what size twins for a skagit?

[Bob Bobbers]

in reviewing all the old ads for 20' skagits I see that they all came with dual outboards. Usually in the 18 hp range. if I wanted to mount twin out boards, what do you think would be the minimum size that would really work?.
I have 2 40 hp oil injected yamaha's I am thinking of hanging..??

[Lootas1]

If I had a pair of good Yamaha 40's, I'd sure put them on there but that's just one man's unprofessional opinion. I'm running a 50 hp 'Rude on a Skagit Express 17 and it pushes us as fast as we care to go and is quite economical. Suppose some of the experts in the club might have some question about the weight of 2 40s. I feel certain others will be checking in soon with the most sound advice.

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

Twins on Skagit 20

Your two Yamaha 40's would be okay, but not overwhelming in terms of hull speed. If I was starting from scratch with twins on a Skagit 20, and money was no object (ha!), I'd consider twin four-stroke 60hp outboards...since one of them could get you up on a plane (barely) if you had trouble with the second engine and needed to get home in a relative hurry.

Back in the late 1950's, I think some of the Skagit 20's featured two Johnson 35's for power (in advertisements), rather than 18's...since twin 18's might not even be capable of planing the hull, especially with any kind of load.

- Marty

[bruceb]

Bob-
Marty's assessment of twin power on a 20 Skagit hull is spot on.
We had a family friend with a 17 Skagit Express with twin 35 Evinrudes and it was adequately powered, but once loaded up with family and gear, just didn't have the speed. Although back in the day the twin 35s ( like Perry Masin's boat !) were prevalent on 20 foot Skagits, it didn't take long for Mercury, OMC to develop more appropriate ( larger) engines for the weekend cruisers. I have a wonderfully illustrated vintage Johnson ad that shows an 18' wood cruiser powering along with captain and three passengers aboard going out for an evening cruise. With a single 35hp motor. A joke on the poor guy out shopping for a boat/motor combo !
We started out with a single 50hp Johnson "fat fifty" and repowered with a 90hp Golden Meteor in 64.
A So. Cal Skagiteer, Doug Anderson, uses twin 50 four stroke Mercs on his 20 Express. When using these cruisers in salt/tidal waters, a single 40 or 50hp is adequate to power back after losing one, considering the added weight and drag of having two motors mounted. I'd go with Marty, under the idea being "if price were no object, etc.", twin 60 s !
bruceb

[Sammamish1]

The 18 ft Bell Boy I have was sold as new with twin 35 HP Johnson's The owner switched to twin Merc 50's as soon as they were available.

I am going to be pushing it around now with a single 60 HP four stroke so I think two 60's would serve you quite well.

[Bflaherty]

in reviewing all the old ads for 20' skagits I see that they all came with dual outboards. Usually in the 18 hp range. if I wanted to mount twin out boards, what do you think would be the minimum size that would really work?.
I have 2 40 hp oil injected yamaha's I am thinking of hanging..??

Bob, I would agree with Marty as far as "ideal" like he stated "if money was no object"... I think if you already have twin 40's, start with those and see how the boat performs. The yamaha's are typically a little lighter then their older counterparts so you may see better performance than one might think...

[McSkagit Tim Jones]

Powering a Skagit 20

The Skagit 20 is fairly heavy. I once saw one as a kid with two V-50's.

I have this story from a cruising magazine (i'll have to go down to the boat to get it to quote exact details). Cruise up the Columbia with a pair of Skagit 20's.
About 1958.

One of the 20's had two 35's and the other had two 35's plus an 18 in the middle. So the story goes, the twin 35's were adequate unless heavily loaded and/or in heavy chop or tide rips, in which case the three motored 20 performed better. Pretty much a case of brute power being better in difficult conditions.

The Skagit 20 seems to have good flotation aft, so the weight of the motors isn't so critical as on other makes and models...

I'm always in favor of having a bit more power than you might think you need, because the boats just don't get any lighter, nor do the owners....
and in rough conditions, you need all the power you've got.

If I were to restore a Skagit 20 (and I'd like to) I'd put three 1957 Javelin 35's on it! Oh, I love complexity!

Tim

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

Skagit 20 Power...

Tim -

Everybody knew you were a glutton for punishment after spending 20 years restoring the 31 Saratogan...but now you're doubling-down. Keeping three 1957 Johnson 35's running (more or less in sync) confirms that you love a good...uh...challenge.

- Marty

[McSkagit Tim Jones]

Tim -

Everybody knew you were a glutton for punishment after spending 20 years restoring the 31 Saratogan...but now you're doubling-down. Keeping three 1957 Johnson 35's running (more or less in sync) confirms that you love a good...uh...challenge.


- Marty

Ah yes, but the sound of those three engines in sync is music to my (my hearing is gone) ears!

[bruceb]

Oh, this is definitely getting complicated, Tim and Marty....
I used to think that the most beautiful sound was a P-51 zipping by at a low altitude .... until a few years ago I saw a video of a Lancaster Bomber with 4 Rolls Royce Merlins !

bruceb

[Sammamish1]

Bruce,

P38 Lightning for me. BEEYOUTIFULL!

[DMCI]

Merlins in Boats

Many of you will remember Stan Borsen and the KOMO folks covering the Hydro Races on tv in the late fiftys. He even named his low and slow no-mo after the boat and the station.

Well anyway in those days the big Allisons and Merlins were run in the unlimiteds.

Early SLO-MO with large piston engine, mainly the Allison.



Merlins were introduced in 1954 and were still running as late as 1970, here in Miss BUD:



My Dad said the sound on the lake took him back to his Air Corp days.

You types who understand technical issues, will appreciate the design problems of engineers who faced the problem of getting the torgue and speed of the big power plants into a two blade six inch wheel. (notice the prop shaft on the SLO MO.)

My understanding is that THE GEAR WORKS-Seattle used Hardened and Ground Super precision gearing to solve the problem under the direction of Engineer Don McVitte and others.

[McSkagit Tim Jones]

Unlimited hydro engines and gears

The Allison and Rolls Merlins were turned around so that the induction system was on the front of the boat. I don't know who built the gears, but they were on average a three to one overdrive ratio. So the engine, turning 3000 RPM were producing propeller speeds around 9000-10,000 rpm.

The horsepower to weight ratio of the early Unlimiteds was impressive. 3500 horsepower in a 7000 pound boat. Two pounds per horsepower! Compare this to 60's muscle cars with ten pounds per horsepower.....

[Dave C]

The Allison and Rolls Merlins were turned around so that the induction system was on the front of the boat. I don't know who built the gears, but they were on average a three to one overdrive ratio. So the engine, turning 3000 RPM were producing propeller speeds around 9000-10,000 rpm.

The horsepower to weight ratio of the early Unlimiteds was impressive. 3500 horsepower in a 7000 pound boat. Two pounds per horsepower! Compare this to 60's muscle cars with ten pounds per horsepower.....

Western Gear in Seattle custom built the gearboxes. It took several versions to get them right. I believe they also made the quill shafts for the blowers.

[DMCI]

It seems things have changed over the years. My impression is that 35 twins for a time was the biggest O/B power you could buy. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)

My Dad's company had a Skagit 24 express with twin 100s on it. But apparently this was before counter rotaters (???)

Today for relatively light deep V, you might see this.