Freedom 335 twin Yamaha 300's

[mrmotoguzzi00]

Morning,

Newbie here trying to do research and can't seem to find any test info for the Freedom 335 with Twin 300's... I found this on the grady site but they don't show any data for the twin 300's.

Grady-White | Freedom 335 Dual Console

Grady-White 33-foot dual console boat: Superb saltwater offshore sportfishing boat, deluxe bow seating, separate cabin and head console areas.

www.gradywhite.com

They tested 3 motor combo's but not the twin 300's... ??

all seem to fall around 1.2mpg, safe to assume the twin 300's will do at least if not better ?

looked at the grady boats in that length and seems the freedom is 2k heavier or so than the express/canyon... hmmmm

anybody got this combo ?

Thanks

Mike in Sarasota

 

[magicalbill]

Hey Mike:

Interesting how they don't spec perf data for the twin 300's. They obviously offer it as an option.

That's a big sled..I personally think twin 300's would be a little thin. Load it up with passengers and gear and it will work pretty hard to plane off and slog thru lousy conditions.

RE: Performance:

Without hard data I can only offer speculation. The 350's come in around 1.1; Trip 300's land between 1.1 & 1.2 so I'm thinking twin 300's will be in the 1.1, MAYBE 1.2 w/ low fuel & lightly loaded.

It's your money I'm spending, but I would consider more HP.

Sarasota's great..My parents took me vacationing on Longboat for many years. I wish they'd really dredge Sarasota Pass, but it guess it wouldn't last with the shoaling.

Cannon's is a neat place. Our club does outings with their sponsored club sometimes.

 

[mrmotoguzzi00]

Ok Good Info Bill, I see quite a few of the 325/335 with twin 300's here in Florida... most of our time is 2-4 people inter coastal cruising but planning on keys and bahamas trips with this bigger boat...

There will be no hundred mile trips to go fishing, i picked grady for the safety in case we hit rough sea's... and the ability to buzz in the gulf versus inter coastal and not worry about 2-3 footers...

335 is significantly heavier than the 325 so i understand what your saying...

I see quite a few 335's with twin 350's and i understand the cons of those motors as well... that 80hr range is typically where i would cruise... ug... the whole thing makes me nervous so was trying to stay away from the 350's...

guessing trip 300's would be ok, but insurance i learned is a thing when ya hit 3 motors...

Thanks for being patient with me the newbie so far

Mike

 

[magicalbill]

Hey. happy to help, these are good problems to have.

Bear with me for another round..

My reasoning for the 1.1 to 1.2 stats with the twin 300's are based on their working harder pushing the heavier weight of the boat. The bigger V8's would get the same burn as they work less. Again, I'm throwing darts at the wall here w/out hard numbers.

RE: 350's.

I have a 2018 Marlin 300 with 350's and they are marvelous. I had the same concerns as you and called Yamaha and the Grady Rep. They assured me the problems were fixed, although you still have to replace the wheels after 80 hrs between 3500-4300 RPM. So far they have been right. The mils have 210-odd hrs and have been flawless. I've replaced the wheels twice and it was an afternoon in the dealer service dept. (One time it coincided with my 100 hr service.)

I would not have bought into the older 350's, they have a bad history, but I decided to trust the techs and Yamaha reps and, up 'till now, I haven't been bitten. The V8's are incredible machines.

If you have trepidation's about the 350's I don't blame you. That's a lot of jack invested in engines. I have been happy, but I get it if you go another way.

Speaking of, the 425's seem to be happy machines, although I have no first hand experience with them.

I know your waters well, and your 335 will be a good match for your intended purposes. The Keys are 8 hrs away as long as you have East, light SE or light NE winds. The Bahamas are accessible by the Okeechobee Waterway or circling around the Keys; either venture is sure to up your Fun Factor.

 

[mrmotoguzzi00]

Really appreciate your replies bill, the boat im looking at seems well cared for, the 300's have almost 400 hrs... hearing that's ok if maintained... but your thoughts make sense.... bigger power, work less...

putting that thinking cap back on....

im an engineer so i will of course analyze this to death...

 

[wspitler]

I too am an engineer (aero), albeit retired. My 2007 330 Express probably weighs more than the boat you are considering. (about 14,500# loaded) We have F250s and it may be little underpowered, but we seldom have conditions that allow for the use of a lot more power without beating everyone up. Ideally we would like F300s, but I can't rationalize the expense to upgrade. My F250s have 954 hours as of yesterday and I would not hesitate to operate well cared for F300s. I would not even consider triples as you add more weight and more underwater drag. In my opinion this whole triple (and more) outboards craze is more "show than go" and probably efficient only for the larger boats that need it, but at some point it becomes diminishing returns. My two cents, stick with twins and 300s, not 350s. No worries about insurance or 80 hour in zone replacements and the issues of getting the larger boat to the dealer, even if it is not that often. As you probably know, setting time limits in RPM zone (harmonics) replacement schedules is not an exact science and may be dictated by crack propagation equations (just a guess). I would feel more comfortable when I see many fleet F350s making the 2000+ hour life. Haven't heard of any fleet data to support that yet. I could be missing it though.

 

[mrmotoguzzi00]

Thanks to the other bill as well

 

[mrmotoguzzi00]

Bill S, just as a note the Freedoms seem to be heavy beasts....

335 freedom weight 13,900 w/o engines

the 325 is 9300 ...

 

[wspitler]

Bill S, just as a note the Freedoms seem to be heavy beasts....

335 freedom weight 13,900 w/o engines

the 325 is 9300 ...

Wow, that surprises me, but I still think 300s would work fine, at least for me. I'm not into speed and it seems I pick a lot of days with that short nasty Gulf chop so higher speeds are not comfortable. Of course you probably do get better fuel economy. You have deeper water closer to shore down where you are, but we have that short chop due to the shallower water farther offshore up here around Crystal River.

 

[mrmotoguzzi00]

wow deeper ? that's funny but im originally from New England ... so...

off Venice/Sarasota we can go 40 miles out and still be in less than 100 feet... the fishing friends do it it all the time, i have no interest in that...

im no speed daemon either...

I do appreciate the comments ... i really need to get out on the boats...

Mike