Horsepower and torque:
It’s all a Numbers Game

If the boat you own has an engine you will eventually become involved in a numbers game, using numerical values for horsepower, torque and fuel consumption to describe the way your engine performs. The game can be confusing when the numbers are based on different systems of measurement, for example, horsepower or kilowatts for power, foot-pounds or Newton-meters for torque. It’s also important to understand the relationship between these measures of engine behavior, especially when selecting the correct propeller for the boat and when estimating the fuel consumption at different engine speeds.

Aside from wanting to admire their mechanical beauty and perfection and to brag about them to our friends, we install engines in our boats because we want them to do “work.” Without their ability to do work we would have to rely upon sails or oars, both of which require we do a good deal of “work.” ...

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