With the price of fuel going up a few of us with twins were talking about ways to save it. Is it okay to run one engine while the other bravo drive freewheels? I read on another site, but unsure of the type of drive, that this freewheeling without cooling can cause a problem with the drive, as in overheat and seize the gears? Can this happen at all on a bravo one outdrive? Obviously, we're just talking one engine runs through channels and no-wake zones, but could you cruise along for miles for any length of time or is this a no-no?!?

I can't imagine there should be any cooling required for a drive that is free wheeling. Plus it is already in the water so it should stay cool anyway. Not sure how much strain on the drive you would put by trying to "cruise" with one engine though. When I'm just idling around, I'll often only crank one engine. Much quieter that way too!

yeap...it's called neutral....will free wheel...

I lost a belt a few years ago and had the wrong size spare. Limped home (about 4-5 miles) on one motor.I did not have any other issues with the other engine and drive.

The heat in a free wheeling drive is nothing compared to a drive running wot, possibly with exhaust running through it. Remember, it's unloaded and you need friction to create heat. Not a problem. Cut the motor and let the prop spin.

In straight inboard vee drives the prophaft seal is water cooled with engine seawater. To be able to run on one engine they have a crossover hose that keeps water to both seals even if one engine is down. Bravos have none of these issues. The gearcase is submersed in oil and as such doesn't mind free wheeling, I do it all the time.

So last year I had an issue with 1 motor - twin 496's with bravo 3's. ....I ended up running from the CT river to Long island on 1 motor while I was troubleshooting the other...couldn't fix it and ended up running all the way home on 1 motor....wouldn't do it purposely again, since we only ran around 8mph...long slow ride...and too much strain on the 1 motor.

Last summer, I broke a throttle cable on the port side.

My alphas aren't tied together, so I raised the drive and continued with my weekend.

It was a little sluggish getting on plane, but it cruised nice and easy once it was up.

I've thought about doing this more often, for the fuel savings.

Pushing the stick that much farther forward on one engine will use the same amount of fuel as running them both at lower rpms.
Idling on one engine in gear will save about $2 worth of fuel and take twice as long. Not to mention the PS pump is on only one engine.

and if that 6 bucks worth of fuel weighs that heavily on your mind while you are out supposedly enjoying yourself, i would suggest that you aren't enjoying yourself very much.