Local Grady dealer has a 2002 263 Chase with an OX66 250. Seems to me it is painfully underpowered. Price seems to reflect the (what I think) is a mis-matched power combo. What do you folks think? Can this boat get out of its own way?
If propped correctly, it should still come out of the hole and hold plane just fine. But with a prop that will do that, there won't be much top-end.
I once rented a 27' boat with that engine, and it performed just fine. I'm sure it was lighter than the Chase, though.
The funny thing is I don't believe there is any gain (other than initial purchase price). I would guess it will get a max of 2mpg, which I can exceed with my twin HPDIs.
We bought our 2002 Islander 270 new with a single 250HP OX66. WOT was 30.6kts. Cruised at 22kts at 1.2nm/gal, sometimes a bit better but easy to get down to 1.0nm/gal in snotty conditions. Tested with a lot of props and best was a PowerTech OFS4 at 17" pitch.
Put 465 hrs on the single in first three seasons, then repowered with F150s to increase fuel economy so we could fish offshore. Over 1400 hrs on the twins.
The single 250 on that hull is 'adequate', but not much more. Depends on how you want to use it.
