Ultimate Boating
How we compare engines
Official manufacturer sources, how genuinely comparable rivals are picked, how the suitability index is computed, and one rule without exception: no estimated value.
Where the data comes from
Available references, dates and technical notes are displayed on product pages. Missing document links are identified. Prices are indicative; a catalogue price is not a sales offer.
How we choose the rivals
A comparison only makes sense between comparable engines. We only pit engines of the same propulsion (petrol 4-stroke, petrol 2-stroke or diesel) AND the same power class against each other: setting a diesel, heavy by design, against petrol engines would skew the verdict. The rivals chosen are from distinct brands and close in power, within 15 %. With no valid rival, the page shows no comparison: we would rather say nothing than publish a misleading comparison.
How the suitability index is computed
Indices use only criteria documented for all engines in the selection. Weight is counted once; power is used for sizing. Prices, warranties, consumption and noise are excluded from rankings because their conditions are not harmonised. No index is assigned with fewer than two common criteria. Below three models compared, no index is assigned either: on two references, normalisation could only ever produce 0 and 100. Professional fleet use is not assessed without operating-cost data. A technical index does not establish offshore suitability, safety or range for the hull.
Comparison hubs: how we name a “best”
Power comparisons show available specifications from several brands. Missing values are never replaced with zero. Results describe published data, without measuring reliability, after-sales service or resale value.
Brand pages: what they say and what they do not
A brand page describes the LISTED RANGE, never the brand. We give no brand score and never rank two brands against each other: scoring only makes sense at equal power (that is what the per-power comparisons are for), and no published data measures the service network, reliability or resale value. Every fact shown is computed from the brand's own sheets and states its coverage (“across N documented models”); a field that is too sparsely filled produces no line. We never publish an absence claim, nor a price compared with another brand's (prices come from different countries and VAT regimes), nor a warranty stripped of its conditions.
Boats: what changes
For boats, rivals are chosen with the same hull type, same propulsion and a close size (length within ±10 %, with a 0.60 m floor on small craft and a 3 m ceiling on large ones): never a RIB against a center console, nor a day-boat against a yacht. Above all, unlike engines, no hull spec is “better” in absolute terms (longer, wider or heavier are positionings, not qualities): so we give boats NO score. “The essentials” is limited to neutral facts, where the model has more or less than its rivals, with the associated trade-off. The CE design category is shown as published, never turned into a grade.
Propellers: what changes
For propellers, rivals are chosen within the same diameter class (dictated by the gearcase and use) and compatible rotation. As with boats, no propeller spec is “better” in absolute terms: pitch is a rev-band setting, blade count and material are trade-offs. So we give no score; “the essentials” is limited to neutral facts (unique blade count or material, the largest or the smallest diameter in the group), each with its trade-off. A page without complete geometry or a use signal is not put forward.
Electric motors: what changes
For electric, rivals are chosen within the same power class. As with boats, we give no score: weight is confounded by architecture (integrated or separate battery), horsepower-equivalent is an unstandardised marketing claim, and thrust is measured inconsistently. “The essentials” is limited to neutral facts, with strict guards: weight is compared only within the same battery architecture, battery capacity only among integrated-battery models, and range is never inferred (no consumption in the data).
Systems: the family as the only unit
For electronic and propulsion systems, the only meaningful comparison is WITHIN one product family (a sounder with a sounder, never with a VHF): we therefore never score a system sheet out of 100. “The essentials” headlines only genuine QUALITY axes (screen brightness, radar beam sharpness, thermal resolution, CHIRP, position hold…); pure sizing axes (“compatible up to X kW”, number of outputs, battery capacity) are laid side by side as raw data but never presented as an advantage. Rivals are always from another brand: a family without two comparable brands, or without a structured quality axis, is not indexed as a comparison.
Which pages we put forward
An engine page may be submitted for indexing when it compares at least two relevant rivals, or provides a documented technical reference: a accessible source link, at least four sizing specifications and configuration details. Specialised engines are therefore not excluded simply because they lack direct rivals.
How the page texts are produced
The descriptions, comparisons and highlights shown on the pages are composed automatically by deterministic rules: sentence templates fed by the manufacturer data held on each page, with no use of generative artificial intelligence. The same data always produces the same sentence, and no information absent from the original documentation is added. Written texts (guides, methodology, legal pages) and their translations are published under the editorial responsibility of the publisher.