Power 225 up to 300 24 offshore

[Mustang65fbk]

Not everyone keeps their boat in the water or buys gas at the marina. Just trying to provide a piece of info.
My fuel bill is at least 40% less because I don't have to buy marina gas or premium. Over time, it adds up.

Agreed. If the higher horsepower motor was going to eventually save you money over a period of say 5-10 years then it would definitely be something to consider going with. But shelling out an additional $7k or so up front and paying more for fuel costs has me thinking that it is only going to increase the operational expenses even more than you would see any potential savings benefit. The Suzuki DF300AP from the same company that I linked above is only $1k more than the DF250AP, so if one really wanted the 300 over the 250, the price is only $1k more installed. Which is still less than the Yamaha F250 installed and is still about $5,500 less than the Yamaha F300 4.2L installed.

2025 Suzuki Marine DF300AP X | Sandpiper Marine

2025 Suzuki Marine DF300AP

www.sandpipermarine.net

 

[family affair]

Can you get Non-Ethanol at the stations where you purchase? Just wondering- It's readily available in Florida, but you have to search for it here in Indiana.

In all my years boating and trailering in Ohio I can only think of 1 or 2 places to buy e0 fuel that wasn't at a marine. I've run e10 for over 13 years treated with Techron marine or Stabile marine. The only issue I've had has been cleaning varnish off a tank.
If I lived down south and my boat sat a lot, I'd run e0 100% of the time.

 

[DoctorOctopus]

In all my years boating and trailering in Ohio I can only think of 1 or 2 places to buy e0 fuel that wasn't at a marine. I've run e10 for over 13 years treated with Techron marine or Stabile marine. The only issue I've had has been cleaning varnish off a tank.
If I lived down south and my boat sat a lot, I'd run e0 100% of the time.

if your state grows corn your going to have ethanol in your gas role of thumb

that said I’m in NYC and there is almost no place marine or land that sells pure gas with 0 ethanol

 

[seasick]

At some docks near me in NY, it is common for them to offer one grade of gas in addition to diesel. The grade of gas is usually 89 octane. In Jersey I usually have the option of two grades of gas, mid range and high octane.
I prefer docks that sell Valvtec products. Those are fuels with additives specifically blended for marine applications. My experiences have been good. Some folks here incorrectly assume that Valvtec gas in NY is ethanol free. It is not.

 

[seasick]

Modern engines that have knock sensors will automatically adjust engine timing to run without damage on lower octane gas. Of course power output may decrease but you won't harm the motor.
I would also add that using high octane gas in a motor designed for lower octane gas is a waste of your money.

 

[BrianPyke]

Hi All,

I appreciate all the comments on repowering the Offshore 24. At this point I have options for my 1985 Offshore 24, currently with a 1992 Johnson 225 Hp.

The first options is a dealer who will give me a new 30" Honda 225 for it. They will include building up the transom by 5". This cost is $40K cdn ($29,400 USD). This is after taxes, installation, controls, gauges and prop.

The second option is another dealer who will give me a new 25" Honda 250 for $36K cdn ($26,500 USD). After taxes, installation, etc.

The third option is a 2019 200HP Yamaha DEC (5 years old with 1000 hrs), for $15K cdn ($11K USD). Before taxes, installation, and controls.

From this form, I have taken out the 200HP option. What do people think of the building up of the transom by 5" and going with either a 225hp or 250hp?

The new Hondas come with the 5 year warranty included.

Any suggestions on new vs. used and 225 HP vs 250HP? Suggestions on DEC vs mechanical? If I buy new, then the motor doesn't have to stay with the boat should I decide to get a Boston Whaler to replace the Grady White. Sorry for that comment, but Canadians don't know much about Grady Whites. BTW, my 16' Whaler and my 24' Grady White both came from the USA and I am not sure I would purchase anything but a Grady White or a Boston Whaler.

Thanks

Brian Pyke

 

[blynch]

Hi All,

I appreciate all the comments on repowering the Offshore 24. At this point I have options for my 1985 Offshore 24, currently with a 1992 Johnson 225 Hp.

The first options is a dealer who will give me a new 30" Honda 225 for it. They will include building up the transom by 5". This cost is $40K cdn ($29,400 USD). This is after taxes, installation, controls, gauges and prop.

The second option is another dealer who will give me a new 25" Honda 250 for $36K cdn ($26,500 USD). After taxes, installation, etc.

The third option is a 2019 200HP Yamaha DEC (5 years old with 1000 hrs), for $15K cdn ($11K USD). Before taxes, installation, and controls.

From this form, I have taken out the 200HP option. What do people think of the building up of the transom by 5" and going with either a 225hp or 250hp?

The new Hondas come with the 5 year warranty included.

Any suggestions on new vs. used and 225 HP vs 250HP? Suggestions on DEC vs mechanical? If I buy new, then the motor doesn't have to stay with the boat should I decide to get a Boston Whaler to replace the Grady White. Sorry for that comment, but Canadians don't know much about Grady Whites. BTW, my 16' Whaler and my 24' Grady White both came from the USA and I am not sure I would purchase anything but a Grady White or a Boston Whaler.

Thanks

Brian Pyke

Unless you've had major issues with water through the splashwell (such that it's very important to get the extra 5" of transom) I think going with the higher HP option at the cheaper price is a pretty clear cut answer...

 

[BrianPyke]

Unless you've had major issues with water through the splashwell (such that it's very important to get the extra 5" of transom) I think going with the higher HP option at the cheaper price is a pretty clear cut answer...

The Honda 250HP is 624 lbs. The Johnson 300 HP 2 stroke was 565 lbs. do you think the extra weight will be an issue?

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I think if you could get a decent used motor and save some money then it would definitely be worth it. That being said, imo the used one for $11k with 1k hours on it is a toss up. It'll likely go 2k hours or more, depending. That being said, I'd hate to spend $11k on a motor that you'll only get half the life out of and could potentially have issues with. Do they offer any sort of "warranty" on the used motor or is it basically an "as is" type of situation? If it's an "as is" type of thing, I'd look to other used motors or new ones instead. I'd also look at Suzuki and Mercury before Yamaha as they're going to be a bit cheaper, and I sure as heck wouldn't be spending close to $30k on a motor and not get the digital or fly by wire controls. Just my opinions, of course.

 

[blynch]

I think if you could get a decent used motor and save some money then it would definitely be worth it. That being said, imo the used one for $11k with 1k hours on it is a toss up. It'll likely go 2k hours or more, depending. That being said, I'd hate to spend $11k on a motor that you'll only get half the life out of and could potentially have issues with. Do they offer any sort of "warranty" on the used motor or is it basically an "as is" type of situation? If it's an "as is" type of thing, I'd look to other used motors or new ones instead. I'd also look at Suzuki and Mercury before Yamaha as they're going to be a bit cheaper, and I sure as heck wouldn't be spending close to $30k on a motor and not get the digital or fly by wire controls. Just my opinions, of course.

The $11k motor is 200hp, I think that's alot of boat for the yamaha 4 cylinder. OP I think ruling that out is a good call.

I would think 60 extra lbs on a boat of that size would be fairly inconsequential but stick a few water buckets by the transom and see how she runs if you're on the fence. You're also presumably removing an oil tank too I'd imagine?

 

[Mustang65fbk]

The $11k motor is 200hp, I think that's alot of boat for the yamaha 4 cylinder. OP I think ruling that out is a good call.

I would think 60 extra lbs on a boat of that size would be fairly inconsequential but stick a few water buckets by the transom and see how she runs if you're on the fence. You're also presumably removing an oil tank too I'd imagine?

A few things to note here would be that the OP and BrianPyke, the forum member looking at the used 200 hp outboard for $11k are two completely different people. The OP initially posted this thread last year and hasn't been back since then. It looks like BrianPyke piggybacked onto an already existing thread, which isn't really an issue but slightly confusing. Second, the dry weight of his 1985 GW 242 Offshore is almost the same as the dry weight of my boat... his being 3,500 lbs for a single outboard and mine being 3,510 lbs also dry. My boat with a Yamaha F225 on it will top out at 45 mph, though I have seen a few boats like mine with a single 200 hp outboard on them and while I wouldn't necessarily recommend it... it can be done. With my boat topping out at 45 mph, I'd imagine a slightly lighter boat with 25 hp less would probably get them in the high 30's mph range. Ultimately it depends on his style of fishing and boating, if he's going to be loaded down with 4-5 people constantly on board and a ton of gear, full fuel tank and so forth. If so, I'd err on the side of caution and get a minimum of a 225 or even a 250+. But, if he's like me where you're usually fishing by yourself and maybe another person or two at most, light gear and everything else while 95% of what you do is trolling for salmon... it wouldn't necessarily be a dealbreaker imo. My biggest issue with the used 200 that they're looking at would be the price of it being used vs buying new, longevity and yes... the difference in hp would be on the list as well. If I were him, I'd maybe check and see if the shop or dealer had a used 225/250 outboard that had less hours on it, even if it was maybe slightly more. Or, depending on where he's living... they might even be able to get a brand new 225/250 Mercury or Suzuki for not much more than that $11k.