200 HPDI Engine Questions

[Grady_Crazy]

I am interested in a Seafarer 226 with a 200 HPDI. I have owned a F200 4 stroke on a 208 and it was great. How are the HPDI 200's with 300 hrs? Reliable? Fast? Hole Shot? Is this enough engine for this boat with a hardtop? Burn a lot of oil? Use Yamamlube and ring free like my 90hp 2 stroke?

On another note, with a hardtop is towing more difficult? I have a half ton suburban.

 

[my retreat]

200 hpdi &22'6" Grady

G-Crazy, I have twin 200's HPDI's! I never owned a 4stroke but I can tell they are very reliable and efficient motors!! They use approximately 30% less oil then my previous brand new 225 Mercury Optimax. You will also love the 22'6 and it's enough motor. My friend has that exact boat with a hardtop and we've had it out 30 miles shark fishing and stripe bass fishing in the rips with no issue. My one negative comment, they made the cabin to small where you can hardly store a 7' rod in the cabin. Overall a great boat for it's size!!

 

[my retreat]

One last comment

I would also take a serious look at the 22'8" with the closed transom.

 

[magicalbill]

I have no personal experience, but most on this site love the 200 HDPI.

I owned a Seafarer for 10 years and towed it in the beginning with a 1/2 ton Ford..Did fine, as will your 'Burb. I don't think the hardtop would cause you to upgrade your tow vehicle.
Just be mindful of clearances and heights of bridges, low-hanging tree limbs, etc. Measure your height requirement with the boat on the trailer and visualize your "safety zone" as your going down the road..If you come upon something that your worried the hardtop won't clear...Don't chance it..
I always try to stick to main roads with my current Gulfstream.

 

[fishingFINattic]

THumbs up on the 200 HPDI - I have two of them that are turning 10 years old soon!

Tim

 

[CJBROWN]

Yes, good motor, nice boat.

A seatrial should show good performance. They don't smoke. Their reputation is pretty much bullet proof. I would buy a HPDI, prolly not a SWSII. The four strokes are nice, but the hpdi is actually a better performer.

The hardtop adds weight and windage for towing, but fishermen swear by them.

For a half ton chassis, do synthetic atf and diff fluid, a trans cooler, HD shocks, and make sure your brakes work good on the trailer. Its a lot of weight.

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

the 150/175/200 HPDI 2.6l IS THE BEST MOTOR YAMI PRODUCED, IT IS 3.1L NOW

ALSO THE F225 IS THE BEST 4 STOKE PRODUCED

 

[Grady_Crazy]

With a 226 where are the oil tanks and how much oil do they hold? Can you fill them without making a mess?

With a f200 you just gas and go when out on the water. with the HPDI I would have to carry oil. How do you guys with the HPDI handle the oil issue?

Do they smell like my Yamaha 90 2 Stroke on my skiff?

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

oil issue, none

i have a 3.2 gallon tank and 3 extra gallons always on board

 

[SlimJim]

With a 226 where are the oil tanks and how much oil do they hold? Can you fill them without making a mess?

With a f200 you just gas and go when out on the water. with the HPDI I would have to carry oil. How do you guys with the HPDI handle the oil issue?

Do they smell like my Yamaha 90 2 Stroke on my skiff?

Resale value is not as good. Alot of boat buyers want 4 Strokes.

 

[fishingFINattic]

My 265 has two reseviors- it is really a non issue - when fishing in shore the light flashs on the dash indicating low oil - I run the rest of the trip and then fill the resevoir with 2.5 gallons of oil back at the dock-
When heading offshore I add 2.5 to each resevior-
Slim Jim did hit a note - people want four strokes - but with that said - a used one should be priced considerably less than the same one with four strokes-
When I bought my boat, it was 25K less than a 4stroke boat - no brainer - run the two strokes - add the oil - and enjoy the considerably less investment!

Tim

 

[magicalbill]

Another sort-of-related thought.

When I was discussing the options with my (Great!) folks at Twin Cities Marine, I wanted 200HDPI's on my Gulfstream.Several here stated that was the perfect power for the 232 Gulf.
Come to find out, Grady at that point was rigging new boats with 4-strokes ONLY.
I went with the 4-strokes because I wanted the boat factory/professionally rigged at the Grady Plant.This was important enough to me to override the HDPI option.
The 200 4's are, hands down, the BEST outboards I have ever put the throttles to. My son agrees that they are incredible feats of engineering.
My next outboard-powered boat will have nothing but Yamaha 4-strokes.

My guys tell me that the 4-strokes rarely come back for problems, but 2-strokes are in the shop much more.

 

[magicalbill]

Guess I should qualify the above post by adding that many here have said the 200HDPI's are right up there with the best Yamaha has produced. I personally don't know, but would have taken them IF Grady would've rigged them for me.
That said, my owner's experience has made me a 4-stroke believer.

 

[Grady_Crazy]

I did like my F200 4 stroke, started every time, no smoke, oil, no fumes and quiet, plenty of power. How loud is the HPDI as compared to the F200? If the boat holds 100gals gas, will the oil tank hold enough oil for this amount of gas or do you have to refill?

On another note, how accurate is the NADA boat guide?

 

[jekyl]

I recently repowered my 265 express from 2x 200hpdi's to 2 x F225's so I've had both on exactly the same boat.

First let me say they are both great engines . While I don't have Just In Times technical experience to report from; I have owned inboards, 150 and 50 hp Honda's and carburetted Mercs and Yammies.

The 200 hpdi is the quietest 2 stroke I've owned but not nearly as quiet as the F225.

The first time on the boat (HPDI's) trolling downwind my wife comented on the fumes......With the Fours she comented on how quiet they are.

The 200hpdi can be quite frugal on oil, but it is one more thing to check and fill and of course you need to be more careful with ring free etc.
One of my Hpdi's blew a piston at 1000 hrs which yamaha put down to injector failure . So despite constantly checking and replacing all filters ( and there are at least three on each block), qualified servicing at scheduled intervals and keeping my fuel fresh and definitely no ethanol here; I still had a major problem. Many will say the HPDI's can easily go 2000hrs with good care. I felt that I gave them more attention than any other motor i have owned, so i was a little dissapointed.

As we do a lot of trolling the fours are more suited to our needs. However i must say the 200hpdi seemed more powerful and overall used LESS fuel. Of course you need to add in the ring free and oil none of which is cheap!

Overall i am much happier with the fours for my purpose. However if the HPDI's had kept going then I wouldn't have bothered repowering . All of the four strokes I've owned have been completely trouble free. But then so was my 175 carburetted yammie and i sold that with nearly 1000 hours on it.

I guess what I'm saying is you have to be unlucky to have a failure with the 200hpdi but they are more temperamental than the fours.

Hope this helps.........

 

[jekyl]

Oil tanks are available in 2 sizes both of which would be plenty as long as the oil rods have been set at recommended gap.

I am know my boat is more saleable with fours. Here in Aus. it is very unusual to see anything over 20ft with 2 strokes. Our fuel is much dearer and despite the economy of the HPDI's most buyers perception is that four strokes are greener and more efficient. Hence they have much better resale.

 

[Desperado]

I currently own 3 200 HPDIs (2 boats) and they are perfect for what I do. I run to a spot, dive, and move on. If I trolled a lot a 4s would be a better option. From what I have read, you have to go F250s to get similiar performance but use more fuel than the HPDIs. If the cost of the HPDI is less than the same model with a 4 stroke I say go for it. They do not resale as well, but the cost of admission ussually reflects that fact. And the holeshot is sweet, even on my Sailfish.

 

[Grady_Crazy]

I think I really want the 4 stroke but am trying to justify the HPDI. I think I will wait and get what I really want, a F200 or 250.
Thanks to all

 

[BobP]

I could tell from your first post, you are a 4 stroke guy.

The F225 4 stroke came out years after the HPDIs, just have to find a new model boat. Grady started using the F225 as soon as it hit the market, around beginning of this decade.

 

[Grady_Crazy]

Well yes I am a 4 stroke Guy. I also have a 19' Carolina Skiff with a Yammy 90hp 2 stroke. I keep a gallon jug in the boat and have lost a cylinder on this thing for no apparent reason and it was a bit of money for a new powerhead. I can't imagine what a 6 cyl powerhead would cost.

I like the ease of use on the F200, the quick starting, quiet running, all around performance. I also wonder what it would be like keeping the oil tanks filled, spilling oil, buying Yamalube @ $25 per gallon, additional noise, but I do like the 2 stroke power.

I think I will just keep looking.