Do you have a great vhf that you know how to use, an epirb, gps on a chart plotter, cell coverage where you go, life raft? How old is your outboard, fuel system, remotes. These are things that help answer your question.
mram,
Oct 23, 7:59pm
There is a fair bit of misconception of the purpose of an aux outboard IMO. Mostly used for trolling while fishing rather than an emergency backup. Generally going to be next to useless if your stuck out 20 miles off the coast in a rough sea. I would be investing in what mggd has mentioned firstly
aj.2.,
Oct 23, 8:10pm
Depends on the size of boat How far off shore you are going . Type of boat How well maintained is the main motor. A good sea anchor is well worth having instead of a aux motor, especially for alloy boats, as the wind can move them very easy, and take them off shore. But how many carry a set of Oars these days, now they can come in handy , more so if a motor breaks down , even if only to hold you off the rocks. A single oar set up at the stern , can move a boat into the wind if necessary, will stream line it a bit , as side on can catch the wind , also the oars will hold you head onto the waves. While you may not Make forward motion , that oar can do so much , in the right hands.
alfred011,
Oct 23, 9:13pm
They get in the way when fishing and upset the balance of the boat,thats why you join coastguard ,fit a vhf radio and get a tow home a small auxillary is of very little use in the the sea unless it is dead flat with no wind .
sr2,
Oct 23, 9:15pm
Epirb and a liferaft?
moltenfire,
Oct 23, 10:49pm
I suspect that the OP has a fairly low value of his own life.
bwg11,
Oct 24, 8:48am
I consider an auxiliary essential if you are off-shore in a sparsely populated area. Even if you have VHF (or cell coverage) help may not arrive in time. For example, it is easy to wrap a line around a prop when picking up cray pots. Invariably you will be close to rocks and there always seems to be an on-shore wind. In these situations you need an auxiliary which will start instantly.
For auxiliary use choose a two-stroke - lighter and being oily will tolerate long periods of storage than a four-stroke which are more prone to storage issues like stuck valves. If you intend to use it for trolling - choose a four-stroke - the stink of a two-stroke when trolling down wind is most unpleasant - even on 100:1 mix.
bumfacingdown,
Oct 24, 8:54am
" For example, it is easy to wrap a line around a prop when picking up cray pots. Invariably you will be close to rocks and there always seems to be an on-shore wind" And with an aux motor the man will never know you were near his pots
bma.33,
Oct 24, 9:19am
thanks everyone we fish in the hauraki gulf main motor is 97 generally plenty of boats about got a handheld vhf and there is cell phone coverage boat is 5.3 meter fibreglass great advice so far
headcat,
Oct 24, 9:24am
How about you look out for yourself like the op is trying to do. Why should others risk theirs to save your useless ass.
sr2,
Oct 24, 11:54am
I think you're being unnecessarily harsh; after life jackets, a boat that floats and adequate communication, Coastguard membership is a must. With the reliability of modern outboards unless for trolling auxiliary outboards are a thing of the past.
elect70,
Oct 24, 12:57pm
So long as its capable of pushing the boat along , not just a piddly 5 hp on 6 m boat. Why rely on coast gaurd to get you for a breakdown , they have enough to do rescuing idiots who go out in tinnies with no gear . They are there for emergency s not breakdowns .
It's just like being a member of the AA or using States Roadside assist.
martin11,
Oct 24, 1:12pm
I picked an unmarked net up in the Marlborough Sounds a few years ago and it stopped my main motor . The aux got up to a beach nearby where we cleared the net off the propeller of the main motor easier than clearing it in deep water , and then after proceeded to have a good days fishing . Later on checking the leg I found I had damage to the props drive shaft and gears . Grateful that I had an aux on the boat . Mine is an 4hp Merc on a 5.5 meter boat and we have checked it on a calm day and it gives us 5 kts at full throttle with 3 adults on board .
richardmayes,
Oct 24, 1:34pm
On a big motor launch, motor sailer or yacht where mounting an outboard is impractical (and besides that no outboard except perhaps the very biggest would ever have a hope of moving the boat even on a millpond) I can understand why people don't bother having an auxiliary and just focus on maintaining their main engine to a high standard instead.
But for a fizzboat, an old 6hp or 8hp outboard will give you somewhere between 5% and 10% of your main engine power, which might be enough to get out of trouble with, if you ever did have a main engine failure one day. for a few hundred dollars, why wouldn't you? That's a pretty cheap lifeline.
cammey,
Oct 24, 3:30pm
I have changed my tune on this debate as well.
Always had a larger launch with a well maintained diesel inboard. Never saw the point for two motors, just kept the main one up to scratch.
Then I decided to stop paying marina fees, and got pretty much the largest boat I could get on a trailer. It had a single Yamaha F350 outboard. I have been a long long way out to sea in it, and overnighted many times.
But I never ever felt 100% sure of it even though it never missed a beat.
If I had another go at a fizz boat, I would choose a two outboard setup, or at least an axillary that could give me steerage and make a bit of progress.
bwg11,
Oct 24, 3:50pm
I think you are correct. Dual applications are noisier, tend to have resonances and cost more, BUT the peace of mind is priceless. Your single motor has so many potential points of failure. One capacitor, one sender, one ignition module, one piece of corrosion on a terminal could have you stranded. My experience of late model motors supports this view, complete stoppages because of minor electrical faults, just like cars of the last ten years. I believe there is little danger or a seizure or complete gearbox failure for example, but like cars, it will be the sub-systems that fail and cause a stoppage.
sr2,
Oct 24, 3:57pm
Yes for a large trailer boat that you're taking out of the Gulf it's hard to go past twin o/b's, for redundancy.
xs1100,
Oct 24, 5:25pm
97 so nearly 20 yrs old personally I would be getting a decent vhf and a handheld also and coastguard membership and do the courses
elect70,
Oct 25, 12:35pm
Oh thats Ok then you can all go out in any old POS boat in the knowledge that coast gaurd will always be there & happily come & get you when your POS claps out . We used to be taugjht self responsibility.
elect70,
Oct 25, 12:42pm
Yep we got , caught an abandoned net & it wound on so tight couldnt cut it off & it jammed the motor It was a plylite fishermann but we had a 10 hp aux that got us home WITHOUT calling coastgaurd.
mggd,
Jan 3, 7:13pm
elect70 wrote: Yep we got , caught an abandoned net & it wound on so tight couldnt cut it off & it jammed the motor It was a plylite fishermann but we had a 10 hp aux that got us home WITHOUT calling coastgaurd.[/quote These types of incidents should be reported to the nearest harbor master, helps them decide what areas to monitor for irresponsible fishers.
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