330 Express with twin 250 HP

[Sailfish]

I am currently looking at some older Express 330s that have a max HP rating of 500 HP. For those of you who have a 330 with twin 250s, or 225s, how do you find performance?

Thanks

 

[ocdansar]

My 03 had 225’s I looked at a few with 250’s. I sold the 225’s off my 03. I wouldn’t run that boat with that power. The one with 250’s I would be running that boat at 5000 rpm all the time glad I didn’t buy it. I have the 300 Mercury V-8’s on mine now with 17 hours on them so far. Wife and I ran the boat offshore for the first time on Tuesday. Seas were a solid 3’ and the boat felt really good. Coming in the tide was ripping out and the wind was blowing in and the boat had enough power on the back to run the inlet. I was really impressed with how well it ran. On a side note I had an 01 with 250 ox66 250’s and it ran really well with the 2 strokes only problem was it was a mosquito fogger.

 

[seasick]

Newer 330s have higher HP ratings but in your case, 300s aren't really an option. Let's see if other post their experiences.

 

[fsc60]

I have a 01 330, the transom was no good, we rebuilt it and used all composite materials. Hung 2 new Yamaha 300's with 4 blades and never looked back. What a boat with those engines. Cruise 30 mph at 4200 all day long. 1.2 miles per gallon.

 

[loubeer]

I just repowered my "03 Express 330 from the original 225's to 250's, heeding the power rating. I live is SoCal and regularly fish Catalina Island (30 miles away) or San Clemente Island (60 miles away). I have 25 hours on the new motors, so may not yet be fully broken in, but looks like the 30 mph mark will come at 4000 rpm and 1.0 to 1.2 mpg, depending on load (fishing with 4 guys, a couple of hundred gallons of fuel, and a primary / add on bait tank capacity of 105 gallons makes a difference). I'm guessing about 38 mph at 5000 rpm. Performance is a very subjective term. I prefer 28-30 for efficient fuel usage and the ocean conditions rarely give me the opportunity for more speed than 30 with reasonable comfort. I absolutely love this boat - it delivers what I want. Like I said, performance is very subjective - what do you want?

 

[kirk a]

Mine is an 03 with 225's. Cruise is 22-24 KNOTS at 4800RPM, consuming about 23-24 GPH. Overall econ is just over 1 per statue mile.

That said, they are at 1100 hours, and I'm considering repowering in 2 years. The 330 is not a light go fast boat. The thing about this boat is it will run at cruise through just about anything I've seen, and rarely takes water on the windshield. Typical Buzzards Bay chop does not phase it.

For me, fishing inshore it matters not, but for the longer offshore trips, a repower will significantly reduce travel times as cruise will be 3-4 knots faster.

@loubeer - are those new engines the 4.2l block? If so, pretty solid numbers.

@ocdansar - can you provide a full set of numbers? That is a motor I'm very interested in, and have not yet seen any numbers on a 330

 

[ocdansar]

I will post some numbers once I get a few more hours on them . Right now the boat cruises easily at 30 MPH @ 3900-4000 getting 1.3 this is with full fuel 3 adults 2 kids and all our stuff just missing bait and ice. Having run several other 330’s Iam blown away by the way the boat handles so far. Acceleration is incredible with hardly no bow rise and 1.1 is about the worst economy I’ve seen with the hammer down and motors trimmed out.
When I repowered my goal was 1 mpg at 30 mph turning 4000-4400 for once my goal has been achieved.

 

[Sailfish]

I would be comfortable cruising 24-27 knots. The reality is in anything above that, it stops being fun, and becomes a filling integrity check in all but flat calm water.

I am not looking for a speed demon. I just don't want to have to run the boat at 95% of WOT all day to get a decent cruise speed.

Thanks for all the responses thus far.

 

[loubeer]

Mine is an 03 with 225's. Cruise is 22-24 KNOTS at 4800RPM, consuming about 23-24 GPH. Overall econ is just over 1 per statue mile.

That said, they are at 1100 hours, and I'm considering repowering in 2 years. The 330 is not a light go fast boat. The thing about this boat is it will run at cruise through just about anything I've seen, and rarely takes water on the windshield. Typical Buzzards Bay chop does not phase it.

For me, fishing inshore it matters not, but for the longer offshore trips, a repower will significantly reduce travel times as cruise will be 3-4 knots faster.

@loubeer - are those new engines the 4.2l block? If so, pretty solid numbers.

@ocdansar - can you provide a full set of numbers? That is a motor I'm very interested in, and have not yet seen any numbers on a 330

Yes - they are the 4.2L. I may have got the last two available in SoCal, when I bought them a few months ago - lucky.

 

[loubeer]

Yes - they are the 4.2L. I may have got the last two available in SoCal, when I bought them a few months ago - lucky.

Addendum - my original 225's lasted 18 years - about 1900 hours. My performance figures were dead on the same as yours. I did catch the corrosion problem about 5 years ago and replaced the necessary parts with the Yamaha corrosion kit. One engine came unbuttoned earlier this year just starting it up at the dock. I counted my blessings that they lasted 18 years and that I didn't get stuck offshore 60 miles away! With time, unfortunately, saltwater corrosion will always win . Anyway, I now have new 250's, and I am beyond happy! The electronic throttle controls are a nice improvement over the old cable controls. Also, feedback info available on the new gauges and being able to shake hands with my Simrad MFD's engine management screen is a nice improvement.

 

[loubeer]

I would be comfortable cruising 24-27 knots. The reality is in anything above that, it stops being fun, and becomes a filling integrity check in all but flat calm water.

I am not looking for a speed demon. I just don't want to have to run the boat at 95% of WOT all day to get a decent cruise speed.

Thanks for all the responses thus far.

Seems like you'd run 250's at 65 - 70% of throttle to get that speed. From all that I've experienced and heard - that's no sweat for the Yamaha's.

 

[ocdansar]

I had a 02 Marlin with 225’s. 1800 hours and the exhaust passage inside the block started puking oil . It was non repairable and I sold the boat with a dead motor on one side.
with a middle grounds load that boat would barely get on plane and make 22 knots .

 

[loubeer]

I would be comfortable cruising 24-27 knots. The reality is in anything above that, it stops being fun, and becomes a filling integrity check in all but flat calm water.

I am not looking for a speed demon. I just don't want to have to run the boat at 95% of WOT all day to get a decent cruise speed.

Thanks for all the responses thus far.

I'm not sure that the conflicting replies have helped you much. Nothing beats trying 330's out for yourself before buying or going for a ride with a member. If you were in SoCal, I'd give you a demo ride in a heart beat .