T&T: Trawler versus motoryacht

[C. Marin Faure]

 >It all makes sense except the dual engines. Why would anyone want  
twice the maintenance, twice the oil at oil change etc, etc.  Since  
most engine failures are fuel related; two dead engines are the same  
as one dead engine.

All the people I know who have had to shut an engine down, including  
ourselves, have had to do so because of cooling problems.  I have not  
yet personally met anyone in our area who's had an engine shut down  
due to a fuel problem.  The people with twins, including ourselves,  
came home on the other engine.  The people with singles and sailboats  
came home on the end of a rope, and in one case I know about went  
onto the rocks before a tow could arrive.

I'm not saying that fuel problems are less likely to occur than a  
cooling problem, nor am I saying that two engines are better than  
one.  I'm just saying that assuming both engines in a twin will  
usually have problems at the same time due to fuel is not a smart  
assumption to base a single vs twin boat-buying decision on.


____________________
C. Marin Faure
GB36-403 "La Perouse"
Bellingham, Washington