pm at night. Didn't have to wait for BoatUS or SeaTow , or it probably would have been midnight

jafo

nice

Shanghied Again

But most small boats under 30ft don't Handle well with twin Big Blocks! Thats why they went small blocks. Or 1 Big block.
(2) 6.2s or 350s then Vortech,Procharge or Whipple.
also Scorpions work well

EriksonFL

My Dad had a 27' Mirage with twin 454's the boat was heavy but hauled balls. I have to disagree with the handling statement. The Mirage had a deep V that made it a champ in rough water.

Chris288

Where ya been for the last 4 years ???

Quiet Storm

I had a pair of 454 mag's with Whipples in this 28 Checkmate. It was hard to work on the motors but worth every skint knuckle when they fired up.