Whether you're looking for a specific boat engine to power your sailing or motor yacht, or a yacht with a particular engine type – you'll find it on Boat24. Promise!
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Outboard motor
Amaha 6 PS, long shaft, tiller, manual start, Lake Constance certification
Switzerland » Lake Zurich » St.Gallenkappel
Inboard engine
Germany » Ammersee » Igling
Boat and engine have to be a good match. That's not just a rule of thumb – it's a question of style, security and intended use. But to find the right boat engine, you need the widest possible choice of offers. Just like at Boat24 – here you're guaranteed to find the right engine for your boat or yacht.
In a certain way, the type of boat determines the engine that powers it. On sailboats and sailing yachts, either smaller outboards are used to get through calm spells or to help with docking, or considerably more powerful inboards provide propulsion, even over longer distances.
The same principle applies to powerboats (from the inflatable boat to the superyacht), but far more variants are on offer.
Outboards, or outboard engines, are engines that are mounted on a special bracket at the stern of a boat, where they provide propulsion via a propeller on a correspondingly long shaft. Outboards are available in almost every horsepower rating. They range from 1.5 hp units for getting sailboats, rowboats or fishing boats through calm spells, all the way to outboards with several hundred horsepower that bring powerboats of various size classes up to top speed (often as a twin installation).
Outboard engines are comparatively easy to steer, since they pivot and therefore act as a rudder themselves.
The international market is still dominated by combustion outboard engines. But electric engines with strong performance and range are «on the rise» thanks to their good environmental compatibility.
Inboard engines, or inboards, are installed in boats and yachts in a variety of horsepower ratings. Inboard engines usually sit low amidships, are often built with fairly simple technology and drive the boat via a rigid, downward-angled shaft with a propeller attached to it.
Inboards, too, are available in virtually every horsepower class, matched to the size and intended use of the yacht or boat.
Boats and yachts with inboard engines must be fitted with a rudder, which ideally sits in the propeller wash. Or the propeller works between two rudder blades (common on modern sailing yachts).
Among inboards as well, the electric version is an increasingly popular alternative to the usual gasoline and diesel combustion engines.
Used exclusively on powerboats, this engine type is actually a mix of outboard and inboard engine. The engine sits far aft, inside the boat, while the drive unit (gearbox, steering system, propeller) is located outside, on the stern of the boat. A sun pad is often fitted above the engine. The connection between the two elements, engine and drive, is not made via a propeller shaft but is direct. Steering is done with the outer drive unit.
Also an inboard for powerboats, it uses its propeller – enclosed in a housing/tube – to draw in large volumes of water at high pressure and expel them to the rear. Because the propeller is enclosed, the risk of injury, for example to wakeboarders or water skiers, is reduced.
The inboard engine and the externally mounted propeller are directly connected to each other. However, unlike the Z-drive version, the propulsion is not fitted at the stern but underneath the hull.
A pod drive developed specifically for sailing yachts. It is fitted in the immediate vicinity of the rudder, allowing optimal maneuverability for the boats. Sail pods are increasingly and efficiently equipped with electric motors.
