Buying boat with two engines or one with mainly canal journeys

[jadcoz]

im new here so please go easy on me, looking at travelling and mooring on the french canals on a steel boat we are buying early next year, 100% of our journeys will be down canals and i do see that many people say a single engine is what i need but some people have twi engines and only use one but have greater reliability maybe in case of prop catching weeds or objects ? please may i have your views please, i think im going down the single engine route as i dont want to be adjusting constantly to keep it straight if that is indeed the case - all points of view welcome on my first post . Having canal holidays in france for 15 years we are finally taking the plunge and buying and im not afraid to admit its. slightly petrifying!

 

[Tranona]

Welcome. Reliability is really not an issue. Some might argue that twins are useful on seagoing boats, but most reliability problems with modern engines are fuel so there needs to be separate sytems. In reality twins are used mostly because the power requirement to get planing performance cannot be met by a single engine. Certain styles of boat only work with twins.

However for slow displacement speeds in canals a single is preferred. Even if the engine does stop it is hardly life threatening. Displacement boats don't need a lot of power and the hull form lends itself to a single central engine. You also avoid the issue related to mooring where the sides of the canals are shallow and sometimes you can't actually get alongside with an exposed prop nearer the side of the boat, or suffer damage to the propeller. The running on one engine is one way of accommodating a set up that is unsuitable for canals and is maybe justified if the boat is essentially a sea based cruiser just using the canal to transit, say to the Med.

So go with the simplicity of a single engine and look after it.

 

[PaulRainbow]

im new here so please go easy on me, looking at travelling and mooring on the french canals on a steel boat we are buying early next year, 100% of our journeys will be down canals and i do see that many people say a single engine is what i need but some people have twi engines and only use one but have greater reliability maybe in case of prop catching weeds or objects ? please may i have your views please, i think im going down the single engine route as i dont want to be adjusting constantly to keep it straight if that is indeed the case - all points of view welcome on my first post . Having canal holidays in france for 15 years we are finally taking the plunge and buying and im not afraid to admit its. slightly petrifying!

Would definitely be a single engine for me, for your use.

 

[vyv_cox]

By far the biggest problem we encountered during our transit of Canal du Midi was blocking of the engine coolant skin fitting with dead leaves stirred up off the bottom. You need an easy means of rodding through from inside the boat. At the time we had a strainer above the seacock, easy to remove the lid and push a brazing rod through.

 

[Neeves]

We have twin engines, seagoing cat, if there is a failure in one engine then you can have a safe bet that the identical component on the other engine will soon play up. Redundancy really only works if you use one engine and only use the other occasionally. When engines have similar hours, similar problems.

Twin engines - great for manoeuvrability - but not a signifcant issue for your application. Easy to motor in a straight line with 2 engines, same as one.

Jonathan

 

[snowbird30ds]

For inland canals single for sure, for reliability worries buy a good anchor and maybe breakdown insurance of some sort and spend the rest of the thousands saved buying forum members beer, you find you even like some of them.

 

[Iliade]

Twins usually just mean twice the costs with minimal gains in reliability. In flying terms, the second engine is there solely to get you to the scene of the crash faster!

 

[jadcoz]

Welcome. Reliability is really not an issue. Some might argue that twins are useful on seagoing boats, but most reliability problems with modern engines are fuel so there needs to be separate sytems. In reality twins are used mostly because the power requirement to get planing performance cannot be met by a single engine. Certain styles of boat only work with twins.

However for slow displacement speeds in canals a single is preferred. Even if the engine does stop it is hardly life threatening. Displacement boats don't need a lot of power and the hull form lends itself to a single central engine. You also avoid the issue related to mooring where the sides of the canals are shallow and sometimes you can't actually get alongside with an exposed prop nearer the side of the boat, or suffer damage to the propeller. The running on one engine is one way of accommodating a set up that is unsuitable for canals and is maybe justified if the boat is essentially a sea based cruiser just using the canal to transit, say to the Med.

So go with the simplicity of a single engine and look after it.

thank you so much for your time

 

[Stemar]

Twins add a degree of manoeuvrability (one day I'll learn to spell that ), a big advantage for cats, a bit less so for a monohull but, for your needs, I reckon a single with a bow thruster would be a better - and cheaper - setup.

 

[ylop]

Redundancy really only works if you use one engine and only use the other occasionally. When engines have similar hours, similar problems.

That way you get double the fun! Troubleshooting an engine that has wear and tear problems AND troubleshooting an engine that has problems from sitting unused for long periods!

 

[Momac]

. Having canal holidays in france for 15 years we are finally taking the plunge and buying and im not afraid to admit its. slightly petrifying!

If from your own experience you are okay with single engine boat handling then go with that.

 

[ChromeDome]

Having done canals in several countries I must say that one engine is all you need.

My own twin diesel mobo doesn't fit canals very well, so always went threre by car, to pick up a local boat suited for the need.

On a different note, a bow and stern thruster is way more important when parking or manoeuvring in close quarters. It is much more useful, therefore important.

 

[boatmike]

Having transited the canals with a twin engined Aquastar I can attest that it is indeed possible but would endorse all that trenona says. Dont even consider only running on one engine in a twin engined boat. You will have to constantly steer off centre to avoid going around in circles. Single engine is certainly preferable for canal only use and frankly if you dont want to go to sea or are prepared to wait for calm conditions when you do you can buy a "river cruiser" with a smaller engine at a much lower price than a proper offshore cruiser. Lots for sale up and down the Thames and elsewhere.

 

[jadcoz]

Having transited the canals with a twin engined Aquastar I can attest that it is indeed possible but would endorse all that trenona says. Dont even consider only running on one engine in a twin engined boat. You will have to constantly steer off centre to avoid going around in circles. Single engine is certainly preferable for canal only use and frankly if you dont want to go to sea or are prepared to wait for calm conditions when you do you can buy a "river cruiser" with a smaller engine at a much lower price than a proper offshore cruiser. Lots for sale up and down the Thames and elsewhere.

thank you