Redundant breakers for engines

[Marooned]

Upon inspection of the battery switch on my 1989 Carver 3467 I noticed I had a 60 amp breaker tripped. This breaker is located in a compartment to the left of the sliding glass door which leads in to the salon from outside. When I pulled the panel to investigate I noticed the breakers were tied together both at the line and load sides of the breaker. They appear to have been installed as such from the factory. I understand the tie bar on the line side to feed both breakers. The load side is where I struggle. Each 60 amp breaker feeds an engine. Why would they be tied on the load side.......redundancy?

Thanks for your help.

[Phrancus]

or one blew, no replacement available, bridged it and forgot to replace it. So you're loosing both engines if one develops a problem that trips that breaker.

[bud37]

Welcome to the forum....to be clear, you had both engines working as normal but you found one of the two breakers tripped. If so then both engines were pulling thru one breaker because of the bar on the load side.....Am I correct in this assumption ?

If so that does not seem on the surface to be something original to me anyways.......Phrancus is correct.....people do some things over the years..

[Marooned]

Hello Bud.
Yes, both engines are working / operating as they should. The tie bars connecting the breakers together appear to be manufactured for this application. That's what I meant by it looking as if it were done from the factory. I read (somewhere) that this was to obtain an ampacity of 120 amps and was, by code, only permissible through the manufacturer. That doesn't add up to me. Through my knowledge, even paralleled, you only have 60 amp capacity.
I have ordered two new breakers. I will separate the circuits and protect them independently.
One thing I have failed to mention....I have owned this vessel for four years and there are a few things I have noticed. One, Carver Yachts built a very sound vessel that can stand the test of time. Two, we as owners are bad to "rig" things. I've spent a lot of time putting things back to manufacturers specs that were rigged poorly.
Thanks to everyone who spends the time to keep these classics safe and allows us to enjoy the water.

[Marooned]

Hello All.
I've not forgotten about my issue concerning the tandem breakers. I've just been busy at work and haven't spent any time running the circuits down.
I've been pondering this in my head. The two breakers in question may not be supplying power to the engines. It could very well be the two circuits leading to the breaker panel in the salon.
I'll figure it out one of these days and when I do I'll post my findings.