Twin 150’s or single 300?

R

Rendezous Recluse

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May 28, 2025
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Fluid Motion Model
R-27 (Outboard)
We are debating between a 2018 R27 with 682 hours with twin Yamaha 150’s with good maintenance as well as a dinghy and 6 kicker and downriggers, VS a 2019 with a single 300 with 245 hours - but no kicker and basically no extras… both in similar shape and similarly priced - albeit the newer single engine one will entail bringing it up from the US to Canada. Any thoughts? Thank you.
 
When we purchased our boat it came with a whole bunch of extras, dingy w/ elec motor, kicker, mattress topper, and more. We are very pleased that we got all of those with the boat. Not only for the money savings but some of them that we really enjoy now we probably would not have spent the money on.
Another thing to consider is bringing the boat across the border. We purchased in Canada and brought it down to California and it seemed relatively simple at first but there were some hidden annoyances. Some of the components have warranties that don't transfer over. The AIS and VHF need to be reprogrammed with a new MMSI number as those can not be transferred out of the country. Also registering the trailer was a total pain but that may just be a California thing.
As to the twin vs the single outboards, I think there are ups and downs of each. Having 150hp as backup if an engine fails is nice, but having to do routine maintenance on two engines is basically twice the cost and effort.
All that said, we spent 2 years searching for the right boat for our plans and we are very happy with the R27 OB. I don't think you will regret your decision either way.
 
I have a R-27 with twin 150’s. There are pros and cons to twins. Twice the weight, each 150 weighs almost as much the 300. Twice the maintenance cost. The bottom of the engines are in the water when fully trimmed up due to weight on the back. The engines are so well made, if an engine fails, it is likely bad fuel, there is only one fuel tank so twins won’t help. You could hit a log and only take out one engine, so there is redundancy. You can split the engines so a little easier to maneuver in tight spaces, but they all have bow thrusters. Trolling with one of the 150’s is great, keeps good speed and very quiet, but you are putting hours on your engine and low speed isn’t the best. You can instal helm master with twins, very expensive but cool feature. If I was to do it all over again, would probably do a single 300 with a kicker.

For your purchase, decide what upgrades you would 100% get and price them out. Does it make sense to buy a newer boat with 1/3 the hours and buy the upgrades or buy the older boat with everything you want? The hours on the 2019 are low, make sure annual maintenance was till completed.

Hope this helps.

Sean
 
Thanks so much Sean for your sage advice. Super helpful. There’s now another 2022 I’ve found with only 138 hours with single and kicker - but $20k more… so many decisions.
 
freedomvango said:
I would do the duals. Id like to have a 27 with a pair of 200s personally
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You must like going fast. What speeds are you getting on the R23?
 
freedomvango said:
for me its the efficiency at a higher speed hopefully
I cruise at 28-30 in the R23. Looking to move to a 27 possibly, and ill end up doing dual 200s when the 300 poops.
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That's about the same cruising speed as the R27. Does the standard R27 swim platform allow for twins? Mine looks like it is pretty much setup up for a single.
 
Rendezous Recluse said:
We are debating between a 2018 R27 with 682 hours with twin Yamaha 150’s with good maintenance as well as a dinghy and 6 kicker and downriggers, VS a 2019 with a single 300 with 245 hours - but no kicker and basically no extras… both in similar shape and similarly priced - albeit the newer single engine one will entail bringing it up from the US to Canada. Any thoughts? Thank you.
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Twin engines will eliminate the port twist due to the torque of the motor, as twin engines have a right and left handed prop. Twin engines also will double your maintenance costs.
You should be able to split the throttles with twins and turn the boat while docking. Plus the extra engine for redundancy if you were off-shore or off-grid.

You can't go wrong with a single Yamaha F300 or twin F150's. I've spoken with the owner of that R27-OB with twins. It's similar performance characteristics in both speed and fuel economy as a single F300. Personally, I pay little attention to engine hours on used boats and would be more concerned with too few of hours rather than too many.
A 2019 with 245 hours is around 45 hours a year, assuming they used the boat annually. A 2018 with 682 is closer to 100 hours a year, which is average for the Pacific Northwest boating season.

Having a kicker is great if yo do a lot of trolling, as it's an engine hour eater. Put the hours on the kicker at 5knots or less and save some maintenance $ on the main engine(s). If you don't do a lot of trolling, than it probably doesn't matter.

IMG_6791.jpeg
 
I have a question related to the Helm Master option with the twin engines. My local dealer says that the Wireless Helm Master is a dealer-add on possibility, but that the traditional joystick is not possible to add on because of how close together the engines are. I’m a new boater, so maybe I’m missing something, but doesn’t the Wireless Helm Master give you the same functionality as the traditional joystick? I don’t understand how one is possible to install but not both. TIA.
 
Ndelena said:
I have a question related to the Helm Master option with the twin engines. My local dealer says that the Wireless Helm Master is a dealer-add on possibility, but that the traditional joystick is not possible to add on because of how close together the engines are. I’m a new boater, so maybe I’m missing something, but doesn’t the Wireless Helm Master give you the same functionality as the traditional joystick? I don’t understand how one is possible to install but not both. TIA.
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I have a similar question. My 2023 cutwater 32c has power hydraulic steering. I do not have an exact quote yet on adding joystick, but I want it. I saw a 2025 back into a slip with the current going one way, and wind going the other. Optimos 360 appears to be the other joystick option. Anyone have experience adding either?
 
Do you get the cool joy stick with the dual yamahas?

I'd do it just for that. 🙂
 
From what I remember the original dual 150s had the engines too close together for the joystick to work. There was a thread on this last year, and it was talked about at the 2025 Rendevouz. They were working on modifying it so that future versions could get a joystick.
 
Having had dual engines on an Albemarle and now having a single 350 on my R27 I think I understand some of the issues. With the duals I could dock under most weather and current conditions with ease, but it was an expensive boat to operate and maintain. With the single 350 docking when the wind and the current is in the same direction and strong makes docking a bit difficult. The expense is less with the single engine and boat performance is good.

The other thing about duals is assuming things will be okay if one fails. It depends on when and where. I had one engine fail while out about 40 miles. Yes, I got back in with the single engine, but it took forever. Can't get up on plane, so it's slow going. When I moved to a single engine boat I made sure Sea Tow would come out up to 100 miles to get me if needed and they will. Also when going out more than 30 miles I usually have a buddy boat going at the same time so we can back each other up.
 
vandermeyj said:
I have a similar question. My 2023 cutwater 32c has power hydraulic steering. I do not have an exact quote yet on adding joystick, but I want it. I saw a 2025 back into a slip with the current going one way, and wind going the other. Optimos 360 appears to be the other joystick option. Anyone have experience adding either?
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I would expect it to be between $10k and $20k to convert twin F300's to DES. (probably closer to $20k then $10k). Call Bellingham Yachts, talk to Ronnie or Matt. They've done those conversions and should be able to tell you.
 
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HookedUp said:
Having had dual engines on an Albemarle and now having a single 350 on my R27 I think I understand some of the issues. With the duals I could dock under most weather and current conditions with ease, but it was an expensive boat to operate and maintain. With the single 350 docking when the wind and the current is in the same direction and strong makes docking a bit difficult. The expense is less with the single engine and boat performance is good.

The other thing about duals is assuming things will be okay if one fails. It depends on when and where. I had one engine fail while out about 40 miles. Yes, I got back in with the single engine, but it took forever. Can't get up on plane, so it's slow going. When I moved to a single engine boat I made sure Sea Tow would come out up to 100 miles to get me if needed and they will. Also when going out more than 30 miles I usually have a buddy boat going at the same time so we can back each other up.
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What ballpark in amount difference for an annual maintenance on a single 300 or 350 compared to the twin 150?
 
Mariner8000 said:
What ballpark in amount difference for an annual maintenance on a single 300 or 350 compared to the twin 150?
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If you're doing the maintenance 2 engines isn't exactly double as the 150s take less oil, but it's very close to double the cost. Since I do my own maintenance I can't say what a mechanic would charge, but I'd expect his fee to be double for the 2 engines.

I ordered my 100 hour maintenance kit for my 350 from Sim Yamaha and the cost was $161.
 
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