Dave Gerr - Boat Mechanical Systems Handbook-How to Design, Install, and Recognize Proper Systems in Boats

engines. The goal is to allow higher engines

to fit lower in the bilge of the V of the hull body

while maintaining normal separation of the pro-

pellers astern. Keep in mind that there needs

to be adequate clearance between the engines

at midships. Sometimes this can be addressed

by staggering the engines, with one engine

ahead of the other, though this makes for a long

engine compartment. The maximum shaft an-

gle in plan should be about 2 degrees.

Twin-engine, canoe-sterned vessels some-

times angle the shafts the opposite way in

plan: with the engines farther apart midships

and the propellers closer together at the stern.

PART ONE:DRIVETRAIN INSTALLATIONS

Figure 2-12.
Different shaft
placements
compared

Figure 2-13.
Single midships
engine on center-
line with angled
shaft