One Engine Operations

Florida Mike

New Member
Dec 4, 2022
15
Palatka, FL
Boat Info
Sea Ray 340 Express Cruiser -
Engines
7.4 L Mercruiser
Straight Line drives
So I need to get my 340 Express Cruiser to a marine mechanic about 40 miles or so away. I have one engine I cant get started (port engine)- pretty sure its electrical, but not certain. The other runs no problem. Is there a trick to one engine operations? I tried briefly but all I was really able to do was make slow left hand turns. Is there a solution or did I just entertain the folks on the pier? Any advice, hacks, tricks or magic that you can bestow upon me would be more than appreciated.
 
It will matter slightly if you have I/O's or Vdrives. You should though be able to go straight either way. High idle will be your top speed though. It's gonna take you a while!
 
I have I/O. So at Idle I should be able to make a straight line?
 
it will be harder with an I/O until you get some forward motion. The last time I had to run for a bit on one engine, I had my dock neighbor play tug to get me out of our tight canals with boats on both sides and around 90 degree turns. Once out in the bay, I could adjust the rudders to counter the off center thrust. Again, that's a bit harder for you because you are changing the thrust angle when you turn your outdrives who are trying to be rudders. Might help to raise the Port drive up as much as possible to get it out of the mix. Plan for an all day trip.
 
I’m guessing you don’t have Seatow or Boatus?
Will you insurance cover you for some marine towing?
 
I’m guessing you don’t have Seatow or Boatus?
Will you insurance cover you for some marine towing?
I do have sea tow, however, where the boat is located and where I need it to be - they want me to move it closer to my destination in order to tow...
 
I do have sea tow, however, where the boat is located and where I need it to be - they want me to move it closer to my destination in order to tow...
Just to be clear.
1. It is an express cruiser and not a sundancer?
2. It does have IO's not v-drives or straight drives?
3. What year is it?
 
Just to be clear.
1. It is an express cruiser and not a sundancer?
2. It does have IO's not v-drives or straight drives?
3. What year is it?


Yes it is an express cruiser.
Straight drives not I/O my mistake earlier
1989
 
Just to be clear.
1. It is an express cruiser and not a sundancer?
2. It does have IO's not v-drives or straight drives?
3. What year is it?
In your picture you have a bimini cover - does it go by another name? I have been on the look out for the very same but keep coming up with other choices that Im not interested in.
 
I salmon troll all the time with my 330DA with only one engine running. WIth only a starboard engine you will have to turn the wheel probably 3/4 the way towards starboard to maintain straight course at high idle speed. No point going higher than maybe 1500 rpm because you will not go faster, but the boat will not stay straight. If there are winds coming from that side, you may not be able to run straight and may have to tack along upwind like a sailboat.

Around the dock will be quite tough especially if there is wind or current. You should alert the target marina that you will need an open place to dock and will not be manoeuvrable. If you have SeaTow, they may assist with the trip or the docking.

One spring on launch I had no cooling water on one engine, so I had to shut it down and get to my slip and back in on one engine. Luckily my slip neighbour was not in the water yet, and I was able to get it into the slip. But there was no real wind or current.

Good luck.
 
I salmon troll all the time with my 330DA with only one engine running. WIth only a starboard engine you will have to turn the wheel probably 3/4 the way towards starboard to maintain straight course at high idle speed. No point going higher than maybe 1500 rpm because you will not go faster, but the boat will not stay straight. If there are winds coming from that side, you may not be able to run straight and may have to tack along upwind like a sailboat.

Around the dock will be quite tough especially if there is wind or current. You should alert the target marina that you will need an open place to dock and will not be manoeuvrable. If you have SeaTow, they may assist with the trip or the docking.

One spring on launch I had no cooling water on one engine, so I had to shut it down and get to my slip and back in on one engine. Luckily my slip neighbour was not in the water yet, and I was able to get it into the slip. But there was no real wind or current.

Good luck.
Thank you. My experience was similar when I used just one engine. I think I was just putting to much power to it and had a constant turn to port at about 2000 RPM. I also had to deal with a wind that appeared after I launched. Thank so much for the insight.
 
Yes it is an express cruiser.
Straight drives not I/O my mistake earlier
1989
In your picture you have a bimini cover - does it go by another name? I have been on the look out for the very same but keep coming up with other choices that Im not interested in.
With straight drives the rudders don't do much for steering at slow speeds. If you are in a tight marina you may need a short tow out or more as 370Dancer mentioned above. Once clear and ready to get on course to your repair facility the highest speed you can attain without plowing will yield the best steering results. Be sure to lock the prop shaft of the non running engine to preserve your shaft seal from overheating.

As far as the canvas on my 270 is concerned. Yes that is a bimini top, the rear section that is not
up in that pic is called a camper top and the side panels are called the enclosure.
I saw in your other thread where you asked about new canvas and were referred to your local shops for fabrication. (there must be a ton of places in Florida) That's gonna be your best bet.

Welcome to CSR and please update your user information i.e. Your location, year of your boat and drive configuration so members can help you better in the future.

Edit: @Creekwood beat me to some of it. Oh, and just an FYI, 40 miles at 8 mph is 5 hours.
 
With straight drives the rudders don't do much for steering at slow speeds. If you are in a tight marina you may need a short tow out or more as 370Dancer mentioned above. Once clear and ready to get on course to your repair facility the highest speed you can attain without plowing will yield the best steering results. Be sure to lock the prop shaft of the non running engine to preserve your shaft seal from overheating.

As far as the canvas on my 270 is concerned. Yes that is a bimini top, the rear section that is not
up in that pic is called a camper top and the side panels are called the enclosure.
I saw in your other thread where you asked about new canvas and were referred to your local shops for fabrication. (there must be a ton of places in Florida) That's gonna be your best bet.

Welcome to CSR and please update your user information i.e. Your location, year of your boat and drive configuration so members can help you better in the future.

Edit: @Creekwood beat me to some of it. Oh, and just an FYI, 40 miles at 8 mph is 5 hours.
Mitch - It appears he is in Palatka which is on the St Johns River. Possibly he is trying to get to some service in the Jacksonville area which is a curvy and in places narrow path going north; the St Johns flows north. One engine with small rudders will be challenging (we've all done it). My advice is always look to the next turn and have the boat in position for that next turn; don't wait until the turn is right in front of the boat. Sound advice to have a chase boat that can throw a line to pull the boat over or get it in a better position. Pick a day without much wind.... The St Johns was super high and ripping after the hurricanes; I wonder if it has settled down yet.
 
When one of my motors died I had the same issue.

I just set the one motor that was still running right above idle and had a long trip otherwise I would have just gone around in a circle.
 
One important thing is - unless you have crossover shaft cooling water you must lash off the dead shaft to prevent it from spinning and ruining the shaft seal.
 
I do have sea tow, however, where the boat is located and where I need it to be - they want me to move it closer to my destination in order to tow...
Just curious - what if boat was totally disabled? How would you move it closer? Are they saying they can’t tow it at all where it is? When I talked with our local Seatow owner during the summer he did mention they had certain “zones” but would never leave me stranded.
 
Some areas of Seatow have limits. I know up here in the GSB they will hand you off to the next Seatow boat because they have areas they cover and that's it.
 
Another quick question not sure if this is the right spot, but is it unusual that some mechanics won't work on a boat pre 1993?
 
Some areas of Seatow have limits. I know up here in the GSB they will hand you off to the next Seatow boat because they have areas they cover and that's it.
That is how I interpreted our discussion. That is why I wonder why the op wouldn’t just consider having it towed rather than stress over 5 hrs..
 
Another quick question not sure if this is the right spot, but is it unusual that some mechanics won't work on a boat pre 1993?
That made me go back to your original post. Can you seriously not get someone to come to the boat for service?
Unless you are pulling the engine, I'd work harder on getting a tech to come to you. Much cheaper than moving the boat 80 miles to get the same diagnosis.
 

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