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      • Insurance? Tell All or Risk Claim Denial
      • Gulf 'Dead Zone' Bigger Than Connecticut
      • GPS Spoofing Mystery: AIS Crop Circles & Ghost Ships
      • Yanmar To Install Fuel Cell Propulsion in Boats
      • Bahamas To Boaters: Welcome Back, Wear a Mask
      • Covid Concerns Fuel Coast Guard Retention Drive
      • Birthday Gift for Her 70th, a TT35
      • Above Average Hurricane Season Forecast
      • Foreign Boaters Get Some Relief as Restrictions Eased
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      • When a Boat Isn't: Supreme Court Decides
      • Coast Guard Adopting 'i911' for Your Location
      • Makeover: Storm Early Warning System Explained (Video)
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      • Tale of a Terrible Boat
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      • Bahamas Says Stay Away, Get Out
      • Composting Heads Are a Good Option
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      • Coronavirus Song: 'Drone Shot of My Yacht'
      • Smuggler's Run: Florida's Own 'Mini-Loop'
      • Virtual Tours of Old Ironsides
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      • Luperon's Swimming Robber or Maybe Not
      • Georgia Begins Undoing Anchoring Ban
      • Gulfport Joins the War Against Cruisers
      • Video on D.R. Consulting Gig
      • Reward Increased in Hunt for Dolphin Killer
      • Our Favorite Fugitive Arrives in Mexico
      • Humungous Crane To Slice Up Wrecked Car Carrier
      • Avoid Getting Screwed by Georgia; Just Go Around
      • Radar Detects 'Fowl' Weather in Keys
      • Old Abe the Naval Architect
      • $20,000 Reward in Dolphin Killings
      • Great Lakes Search for Sunken Planes
      • Great Harbour Advises D.R. Boatbuilder
      • Despite Sewage Apocalypse, Mayor Blames Boaters
      • Loopers Will Need NY Certificates
      • Dorian Dog Story 'Spiked'
      • $209,000 for 61-Foot Hatteras MY
      • Refloating Effort Progress
      • Free Bahamas Cruising Guide
      • New Florida Anchoring Bans
      • Propane Fire
      • Psychedelic Fibers Advance Knot Theory (Video)
      • Wanted on the Waterways 1/4/2020
    • Ken Fickett's Blogs
    • Cruising in the Time of Covid: Think Outside The Loop
  • Owners
    • Moving Aboard
    • The Odyssey Begins
    • The Search For Adventure
  • Home
  • About
    • A Family Affair >
      • Ken Fickett
      • Becky Fickett
      • Travis Fickett
      • Jessica Fickett
    • Mirage Manufacturing
    • Factory Support
    • Careers
    • Contact
  • Boats
    • TT35 >
      • TT35 Specifications
      • TT35 Key Features
      • TT35 Design Discussions
      • Towing Resources
      • PRESS
    • N37 >
      • N37 Specifications and Layout
      • N37 Photo Gallery
      • N37 Brochure
    • GH37 >
      • GH37 Specifications and Layout
      • GH37 Photo Gallery
      • GH37 Brochure
    • N47 >
      • N47 Specifications and Layout
      • N47 Photo Gallery
      • N47 Brochure
    • GH47 >
      • GH47 Specifications and Layout
      • GH47 Photo Gallery
      • GH47 Brochure
    • GH74
  • Great Design
    • Trawler Truths >
      • Trawler Truth 1
      • Trawler Truth 2
      • Trawler Truth 3
      • Trawler Truth 4
      • Trawler Truth 5
      • Trawler Truth 6
      • Trawler Truth 7
    • Design Discussions >
      • Twins vs Single
      • Shoal vs deep draft
      • Stability vs Ballast
      • Fishtail Rudders
      • Space Age Core
      • Core Materials
      • Unsinkability
    • Economy
    • Our Naval Architect
  • Construction
    • Lamination
    • Interior
    • Rigging
  • Trawler Times
    • News >
      • California Humpbacks Perform Rare 'Triple Breach' (Video)
      • Betrayal in Georgia? Anchoring Rules Appear Worse Than Ever
      • Ga. Wreck Removal Delayed Again: Anchor SNAFU
      • Chesapeake's Tangier Island: Enjoy it While You Can
      • Robert Peek, Beloved Deep Creek Lockmaster, Has Died
      • U.S. Agency Warns of GPS Interference
      • Rudy and Jill's ICW Tips
      • A TT35 Day at the Sausage Factory
      • Cat or Monohull Sailboat Versus a Trawler (Images, Long)
      • Loopers Warned To Linger Post-Sally
      • Coast Guard Shallow Draft Navigation Survey
      • Forget Lithium for a Moment: Why Old-Fashioned Batteries Explode
      • Tracking Hurricane Laura Live (Streaming Video)
      • The Downsides of Cruising (Comprehensive)
      • Circumnavigator Who Eschewed Instruments Dies at 104
      • Maritime Liens: Don't Let Your Boat Get 'Arrested'
      • Gulf Stream Is Slowing Down
      • Attention Cruisers, Perseids Meteor Shower Peaks Next Week
      • Ladies Publish Great Loop Tell-All
      • New NOAA Model Forecasts Another Sahara Dust Cloud Arriving This Week (Animation)
      • TT35 Demonstrations Set for Next Week
      • Prep for a Busy Hurricane Season
      • It's a Marina! It's a Mooring! No, It's a French Design (Video)
      • Giant Floating Chain Saw To Rip Up Wrecked Car Carrier off ICW
      • Lock Sked Final: Great Loop Doable, But...
      • Georgia Caves, Defangs Draconian Anchoring Law
      • Heads Up, Boaters: Here Comes the Red Dust from Africa
      • Bahamas Changes It's Mind: Keeps Covid Test Requirement
      • Insurance? Tell All or Risk Claim Denial
      • Gulf 'Dead Zone' Bigger Than Connecticut
      • GPS Spoofing Mystery: AIS Crop Circles & Ghost Ships
      • Yanmar To Install Fuel Cell Propulsion in Boats
      • Bahamas To Boaters: Welcome Back, Wear a Mask
      • Covid Concerns Fuel Coast Guard Retention Drive
      • Birthday Gift for Her 70th, a TT35
      • Above Average Hurricane Season Forecast
      • Foreign Boaters Get Some Relief as Restrictions Eased
      • Catalina Island Reopened for Arriving Boats
      • When a Boat Isn't: Supreme Court Decides
      • Coast Guard Adopting 'i911' for Your Location
      • Makeover: Storm Early Warning System Explained (Video)
      • The Reality of Quarantine in Paradise
      • 92-Footer Sinks Off California
      • New York to Loopers: You May Be Out of Luck
      • Badass Origins of Boating Law
      • Can Cannabis Save Florida Waterways?
      • Tale of a Terrible Boat
      • Boating and Social Distancing (Video)
      • Powering Through a Mexican Gale
      • Bahamas Says Stay Away, Get Out
      • Composting Heads Are a Good Option
      • TT35 Ad Campaign: The Un-Tug
      • Coronavirus Song: 'Drone Shot of My Yacht'
      • Smuggler's Run: Florida's Own 'Mini-Loop'
      • Virtual Tours of Old Ironsides
      • BoatUS to Gulfport, Don't Break Law
      • Luperon's Swimming Robber or Maybe Not
      • Georgia Begins Undoing Anchoring Ban
      • Gulfport Joins the War Against Cruisers
      • Video on D.R. Consulting Gig
      • Reward Increased in Hunt for Dolphin Killer
      • Our Favorite Fugitive Arrives in Mexico
      • Humungous Crane To Slice Up Wrecked Car Carrier
      • Avoid Getting Screwed by Georgia; Just Go Around
      • Radar Detects 'Fowl' Weather in Keys
      • Old Abe the Naval Architect
      • $20,000 Reward in Dolphin Killings
      • Great Lakes Search for Sunken Planes
      • Great Harbour Advises D.R. Boatbuilder
      • Despite Sewage Apocalypse, Mayor Blames Boaters
      • Loopers Will Need NY Certificates
      • Dorian Dog Story 'Spiked'
      • $209,000 for 61-Foot Hatteras MY
      • Refloating Effort Progress
      • Free Bahamas Cruising Guide
      • New Florida Anchoring Bans
      • Propane Fire
      • Psychedelic Fibers Advance Knot Theory (Video)
      • Wanted on the Waterways 1/4/2020
    • Ken Fickett's Blogs
    • Cruising in the Time of Covid: Think Outside The Loop
  • Owners
    • Moving Aboard
    • The Odyssey Begins
    • The Search For Adventure

In or Out?

10/12/2015

11 Comments

 
Great Harbour transportable trawler



As the Transportable Trawler project takes shape, one of the first decisions was the choice of power. Actually, we've been thinking outboards from the start. By combining a light composite build with a easily-driven hull shape, we're predicting some pretty impressive performance numbers from a pair of 60 hp four strokes. These motors are thrifty, low-maintenance, and cost-effective. Mounting them on the transom frees up a lot of real estate in the bilge, and should provide whisper-quiet operation at the helm. At the end of the day, you just tilt them out of the water, and save for the occasional fuel filter change, you can get up to 100 hours between services.

All that being said, it's possible to make a reasonable case for inboard diesel power, and several folks have already voiced preferences in that direction. Mirage has a lot of experience with diesel propulsion, not only in our full-displacement N and GH trawlers, but also in our performance sport fishing line. In fact, our 32 Center Console remains one of the most fuel-efficient canyon runners on the market, delivering an impressive 3.5 mpg at 35 mph on a single Volvo D3. So yes, diesel certainly has it's place in our lineup.
Picture
when powered by a single diesel I/O drive, our Mirage 32 Center Console delivers best in-in-class fuel efficiency.
But we don't think that place includes the new Transportable Trawler. For several reasons. It's easy to rule out a traditional shaft-drive inboard as it would require a higher cabin sole, and a correspondingly taller deck house. The hull would also sit higher on a trailer, be more difficult to launch, and draw more water. A diesel also adds extra layers of complexity. In addition to the daily fluid checks that should be part of any diesel maintenance plan, there are intake hoses, exhaust systems, belts, shafts and engine mounts to monitor. And should you wrap a line around the prop, or ding a blade, well, somebody's going swimming.

The I/O option addresses some of these objections, and it wouldn't be difficult to tuck a Volvo D3 under this boat's cockpit. One problem with this install is weight, and weight reduction is one key to this boat's success. Even high-performance turbo diesels can't match outboards on a power-to-weight basis, and the Volvo would be more than twice as heavy as the four stroke outboards. You could also count on spending more than twice as much for the diesel and, at the end of the day, I/O drives still require more care and maintenance than outboards.

That just leaves a couple of concerns that traditionalists continue to raise with regards to outboards—though we feel they are pretty much non-issues. One is the ethanol content of most gasolines. Modern outboards are engineered to accommodate ethanol blends, and there are plenty of available additives to stabilize stored fuels. Also, fears of gasoline's greater inflammability as compared to diesel are over-rated, especially when dealing with outboards.  
Suzuki outboard
 13 to So yes, we're going with a pair of four strokes on the transom. And though it's very early in the game, we'll take a chance and toss out a few benchmark performance numbers. Understand that these are based purely on educated conjecture, and assume that we will bring the final boat in at around the 6,500 pound dry-weight mark. We're considering Suzuki's DF60s, which should push this boat to a cruise speed of around 14 to  15 mph in calm water, when running between 4,000 and 4,500 rpm. Based on Suzuki's own test data, that would result in a fuel burn of 2.3 to 3.1 gallons per engine per hour. Even if we miss that mark by a bit, we're still looking at nearly 3 mpg at fast cruise, and a range in excess of 400 miles on the standard 150 gallons of fuel. Throttle back to traditional trawler speeds of eight knots, and you double that range with a bit to spare. Plenty to get you to the islands.  


11 Comments

    By Ken Fickett

    Ken is the founder of Mirage Manufacturing, 

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