33 Grady Express owners ?

[Pat Hurley]

For those who have the 33 Express with 250 Yamaha four strokes ...

what is the real world performance numbers with this power ?

what rpm do you cruise at and what speed in KNOTS ? Fuel economy ?
4000 rpms ?
4200 rpms ?
4500 rpms ?

Thanks !!

 

[wspitler]

A little dependent on weight and of course wind and sea conditions, but at 4200 RPM 19-20 knots. 0.9-1.1 NM/Gal. I normally cruise for long runs at 4200 - 4400 and when all said and done plan for 1.0 NM/G. 4500 RPM gets 22-23 knots. 4000 RPM seems inefficient as it is barely planing. Again a fully loaded boat with 350 gallons fuel, full water, bait well and four adults is very different from 100 gallons of fuel and the wife and I. It is not speed demon with the 250s and heavy. (2007 330 F250s) But it will take more than most people want to experience. Not so good in a following sea, a lot of work fighting the yaw tendency, but love the boat!

 

[Pat Hurley]

A little dependent on weight and of course wind and sea conditions, but at 4200 RPM 19-20 knots. 0.9-1.1 NM/Gal. I normally cruise for long runs at 4200 - 4400 and when all said and done plan for 1.0 NM/G. 4500 RPM gets 22-23 knots. 4000 RPM seems inefficient as it is barely planing. Again a fully loaded boat with 350 gallons fuel, full water, bait well and four adults is very different from 100 gallons of fuel and the wife and I. It is not speed demon with the 250s and heavy. (2007 330 F250s) But it will take more than most people want to experience. Not so good in a following sea, a lot of work fighting the yaw tendency, but love the boat!

Thanks WS ... I have an opportunity at the same model year and power. I have owned the 250’s albeit on different boats. Great engines imo. Never had a corrosion issue or a lick of trouble (2,000 + hrs) on one pair. Just wonder about longevity running those higher rpms over time on that heavy boat. How many hours have you or others been able to log pushing that Hull ?

Many thanks Pat

 

[wspitler]

Thanks WS ... I have an opportunity at the same model year and power. I have owned the 250’s albeit on different boats. Great engines imo. Never had a corrosion issue or a lick of trouble (2,000 + hrs) on one pair. Just wonder about longevity running those higher rpms over time on that heavy boat. How many hours have you or others been able to log pushing that Hull ?

Many thanks Pat

I'm at 950 and having no issues. One of my engines had the mid section fixed under warranty at 250 hours after I found corrosion in the exhaust. No cost to me. The other engine was and is fine. I scope them every water pump change and they remain good. I also think they are bullet proof!

 

[Lucky13]

i have an 07 it had 250's on it when I purchased it. I ran it for a season with those but the plan was always to repower. When I took them off I had about 1700 hrs and traded them in. the boat is like a new boat with the 300's. I would plan for a repower if you are going to keep it a while and its in good shape.

 

[fsc60]

Lucky 13, I repowered my 2001with Yamaha 300's also, Im curious because i have not had a chance to run it yet. What props did you go with? I was going to go with 4 blades but cant figure out what pitch to use

 

[HMBJack]

My performance #'s are similar to WSpitler's.

2006 330 with 1,900 hours now on my F250's.
I usually run with 2/3'rds fuel or so and do a solid 22 KNOTS at 4,300 RPM's. This = .9 nMPG.
I use 16 pitch 4 blade props (specifically Power Tech OFS props with shift dampener hubs).
I will likely re-power to F300's but there is zero need for that now and the forseable future.
The 3.3L F250's are very solid motors and I know of a few that exceeded 7,000 hours.
It's all about how, and how often, you use these engines, and how you maintain them.
The more you use them, the longer they last IMHO.

 

[Lucky13]

Lucky 13, I repowered my 2001with Yamaha 300's also, Im curious because i have not had a chance to run it yet. What props did you go with? I was going to go with 4 blades but cant figure out what pitch to use

not sure exactly they tested a few but I know they are not 4 blades. I can find out for you.

 

[Pat Hurley]

i have an 07 it had 250's on it when I purchased it. I ran it for a season with those but the plan was always to repower. When I took them off I had about 1700 hrs and traded them in. the boat is like a new boat with the 300's. I would plan for a repower if you are going to keep it a while and its in good shape.

No problems with the 300's and is the 07' rated for those ? I assume the weight is not an issue. What kind of performance numbers are you getting with the 300's ?
I'm contemplating the purchase of a 07 and like you I thought the 300's would be a good repower option.

 

[wspitler]

No problems with the 300's and is the 07' rated for those ? I assume the weight is not an issue. What kind of performance numbers are you getting with the 300's ?
I'm contemplating the purchase of a 07 and like you I thought the 300's would be a good repower option.

The 2007 is rated for 600HP. If my 250s ever die I would definitely go with 300s, but hard to justify the cost vs benefit.

 

[themikehyde]

I was out playing around Saturday, and started trying to do a fuel chart. I will play with it more when I splash back in next week, after clean up. This is after being in the water almost 1 yr. This is a 2009, twin 350's, all tanks (Less Holding tank) full, minimal chop.

Mike

 

[Lucky13]

No problems with the 300's and is the 07' rated for those ? I assume the weight is not an issue. What kind of performance numbers are you getting with the 300's ?
I'm contemplating the purchase of a 07 and like you I thought the 300's would be a good repower option.

yes max HP for the 07 is 600HP. I wanted to do the 350 zuks with the dual props would have been awesome but they didn't make the hull modifications till 08 allowing for a 700HP max.
I gained about 80 miles of range while cruising faster because of the economy improvements. We have to go a long way to get to the edge up here so that range makes a big difference.

 

[usmm1234]

Here are my stats with The Suzuki Fly by wire 250’s. That’s full of fuel and water. 4 blade Power Tech Props.

 

[Legend]

I'm at 950 and having no issues. One of my engines had the mid section fixed under warranty at 250 hours after I found corrosion in the exhaust. No cost to me. The other engine was and is fine. I scope them every water pump change and they remain good. I also think they are bullet proof!

I had that same routine to check for corrosion with my F225s and one year while changing the water pumps out I got a call from my mechanic that not only did I have the corrosion but it went a step further and migrated into the heads. Long story short ended up repowering with F250 4.2 L. Might be worth the cost to update that other engine next time you do pumps.

 

[Pat Hurley]

Here are my stats with The Suzuki Fly by wire 250’s. That’s full of fuel and water. 4 blade Power Tech Props. View attachment 12961

So if I'm reading your gauges correctly you're getting 1.3 mpg running just about 4600 rpm's tickling 26kts. That seems pretty darn good pushing that hull.

 

[usmm1234]

So if I'm reading your gauges correctly you're getting 1.3 mpg running just about 4600 rpm's tickling 26kts. That seems pretty darn good pushing that hull.

That is correct. Grady White is major customer of mine for the last 30 years. The engineers there admitted they had never gotten that mileage from Yamahas.