W

OUTBOARD

VS. INBOARD

Why does everybody seem to want to

put outboards on big boats these days? It

looks crazy to hang a bracket with a pair

of outboards on the transom of a good-

looking, sturdy 36-foot hull designed

for work or play. The little propellers

on those outboards will never produce

the grip on the water of a proper large-

diameter wheel on an inboard shaft

driven by a modern electronic common-

rail diesel. The outboards will burn way

more fuel, they’ll blow up driving that

big hull, and they’ll ruin the balance.

Won’t they?

Well, when semicustom boatbuilder

Bill Judge ( judgeyachts.com) showed up

in one of his 36-foot Chesapeakes for the

Annapolis Fish for a Cure tournament a

couple of years ago, it was powered by a

pair of 300 hp Suzuki outboards instead

of the usual 480 hp Cummins inboard.

Was Judge crazy like a fox? There was

one way to fi nd out.

PURISTS CRINGE

WHEN OUTBOARDS

POWER A CLASSIC

BOAT. SHOULD

THEY?

BY CAPT. JOHN PAGE WILLIAMS

PHOTOS BY JAY FLEMMING

56 | BOATINGMAG.COM | JANUARY 2018