Of inboards and torque and outboards and eurotransoms......................

[SEASWIRL PAUL]

Doesn't an 8.1 liter inboard have more torque than twin 3.0 liter outboards? Isn't torque important when moving a heavy boat?

Why does a 32 foot walkaround cuddy with twin outboards have less deckspace than a 25 foot flushdeck inboard?

Better yet, why do we keep buying these boats and motors?



As I said before a eurotransom is a waste of space. You will instantly gain 32 or more square feet of transom space by moving the outboards aft on a bracket.

Just got back from the boat show and 99% of the boats I saw with outboards have a eurotransom.

Twin outboards are running upwards of 40K now when a 8.1 liter inboard is only about 15K installed and has more torque!

I guess people who like speed like outboards.
I just prefer to get up a half hour earlier and save a ton on gas.

Another thing I want to B**** about is the cost of marine diesel motors. If they werent twice as much initially I'd probabally buy one in my next boat.


What do you guys think? Paul

[evernic]

I think it must be really cold where you are and you have cabin fever........

[Denis]

You are correct, the cost of a marine diesel engine is quite high but they are built to such higher standards and the simplicity of a diesel can't be beat. Keep the fuel clean and that is pretty much it, the engine will run without a problem. I checked my diesel fuel consumption from last year, the gallons of fuel bought and the hours I used the boat and I arrived at 5.6 gallons of fuel per hour. Not bad for a 28' boat that cruises at 22 knots, loaded with all our junk. My old gas boat was 26' and used 15 gallons of gas per hour, that difference is a big deal to me. I can't say if it's worth the additional cost, but it sure is worth the security and the power of a diesel. Just my opinion. Denis

[bsmit24]

small inboard gassers are in definite need of new engine tech. and more than the one or two models that are avaliable. I like the 5.7 and 7.4 but 30+ years is getting long in the tooth. But I guess that is why inboard gassers do not have such a high price, the R&D has long been paid for.

[Onewolf]

First of all, nice troll. I'm kind of bored so I'll bite.

All boats are tradeoffs. Duh.

Why does a 32 foot walkaround cuddy with twin outboards have less deckspace than a 25 foot flushdeck inboard?

Seriously doubt this. The eurotransom only adds 2-3 feet to the length so a better comparison would be between a 32 foot eurotransom and a 29-30 foot inboard. However the advantages of the outboard boat include: Much more storage space without an engine compartment, much less draft, much higher cruising speed, much better maneuverability, twin engines for limping home on one.

Are you talking about a true inboard or an IO?

I would like to see the MPG comparison of an 8.1 inboard versus twin 4-stroke (or DI) outboards on the same hull. I bet it would be very close because of the inefficiency of the inboard drive system. Numerous tests have shown that the same boat/engine combination will be 15-25% faster or more fuel efficient with an IO drive compared to a straight inboard.

I'm not a big fan of bracketed outboards. It's a longer reach to get rods/lines around them and it's usually easier to step out onto platform of a euro-transom than a bracketed boat. I've also seen more issues with bracketed outboards getting dunked (ingesting water) then with eurotransom boats.

A diesel IO would make for a nice fast fuel efficient boat for someone who dry stores their boat. I had a Mirage 32 CC with twin Volvo diesels and it was very nice, fast, and fuel efficient. Of course the twin Volvo KADP-44s were a $40K option so it's not a cheap option.

Doug -- http://www.onewolf.net --

[flyau98]

I love my eurotransom. It makes an excellent dive platform, I have easy access to the motor while at anchor, and have virtually no worries of taking water over the stern.

[bsmit24]

I will not coment on eurotransoms with outboards but those same hulls as inboards waste an awful lot of space! I understand the cost to have a second mold for the few inboards that they build but what a wast of space.

[micky]

I have a 20 Shamrock with a 100 hp diesel, my cruising speed is between 18-20 knots, all my friends have outboards in their boats and they fly to the places we go BUTTTTTT, I fill my boat every 2-3 month using it all weekends and they have to refill every 2-3 weeks. I just go out 10-15 minutes before them.

[chainsaw42]

to answer your second question, No.

[troll]

My GW 300 has 74 sf of cockpit space, a large transom fishbox, and a large bench seat which folds down when not in use. The free space inboards otherwise would occupy allows for 306 gallons of fuel and a double aft cabin berth under the helm deck. EVERY boat design is a tradeoff. I personally prefer large eurotransom outboards.

Did I mention there is almost zero smoke and I can carry on a conversation at normal speaking levels at the helm while running 28-30 kts?

[MikeM8560]

Read an article on volvos new Diesel and IPS drives. looks interesting.

http://ips.volvo.com/main.aspx

[bsmit24]

troll - 1/31/2006 9:14 PM

My GW 300 has 74 sf of cockpit space, a large transom fishbox, and a large bench seat which folds down when not in use. The free space inboards otherwise would occupy allows for 306 gallons of fuel and a double aft cabin berth under the helm deck. EVERY boat design is a tradeoff. I personally prefer large eurotransom outboards.

Did I mention there is almost zero smoke and I can carry on a conversation at normal speaking levels at the helm while running 28-30 kts?

I think that this is a little misleading because you are not comparing two 30' boats. If you include the eurotransom/bracket and the motors then that 30' boat with outboards is more like 35'. Especially if you measure from the skeg of a tilted motor then this comparison gets really lop sided.