New to me Grady 208 Adventure!!!! Couple ?'s

[pfd161]

Hello Everyone! Just purchased an oldie but a beautiful cared for 1993 208 with the Yamaha 175.
It's going to be used for Stripers and more here in Maine...maybe even salmon/togue if I can get a kicker for it!

It's in great shape and I'm very excited to get it...at a marina being tuned up. It has around 850 hrs on it... reportedly runs great.

Couple questions...

How reliable is this motor? Should I look towards a re-power in the immediate future or will this be a decent motor?

I'm guessing a 9.9 kicker will be sufficient maybe a 25" shaft? will get the garelick mount most likely.

Do you 208 guys use portable livewells for mac's and such? I think I could make one and maybe put it on the swim platform?

I have done some searching on here...great bunch of people and info... Appreciate any input from you guys.


Dennis
Sanford, Maine

 

[trapper]

Hi Dennis, Congrats on the new yacht. I have the 208 and although I do not know much about the 175 I would suggest going to a fixed mount for your 9.9. If properly placed, the 9.9 will clear the water when up and out of the way for running. (assuming you have trim and tilt) I have found in the past the garlic type mount do shake rattle roll over time, and can have a tendency to jam up on lifting and lowering. Anyway my 2 bits after having both. http://www.saltbossmarine.com/fixedbrackets.html Cheers and enjoy the new to you 208! trapper

 

[enfish]

Welcome to the club. I've got the 1995 version of that motor. It's been very solid and reliable, though it's a bit thirstier than the newer technology. We've been very religious with Ring-Free and Yamalube, and at 1700 hours, so far, so good (knock on wood).

The factory livewell under the port side step works fine for macs (if you've got that factory option), but we have a 32 gallon Kodiak bait tank (model PF-32) mounted in the middle of the deck that works great for the sardines and anchovies. You can see where it's mounted below. Bait tanks like that are pretty much a necessity out here on the west coast. I don't think they're very common on the east coast.

 

[ric2352]

Yep...great engine. Had almost 3500 hrs. On the first one and it ran strong when I sold the boat . Next 208 had a 95 175. Ran strong, sucked the fuel, and developed a bad wrist pin bearing....didn't trust it for my 50 mile offshore trips....you might check for that.....I sold it cheap and repowered with the F200...perfect engine for the 208 and because of the fuel economy, doubled my range. It's a great boat that will do anything you ask of it, and it's easy to tow and launch by yourself. Hope you like it.

 

[Firenailer]

Welcome and congrats on the 208!

My '96 Adventure had a Yamaha 150 2 Stroke and was trouble free for the 19 years I had that boat. When I picked up my 2015 208 last summer I got the F200 four stroke and it's been a really great engine for the Adventure with much better fuel efficiency than my old 2 stroke.

The 208's have a live well option for the Port side step that you should be able to have your Dealer retrofit. I find it works well for keeping either bait or your catch alive and fresh, and like it very much.

I haven't had a kicker on either boat so can't help you there. Good luck with the new ride and hope you enjoy many years of happy fishing!

 

[pfd161]

thanks guys for the great responses! looking forward to getting the boat early next week!

Dennis

 

[steveditt]

All good , how long has she sat ,fuel problems will show their ugly head quickly ,carbs will need to be cleaned ,two fuel pumps are easy to replace and fail often .I've owned my 98 208 175 Yamaha for three years after clearing up the fuel problems she has been perfect ,fuel additives and good fuel / oil are very important .Carbs mix oil and gas a clogged carb means that two cylinders are not getting oil not something to mess with and could become a very expensive problem . Hopefully this is not the case,enjoy !

 

[pfd161]

All good , how long has she sat ,fuel problems will show their ugly head quickly ,carbs will need to be cleaned ,two fuel pumps are easy to replace and fail often .I've owned my 98 208 175 Yamaha for three years after clearing up the fuel problems she has been perfect ,fuel additives and good fuel / oil are very important .Carbs mix oil and gas a clogged carb means that two cylinders are not getting oil not something to mess with and could become a very expensive problem . Hopefully this is not the case,enjoy !

Looks like the boat has been run every year ... and marina maintained.
What do you run in yours for oil? premium gas? I do have access to ethanol free gas through a local airport...not sure of the pump price though.

thanks!

Dennis

 

[steveditt]

Better run than not , oil Pennsoil plus, fuel 89 octane marina has valve tec fuel with is already treated , don't mix ethanol and none stay with one , I use Yamalube ring free , but also have used Startron gas treatment which is excellent , fuel is cheap compared to replacing an engine . If you can find a marina that sells valve tec fuel I recommend it,I fill my boat there prior to trailing home for the winter ,I see so many people caring gas cans to save 30 cents a gallon that's a lot of work for $3 .Fuel problems are head aches and can be expensive ,pay now or pay later .Flush your engine if using in saltwater .

 

[Parthery]

Don't get hung up on using Yamalube oil.....either Pennzoil XLF or Pennzoil Premium Plus work better, smoke less, and can be bought anywhere from Walmart to Amazon for half what a gallon of Yamalube runs.

I don't go out of my way to buy non-ethanol fuel, so I am diligent about using a fuel additive and Ring Free. I used PRI-G for years and had good luck. It became hard to find so I switched to Sta-Bil Marine formula. I'm going back to PRI-G now that I can get it through Amazon.

Cheapest place to buy Ring Free is through DOMO Online. www.domo-online.com Find someone to split a case with if you don't want to buy 6 bottles at a time.

 

[Grady_Crazy]

Don't get hung up on using Yamalube oil.....either Pennzoil XLF or Pennzoil Premium Plus work better, smoke less, and can be bought anywhere from Walmart to Amazon for half what a gallon of Yamalube runs.

How can Yamalube work better, smoke less and be half the price of Yamalube? Not knocking Pennzoil, I just don't know how it can work better and cost less.

 

[Parthery]

As long as the oil is certified TCW-3 is meets the standard for lubricity, mixability, etc...

Yamalube is more expensive because - like everything else - you are paying for the name.

Not knocking it and I am guilty of paying more for certain things (Yamaha Fuel Filters vs. Sierra for example) but my experience with Pennzoil has been good and at $17.63/gal in Walmart vs. close to $40/gal for Yamalube I'm sticking with it. :grin:

 

[Grady_Crazy]

I once had a '83 175 'Rude on a Wellcraft V-20 that I only ran Lubrimatic, talk about cheap. I had to premix and I poured it up in 16oz Coke bottles. I saw one in the garage the other day but I don't think l I will use that 25 year old oil. It ran fine so I guess quality oils should be fine.

 

[seasick]

I once had a '83 175 'Rude on a Wellcraft V-20 that I only ran Lubrimatic, talk about cheap. I had to premix and I poured it up in 16oz Coke bottles. I saw one in the garage the other day but I don't think l I will use that 25 year old oil. It ran fine so I guess quality oils should be fine.

Considering it was in the ground in raw state for a few millions years, it may still be good

I also use Penzoil XLF when it is on sale and yes, you are paying for the Yamaha name.
You get what you pay for but you can also pay too much!

 

[Parthery]

We had an '80 Step Lift with a 235 Evinrude on it. Talk about a fun boat....50 mph in that hull was great times.

Used to buy cases of oil by the quart from the local Unocal 76 station. Liked the quarts because each one covered 12 gallons of gas.

Those were the days......