3,4,5 or even 6 outboards on fancy fishing boats?

So a got a free subscription to few mags, including "Boating". Its mostly about fancy cabinless fishing boats with multiple outboards.

I can see having two outboards, for redundancy (although I hear thats not the issue it used to be) or because you want to still have outboard qualities but they don't make a single unit big enough, but wuz up with having a big row of outboards??? All these boats are offered with one or two options for "installed power". Its not like they are selling outboard-ready boat because their new owners want total freedom to make weird choices in motors. To me it looks like some maybe wartime stop gap measure, or a similar esthetic to gold plated AK-47.

These cabinless boats are supposed to be for serious derby offshore fishing, mostly show with huge fishing poles, etc. Papa Hemingway's custom fishing boat had a low transom with a ROLLER to help land the big ones. Are all the Big Ones long gone so now you put a row of big outboards across the stern?

None of the ads (or articles) show or mention any fishing boat with a lot of outboards trolling with just one motor in the water and the other 3 kicked up. In fact, none show any "kicker" motors either.

This all seems to be marketed very much to the crowd that has a checkbook instead of a tool box. Wouldn't inboard motors be more appealing?

Typical example: Grady-White | Canyon 376 Center Console https://www.gradywhite.com/models/center-consoles/canyon-376/

 

It really baffles me. Every boatbuilder and his dog seems to have jumped on the band waggon to supply quad engined over-sized (compared to what used to be the norm) centre console sports fishing boats.
And when you have 1,700 hp on tap from 4 x 425 hp O/B's, and a base price often over US$1 million, I do wonder if they will be able to find enough customers to buy all these boats.

And Squidly's example is not the biggest in the range from Grady White - they also build a 45' version.
Grady-White | Canyon 456 Center Console https://www.gradywhite.com/models/center-consoles/canyon-456/
She has 4 x 425 hp Yamahas - best cruising speed on the plane is 30 mph at 3,500 rpm, and getting 0.68 mpg - best mpg is only a bit more (0.89 mpg) at 9.4 mph / 1,500 rpm.

 

I share your confusion. On another boating forum I participate in, they talk about this all the time. It seems that people who do a a lot of offshore fishing in both center consoles and sport fisherman have really bought into this multiple outboard thing, even on boats in the 30 and 40 foot range. Baffles me too. Personally I see nothing wrong with 2 or 3 but 4? 6? that's very strange. And what ever happened to inboards. The only real advantage I see is, that if something goes wrong with an engine, it's easier to have it hauled off and worked on while you can use the others to still go fishing, but you can do that with only 2. Maybe it's a power thing. The big boats need the power of big inboards, but the buyer favors outboard and the only way to achieve enough power is stack on the outboards. Still, as was said, baffles me.

 

You can't argue with fashion. It sells more stuff than any logic ever will.

 

"And that's the truth!" Lily Tomlin

 

I could see using 3,4,5 or even 6 big outboards on a medium sized planing landing craft, because that would be a way to add max-power while keeping shallow draft, and you could add/subtract as mission dictates, and they would automatically kick up when you hit the beach at planing speed to land your guys on dry land , or keep running even after some are battle damaged, but I can't imagine anyone wanting to listen to 3 or more outboards on a fishing boat.

All these boats are sold for deep water off shore use, so ability to run in shallows or kickup not needed, and the ability to easily swap motors doesn't seem to be a factor. AFAIK, these modern outboards will last about the useful life of these boats, or at least pretty equal to gas inboards.

I'm also not hearing about any new handling breakthrough provided by having a row of smaller props that all turn together, but I don't think any niffty turning is sought after in off-shore sport fishing.

I could see this having been a fad and one-up-manship contest in the 1950s-80s, particularly in the Monster Truck or Odds-Rods and nouveau riche but seems dated and out of touch for today.

I'm predicting in another year the price curve of low-hours 400+hp outboards will roughly match that of "spinners" rims.

 

How do you drive to your 8 outboard center console without spinner wheels?

 

Power steering.

 

It is, of course, ridiculous, has everything to do with "look at me" and little to do with practical need. I guess rev limiters on outboards encourages it, before that was a feature, the more outboard of these multiple motors would be aerating madly in rough water, and be useless.

 

My understanding is most boats with multiple outboards have the number of engines to achieve the desired speed, frequently over 60 knots. If a boat needs 1500 HP to achieve the desired speed and outboards are to be used then the choices are three 527 HP outboards, four 400 HP outboards or five 300 HP outboards. Whether the desired speed is "needed" depends on how "needed" is defined and who is deciding.

Also keep in mind that there are now "center console" boats over 50 foot in length with weights close to if not over 10 tons. Going 60 knots in a 10 ton boat takes power.

 

Well, most of the time 60 knots offshore would have the boat out of the water more than in it, and the only thing that allows it, is rev limiting, or the engines out wide of the centreline, would blow pretty quickly. Fuel consumption would be ridiculous, the ride would be brutal, and I reckon most of the time would be backed off to more like 30 knots.

 

To travel at 60 knots in a 50 foot boat offshore, you need to be strapped in, in an enclosed space, otherwise your toupee would need to be super-glued on, and you'd get a case of wind-burn the doctors would have to treat.

 

The people in the "small package trade" like them. First one I ever saw like that was in the early '80s in the Adriatic on a "cigarette" boat.

 

It is a real shame that there is only a 'like' button on here - it would be nice if we could have some smilies as well, or at least one that is laughing. The comments above are real gems. And so true.

 

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