Considering a big switch for repower!

Ky Grady

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I've been checking out my repower options and have it down to two, Yamaha and Evinrude. I figured now would be a good time to look into this as it should have some value as I've just done the exhaust, fuel pump, coil, new plugs and full service on the '04 F225 with 1200 hours. Should still run right on, nothing wrong with it that I'm aware of, but I've got the new motor itch.

Priced the 4.2 F250 digital with new gauges, controls, rigging, prop, 3 year factory warranty for $25,679.

Priced the G2 250 HO with new gauges, controls, rigging, prop, 10 year factory warranty for $22,982.

Of course I'm leaning heavily to the G2, just haven't seen a repower on a smaller Grady with a single, I've seen the double repowered Grady's. As far as I know from this forum, I'd be the first single repower. Uncharted territory for sure.

Anybody know of a Grady with a single G2? Would love to talk to them. You guys with the doubles, how do you like them? I'm guessing you repowered from a Yamaha?

Thanks
 

Halfhitch

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Ky Grady, I wrestled with that G2 thought also. I really liked the integrated steering. In the end I couldn't get past the thought that my wife would complain forever about the smell of the mix oil and also had concerns about noise level at cruise. I made my choice and just got the boat back from the dealer about 4 hours ago.

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Fishtales

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I would consider it. Just factor that you have to plumb in oil. Those G2s are very nice and come we a great warranty. Yamaha isn't known for standing behind their engines so if in a year or two there is a major issue (like the corrosion issue), you could be left holding the bag. Don't ask how I know.....
 

Ky Grady

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Fishtales said:
I would consider it. Just factor that you have to plumb in oil. Those G2s are very nice and come we a great warranty. Yamaha isn't known for standing behind their engines so if in a year or two there is a major issue (like the corrosion issue), you could be left holding the bag. Don't ask how I know.....

Why would I have to plumb in oil? G2 has a 2 gallon onboard tank. For my useage, should do great.
 

Fishtales

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Ky Grady said:
Fishtales said:
I would consider it. Just factor that you have to plumb in oil. Those G2s are very nice and come we a great warranty. Yamaha isn't known for standing behind their engines so if in a year or two there is a major issue (like the corrosion issue), you could be left holding the bag. Don't ask how I know.....

Why would I have to plumb in oil? G2 has a 2 gallon onboard tank. For my useage, should do great.

Agree. Thanks for enlightening me!
 

Ky Grady

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Fishtales said:
Ky Grady said:
Fishtales said:
I would consider it. Just factor that you have to plumb in oil. Those G2s are very nice and come we a great warranty. Yamaha isn't known for standing behind their engines so if in a year or two there is a major issue (like the corrosion issue), you could be left holding the bag. Don't ask how I know.....

Why would I have to plumb in oil? G2 has a 2 gallon onboard tank. For my useage, should do great.

Agree. Thanks for enlightening me!

No problem. Been studying this for awhile.
 

Ky Grady

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Halfhitch said:
Ky Grady, I wrestled with that G2 thought also. I really liked the integrated steering. In the end I couldn't get past the thought that my wife would complain forever about the smell of the mix oil and also had concerns about noise level at cruise. I made my choice and just got the boat back from the dealer about 4 hours ago.


BTW,, there is no smell/smoke of the mix. Technology has come along way from the times of spraying for mosquitoes with the old 2 strokes. As far as noise level, maybe a touch louder than the 4 stroke at cruise.
 

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Ky Grady-I used to do a lot of work in Berea and it is a beautiful town. I am actually from Lexington.

Anyway- I did the same repower back and forth and looked at Yammies, Suzukis and the G2s. I wound up with the G2s and switched to fly by wire. There is no smell, the mileage is about .2 better at cruise but .5 better at higher speeds and the top end went up about 6 mph. I was happy with my choice but any new engine is a good thing.

BTW-I realize this post is a month old but its a good topic.
 

Ky Grady

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Bazz said:
Ky Grady-I used to do a lot of work in Berea and it is a beautiful town. I am actually from Lexington.

Anyway- I did the same repower back and forth and looked at Yammies, Suzukis and the G2s. I wound up with the G2s and switched to fly by wire. There is no smell, the mileage is about .2 better at cruise but .5 better at higher speeds and the top end went up about 6 mph. I was happy with my choice but any new engine is a good thing.

BTW-I realize this post is a month old but its a good topic.

Thanks for chiming in. I still haven't pulled the trigger yet. I go back and forth between the Yam and the G2. Then throw this into the mix, I want a to get a new truck this fall/winter. I'm retired so have to watch which direction my funds go. Champagne tastes on a beer budget!!

So where did you end up? Move away from Kentucky?
 

deepwaterdreamer111

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Hey Guys. I am re powering my 25 sailfish to a single 300 Evinrude G2. should be ready to go in March.I plan on posting the results of the sea trial on my post from the fall . Less weight ,less moving parts , great warranty and great dealer support here in south jersey. whats not to like. Drew Ryan
 

PrinceofThieves

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I am in a repower dilemma myself. I have the glorious F225's on my 265 and while all the exhaust upgrades were done on time and I dodged that bullet, this winter when winterizing the engines, I found that corrosion ate through the thermostat housing on the engine block of the stbd engine! The corroded area was cleaned out nice and patched and will presumably hold for some time to come. However, I intend to do regular 100mi (one way) runs to the canyons this season and onwards and just dont like the idea of having this looming in the back of my mind while out there. If I were just running inshore, I would not be considering a repower, engines only have 800hrs and otherwise run good and I would run em till they died. With all that said, I got a quote from my local dealer on twin F250's 4.2L all digital rigging back in late Dec, with a forewarning that the engines may be hard to come by, as Yamaha is experiencing a shortage of engines in the 200-300hp range, due to increased demand (the reasons for this have been beaten to death on other forums and so much nonsense was thrown out there on 'other forums', i would rather not touch on this topic, unless it's an intelligible conversation. There is a shortage of engines, period. Thats the situation, whatever the cause!) and dealers may be waiting anywhere from 6-9 months for fresh inventory. Today is Feb 22nd and it is status quo on the inventory ETA. My natural gravitation was toward yamaha; been running them for a long time, many models on many boats, some with problems, others without. However, this prolonged wait period gave me time to think and research several different avenues and arrive at several different conclusions, though as of today, I have not yet made a firm decision any which way on my repower dilemma.

The g2's i have read plenty on and they are truly getting fantastic reviews and the warranty they are throwing out there speaks volumes, i hope! They were my next best choice for a while. However, while at the NY boat show last month, I went to see a local boat repair shop/engine dealer I know and while we were exchanging hello's etc., I noticed a Suzuki 250 four stroke being displayed in their booth, which caught me by surprise as they specialize in Downeast rebuilds, cat, cummins, etc. engines and I knew they worked closely with Yamaha (though not a dealer). So I proceeded to inquire about the zuk's and they told me they were now an authorized dealer and started boasting about the products. They know Im no dummy and I know they are solid guys and this was not a typical sales pitch scenario and I purposely did not bring up my predicament with the F225's. The booth got busy quickly and I asked them to slap together a ballpark number on what a repower with 250's/digital controls would look like and to text it to me when they had a chance. I took their feedback, went home and started researching. Honestly, there is not as much out there as there is about he G2's and Yamaha's (of course), but pound for pound what I did read leaves a pretty amazing impression, with very very little negative comments about these engines at all. I then proceeded to talk to other guys I know and just about everyone had very good things to say. Side by side comparisons actually show that the Suzuki's are more reliable and more economical (all around) than the Yammis. A weeks or so later I got the text from my guys and the Suzuki's came in 10k less than Yamaha. Hmm...

While contemplating all this engine crap (given the expenditure involved and that I want to put in a new high-end electronics package and that I intend to run offshore more often), it also crossed my mind to get into another, bigger, boat, though I absolutely love my 265 and only wish they made the same boat w/ the folding transom door in a 30' or 33'. I always had a thing for the CC's, never owned a big one (over 19'), but just love the fishability of them. I started looking hard the 336 Canyon. Yes, big change in direction! However, I figured let me really lay it all on the table, as lord knows I will end up in a bigger boat sooner or later. In combing through the available boats and literature etc., I start learning about the extensive F350 issues and of course, all the 336's are powered by those engines (I know it's not all series builds etc. but the ones I can afford are in that range). I mean, really, Yamaha, REALLY!? But here, as opposed to their shameful F225 stance, they supposedly stepped up to the plate and warrantied (I dont know or have confirmation that they warrantied all the problematic engines or just reported ones while still under warranty) the problem and will replace the flywheels as needed, which, BTW , is every 80 hrs of operation between 3,800-4,200 rpm (not exact rpm range, but close). For me, putting 300hr + a season = 2 flywheel changes a season and 2 trips to the shop. No thanks!

So, given the horror stories of the F225 and my own experience, the F350 issues, several other engine model issues and yamaha's stance on the problems and the lack of inventory (which is a result of the economic upswing and confidence this past year and all the big name boat builders increasing their orders by up to 50% of what they initially committed to, which in turn left dealers short. In order to meet the demand of the big boys, the dealer allocations were depleted, thus leaving the repower customer screwed. Money talks, it's a story as old as time!), I am really wondering why may of us continue to or contemplate to reward this company. So many have become a slave to this brand, while there are other and probably better options out there AND more affordable (purchase price & maintenance) and regrettably, the brand awareness is weighing in on my decision to repower, as I fear when it comes to resale one day the lack of yamaha will have it's effect on potential buyers.

Sorry for the ramble, at home and under the weather and otherwise getting cabin fever, spring can't come soon enough r at least temperate weather to get out and work on the boat. Appreciate all feedback on the Suzuki's and anything else.
 

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I moved to Ponte Vedra (North Florida). I had lived in Kentucky my whole life and always imagined running a twin engine boat when I would watch the fishing shows on Saturday’s as a kid. When I go here I jumped on that one fast.

Back to the main subject, In Wisconsin every year the ski teams sell their engines. They run Singles Twins and trips for the skiing. They will sell these packages at the end of the season. I work with a guy who is on the ski team thing up there and he told me about it. He told me they all use the G2’s. I bought my set from a place called Gallus Marine. They did everything they said they would. I had them shipped to me. I did notice that many of the ski teams sell them on their websites as well. This may save you a few bucks.

As I said before, any new engine is awesome. I will say that after my install I took my boat to one of our recommended local dealers to loook it over and check it for any updates. He went over them and came up with a list of items which Evinrude has changed. I asked him to please call if there is any work to be done that is not covered by Warranty. He said there is nothing that is not covered an it is the best warranty out there. I ill report back if that al works out that way but it was nice herring it.
 

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I moved to Ponte Vedra (North Florida). I had lived in Kentucky my whole life and always imagined running a twin engine boat when I would watch the fishing shows on Saturday’s as a kid. When I go here I jumped on that one fast.

Back to the main subject, In Wisconsin every year the ski teams sell their engines. They run Singles Twins and trips for the skiing. They will sell these packages at the end of the season. I work with a guy who is on the ski team thing up there and he told me about it. He told me they all use the G2’s. I bought my set from a place called Gallus Marine. They did everything they said they would. I had them shipped to me. I did notice that many of the ski teams sell them on their websites as well. This may save you a few bucks.

As I said before, any new engine is awesome. I will say that after my install I took my boat to one of our recommended local dealers to loook it over and check it for any updates. He went over them and came up with a list of items which Evinrude has changed. I asked him to please call if there is any work to be done that is not covered by Warranty. He said there is nothing that is not covered an it is the best warranty out there. I ill report back if that al works out that way but it was nice hearing it.
 

artodea

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I've had two full seasons with my 300 G2 on my Gulfstream (single engine on a bracket). It is simply amazing and no complaints. My post from when I installed it:
http://greatgrady.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=24003&sid=78f6cc3afebb9260c3b1eca74628114f
I have since swapped out the prop for a 16 pitch RX4 which gets me at the ideal RPM range and I've raised the engine to the highest setting.

One nice benefit of this engine on the Grady bracket is the entire lower unit is well above the waterline when raised. I used to have to put bottom paint on my Yamaha lower unit - but not anymore.
 

Ky Grady

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Thanks guys for all the replies and your experience with the G2. Very helpful.

The Yamaha on a Grady is a perception thing. I'm thinking the G2 is going to change that. The lack of Yamaha availability will also help.

The torque and fuel savings is undeniable. Yeah, you have to add oil, but the way I look at that is, you are always lubricating the motor with fresh oil, not a crankcase full of contaminated oil, especially after you get some hours on a oil change. Then there is that 10 year warranty. The G2 at idle is comparable to a four stroke, but bring it up to speed and she'll talk to you.

I work for a Evinrude dealer and am a certified Evinrude mechanic. The G2 is an amazing motor. I've enjoyed getting up to speed on it on the service side of it. I have contact with the reps and also the techs at the service call center in Wisconsin. I've asked 100's of questions about the G2's, anything and everything I've seen and heard through the forums that I belong to. I've asked these questions as a consumer, not a mechanic, for my own benefit and knowledge. I don't want to make a $25K mistake. I want to know all I can about them. Like anything new, the G2 had some growing pains with steering, trim, overheat issues and a few other things, but Evinrude stepped up and fixed them fairly quickly. There might be a few little tweaks that need to be made, but for the most part, the current G2's seem spot on.

From you guys on here and THT G2 threads, the G2's are gaining a following. Real world experience speaks volumes.

I do see a 250 HO G2 in my future as a repower, no reason not to. Might not be this year, but it's coming.