[bulletbob]

IMHO, if you are going out further than maybe 8-10 miles, twin power makes more sense.. However a lot depends on boat size.. If you don't go out to the canyons , maybe just the Mudhole, a big single and a good strong kicker would be fine, as long as you realize it might be a 6 or 7 hour ride in.. In any case, in any salt water situation, I never go out without a spare motor, and sometimes I have 3 motors, plus oars.. In my 18 foot Starcraft, I have a 100, a 6 hp on a bracket, and a 2 hp stowed, all with separate fuel sources, and 2 paddles.. My 15 footer has a 30, a 2 hp gas , and a bow mount electric, and 2 paddles. My 14 foot Grumman side console has a 28, a bow mount electric and oars in oarlocks.. Getting stuck out there without backup propulsion is no joke and is nothing I want to ever deal with... Before I go out, usually the night before, I run all motors I will have on the boat to make sure they are firing up, and working ok...I have never had to be towed in, but over the years have rescued several people that were stranded without power.. Usually it ended my fishing trip, but thats trivial,,
Over the years I have witnessed several boaters ignore people trying to flag down someone to help, pass within feet, and just throw a wake on them.. Must be an awful feeling being stuck at sea or even in a big bay with the wind blowing you further away from the ramp... I have had problems a few times over the decades with non starts, breakdowns etc, but always managed to cob something together to get back to the ramp. Its a sickly feeling, especially when there are few or no other boats around... Nowadays, I tend to go into overkill mode.. If I had a true salt water boat that went offshore, I would always have twins, and even a small kicker if i could fit it on... bob