300 Marlin - 250’s or 300’s?

[Jestimator2]

Hello everyone! I’ve been a Grady owner since 1989 and just sold our Tournament 192 to my brothers. My family has grown with the kids getting married and a grandaughter, my wife wants a toilet and I want to overnight in the boat so we are going for our dream boat ...the 300 Marlin. Im looking at the 2005-2007 vintage and many that I see have Yamaha 250’s on them. I saw on boattest.com they tested the 300 Marlin with Yamaha 300’s on it and it seemed to perform well. Is there a reason most of these boats have 250’s hung on them (i.e price, fuel economy, dependability)? Also, any Marlin owners on here that can please shed some light on things to look for, any major improvements in design from one year to another that I should consider and your experience with the 250’s or 300’s. Appreciate everyones help! Thanks!

 

[TortugaBob]

Most of the older Marlin 300's came from factory with 225's or 250's, as my 2005 did. Don't even think 300's were available options then?. Find the best condition with options such as electronics upgrades, lower hours, new pumps, etc. I believe around '04 '05 they changed the cockpit built in bench seat to flip down bench with larger ice chest. I wanted the latter since I mostly fish. Also wanted the Genset. Many people on here are glad to help.

 

[magicalbill]

TortugaBob is correct. I'm not sure when the 300's first appeared, but Marlins were rigged with 250's and 225's because that was the highest HP option at the time. I'm sure someone here can pinpoint when the 300's were first introduced on the Marlin.

In a nutshell, the 250's were adequate, the 300's are much better. My 2018 Marlin has the 350's which I am in love with, but they wouldn't be an option on an '05 or '07, I wouldn't think.

300's will likely net you 1.4-1.5 MPG cruising around 30-32 MPH near 3800- 4000 RPM.

Have no experience with 250's, but figure less MPG, more RPM's to give you the same speed.

Both engines, if well maintained, are proven winners. Others with more expertise than myself can tell you what to watch for structurally and options from year-to-year.

It's a great choice and a great boat. Remember Grady has been making them forever and they have it down. Mine is well-balanced, in tune with itself and is a blast to pilot. Like you, we enjoy staying overnight and cruising around. We don't fish, but it's a popular fishing platform, they say. There's room in the cabin for comfortable overnighting. We slept aboard in our 232 Gulfstream for years, so the Marlin is the Marriott for us. It's all relative.

 

[drbatts]

Engine choices were based on the Yamaha power available at the time. Pre 2005, most boats had f225's as they were the biggest 4 stroke available. The F250 came out in 05. In 2008 the F350s were released and HP ratings came up to 700 to accommodate the bigger engines. In 2011 the 4.2 engines came out including the F300's. Somewhere around this time bilge access was improved with a hinged hatch in the rear cockpit and I believe the dash was enlarged to accommodate larger modern electronics too. There were probably other changes too along the way. If your looking at boats with the older then 2008 with the original engines then make sure the midsections were replaced as corrosion in this area was the achilles heal of those engines. Otherwise the f225 and F250 engines are reliable and most things on them are fixable. I had F225s on my previous boat and currently have F300s on my 305 which is an excellent combination for that hull.

 

[Twin 300’s]

I went from Twin 225 Yamahas to 300 Suzuki’s on my 265 express and it was the world of difference between power and getting 30% -35% Better fuel mileage.

 

[Jestimator2]

All, thanks so much for the input...this is a great forum with some great folks! Your help and advice is invaluable! Maybe I need to look at 2008 and up??...the hunt continues!

 

[Viking88rd]

We have nearly the 1st season in the books with our 2007 marlin. We up-sized from our 232 Gulfstream. The season has been a delight. its powered with original 250's. With full fuel and two adults and otherwise loaded........4200 rpm yields 27-32 mph depending on whether going with or against the tide (its vicious here in Maine). I have been pleasantly pleased with the performance of the 250s. I have no doubt that 300s would be amazing, but 250s are more than adequate in my opinion.
2005 was the first year of the major design change (flip up stern cockpit seat included). With one BIG exception. Our 2007 does not have the hinged deck section at the stern. I think that happened in 2008. Interestingly, the 2007 305 Express has the hinged section. Guess Marlin got left out of that brain trust design meeting. That one feature alone is worth considering a 2008. So much so, in my opinion, that I am considering having the fiberglass wizard at our local Grady dealer do some design modifications to our hatch to mimic the 2008 hinged version.

 

[Jestimator2]

We have nearly the 1st season in the books with our 2007 marlin. We up-sized from our 232 Gulfstream. The season has been a delight. its powered with original 250's. With full fuel and two adults and otherwise loaded........4200 rpm yields 27-32 mph depending on whether going with or against the tide (its vicious here in Maine). I have been pleasantly pleased with the performance of the 250s. I have no doubt that 300s would be amazing, but 250s are more than adequate in my opinion.
2005 was the first year of the major design change (flip up stern cockpit seat included). With one BIG exception. Our 2007 does not have the hinged deck section at the stern. I think that happened in 2008. Interestingly, the 2007 305 Express has the hinged section. Guess Marlin got left out of that brain trust design meeting. That one feature alone is worth considering a 2008. So much so, in my opinion, that I am considering having the fiberglass wizard at our local Grady dealer do some design modifications to our hatch to mimic the 2008 hinged version.

Wow! Great info! I wouldn't think that to be such a big improvement...you are talking about the hinged section at the generator access correct?

 

[Viking88rd]

Wow! Great info! I wouldn't think that to be such a big improvement...you are talking about the hinged section at the generator access correct?

Correct. Having full access to the stern bilge area for general inspection, maintenance ( fuel separators for example) is so much easier. boats as we all know require us to be some sort of contortionist circus performer to get at things. Having the luxury of being able to flip open the deck panel to get at things is amazing. Contrastingly, I have to caulk down the deck panel after spring commissioning and pray I don't have to pull it up til fall winterization. Tip I learned here in the forum.....run a length of monofiliment fish line under the new caulking and when its time to pull the deck up.....pull up the dangling ends of the fish line and it opens up the caulk like a zipper. Still, I long for the hinged solution.

 

[eppem]

This is a great read. I just sold my 265 after 14 years of owndership and am looking for a 2012 - 2013 Marlin for most of the above reasons. Viking88rd, we had a glass guy make a hinge in our aft access, it was expensive and not perfect but exactly what any do-it-yourselfer wants.

 

[Biscayne208]

I owned a 2005 Marlin with Twin 250's for 4 seasons. The 250's are just fine but 300's of course are preferable. I put over 500 hours on it and cruised all through the Bahamas all the way to Cave cay Exuma. Loaded to all hell the boat still broke 40 mph wide open. Typically 42-43 mpt WOT. Cruised at 4400-4500 RPM at 31 mph on average.

Boat was great. Only thing I would have you look for is factory delamination by having a surveyor percussion test the hull. When I sold the boat a factory defect of delam was found on the hull side which was a huge shock to me. And after reading up on it I was not the first one to have that happen to me. The 300's and 330's occasionally have issues with the balsa coring on the hullsides.

I am on my 8th Grady now so I know them well.

 

[g0tagrip]

I have a 2007 Marlin with F250s. I have 1891 hours on them, they run great. Keep up on the recommended maintenance and the engines should go 4000 hours.
I did add a hatch to the aft floor to access the fuel water separators. Fairly easy if you are handy with a skill saw.

 

[luckydude]

We have nearly the 1st season in the books with our 2007 marlin. We up-sized from our 232 Gulfstream. The season has been a delight. its powered with original 250's. With full fuel and two adults and otherwise loaded........4200 rpm yields 27-32 mph depending on whether going with or against the tide (its vicious here in Maine). I have been pleasantly pleased with the performance of the 250s. I have no doubt that 300s would be amazing, but 250s are more than adequate in my opinion.
2005 was the first year of the major design change (flip up stern cockpit seat included). With one BIG exception. Our 2007 does not have the hinged deck section at the stern. I think that happened in 2008. Interestingly, the 2007 305 Express has the hinged section. Guess Marlin got left out of that brain trust design meeting. That one feature alone is worth considering a 2008. So much so, in my opinion, that I am considering having the fiberglass wizard at our local Grady dealer do some design modifications to our hatch to mimic the 2008 hinged version.

The modern 250/300s are the same block. They push more gas and exhaust to get to 300 but when I bought my 2020 with 250, the difference was super small. On very flat water I was rated for 48 mph with the 250 and I think it was 51 mph with the 300.

If you can get the 300 at no extra cost, hell yeah, it's a bit more. But if you have to pay for it, hell no, it's not worth the extra cost.

 

[amf282]

We replaced the yammie 250's with Zuke 300's on our 282. Night and day difference and comparable or better fuel economy at faster cruise. Would never go back.

 

[OverspooledRob]

Hello everyone! I’ve been a Grady owner since 1989 and just sold our Tournament 192 to my brothers. My family has grown with the kids getting married and a grandaughter, my wife wants a toilet and I want to overnight in the boat so we are going for our dream boat ...the 300 Marlin. Im looking at the 2005-2007 vintage and many that I see have Yamaha 250’s on them. I saw on boattest.com they tested the 300 Marlin with Yamaha 300’s on it and it seemed to perform well. Is there a reason most of these boats have 250’s hung on them (i.e price, fuel economy, dependability)? Also, any Marlin owners on here that can please shed some light on things to look for, any major improvements in design from one year to another that I should consider and your experience with the 250’s or 300’s. Appreciate everyones help! Thanks!

Just bought a 2000 300 Marlin in August of this year with original Yamaha 250s with 600 hours on them. They run great still, turn over without issue as soon as I turn the key. Little smokey on start up as they are two stroke. My mechanic who is very knowledgeable and well respected for his expertise in the area loved that I got the two stroke yamaha 250s says they're great motors and last a very long time when properly serviced. So far so good. Cruising at 27mph at 4500 rpm. Wide open 35mph at 5500. Since this is the first boat I own, I have considered a future plan to repower but going up to 300 hp and have heard yamaha suzuki and hondas are the way to go. Some people favor verados though. I'd probably stick with Yamaha since I wouldn't have to rewire everything.

 

[Iceman2010]

We replaced the yammie 250's with Zuke 300's on our 282. Night and day difference and comparable or better fuel economy at faster cruise. Would never go back.

I am putting 300 Zukes on my 282 and can not wait

 

[Fishtales]

300s are nice on that boat. 250s are tough to beat on reliability and work fine for me.