Twin engine handling

[peter 24/7]

I have posted threads and read others on performance / economy of Twin set up's v single, but my question is:

handling, is there much difference ? Close quarter manouevring is better I believe, but what about at speed and dare I say it when you land after taking some air.

I will be mostly cruising, so top end speed is not the major factor, safety is, hence twin set up.

[Pitkis]

I'd say that there's no major difference. The difference is merely depending on the boat than engine installation. Taking air is the same, no major difference. One Yamaha dealer said me once that their duoprop special version Yamaha 150 did cause some safety problems after landing due two counter props in one shaft, but if we speak about ordinary OBs, you don't have to worry.

[Jono]

I looked at twin installation on the grounds that if one dies I can still come home on the other at reasonable speed. Then someone with an awful lot of experience politely asked if I had any idea how a twin set-up handles on one engine? I ended up ordering one big single and an auxilliary... (not from the guy who gave me the advice by the way!)

[PeterL]

So how does the boat handle on 1 engine ?

[Brian]

There are some knowledgeable posters on here who can tell you definatively.
In essence, I understand that you place the engines as far apart as possible for handling-esp. at low speed, but close together if racing.
The racing boys can tell you much more about one engine failing, but I assume this is only a "get you home" anyway.