Repower for 226 - anyone running a 200 hp?

[Olyfishin]

Hi,

I am looking at having to repower. Right now I have a 225 HP e-tec on my 1998 Seafarer (226). I see that going to a 225 HP four stroke is about 100 pounds heavier (500 lbs for the e-tec to ~600 lbs for a 4 stroke).

I'm also seeing that both Yamaha and Suzuki have ~500 pound four cylinder four strokes. But I've read some feedback from others that they recommend 225 HP for that hull.

Is anyone running a 200 HP fourstroke and has been out in some choppy seas? How's the engine powering through 6' combined seas or so? Any regrets or wish you had more power?

Seems like 20% more weight on the transom is pretty significant. Or maybe it's not a big deal. I've got a Yamaha T9.9 kicker, also. So that's another 120 lbs.

Thanks for any input!

 

[blynch]

FYI it's often been said that the Suzuki 200hp is a "bigger" 200 than the Yamaha, which comes in lower within the 10% variance band allowable for outboard HP output. Not sure if there are numbers anywhere to back that up.

That said, I find the boat to perform good-not-great with an ETEC 200HO (~218 hp). I probably wouldn't want to drop much below that. Maybe the Zuke would be adequate but it would be a shame to go through all that and find you weren't happy with the performance.

Are you repowering due to failure of your current engine? What about just bolting on another used 200HO/225/250 ETEC?

 

[Olyfishin]

Yes, it's a repower due to failure. I was just wanting to buy "the last" engine for the boat... expecting to get 20 years out of a Suzuki or Yamaha four stroke and that's probably as long as I'll be a boat owner. Seemed like that would be better than finding a used etec with a question mark for past history, because they aren't making them anymore so new isn't an option. If I saw a screaming deal on an etec, especially a 225, I'd love to go that route, but just am not seeing anything that makes me want to pull the trigger vs. just spending a bit more and having a motor that will be worry free for a long time.

 

[NH Seafarer]

I have a 228 Seafarer that has the original SW series 200hp 2-stroke. I spoke with my local dealer and he suggested getting a yamaha 250 4-stroke over the 200 4 cyl. I did some digging and found the Merc 250 is the lightest and is only 527 lbs and it's a v-8. The Yamaha and Suzy's are 588 lbs and 626 respectively. Grady was only recommending the 250 or 300hp yamahas on their new boats too. That kicker will definitely have an effect. I am really sensitive about my scuppers flooding my floor out as I had a Steiger before this boat and it almost sank on me due to this issue.

 

[tomcosta]

I don't have one of these boats but it is a big bow heavy boat for a single screw. The biggest difference between the engines you are considering is the 200's are four cylinders and the 225's are six cylinders, 2.8 liter vs 4.2 liter displacement. For most conditions the V4 would probably be adequate, but the conditions you are describing require torque not horsepower and torque comes from displacement and rotating assembly's. In this case size matters it's only 10% more horsepower buts its 50% more displacement and more rotating forces to fight the load. The manufacturers put lower gearing in the V4's to get things going but that doesn't help the power head keep up when powering thru rough seas. Mercury makes a 4 stroke 225 V6 3.4 liter that weighs only 475 lbs, it might be a good compromise between size and weight, or try to find 50 lbs of weight saving in your stern and get the Yamaha V6.

 

[family affair]

A Merc 225 4 stroke mechanical would be the ideal solution - if you can find one.
A mechanical 4.2 Yamaha is rather light also, but around 80 lbs heavier than the Merc.

 

[Olyfishin]

Thanks for the feedback! I think I'm going to stay with a 225. If it was a big problem then I'm sure I'd be hearing about how there's too much weight in the stern. There are a bunch of 226's with 225 four strokes on the back with kickers.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I’ve got a 2004 Yamaha F225 on my 2004 GW 228 Seafarer and while the 226 is obviously slightly different from the 228, I don’t think I’d want to go with less than the 225, but that of course depends on your needs and how/where you generally use your boat. If it was in freshwater or relatively well protected waters then I’d say you could probably get away with a 200 hp outboard. But my concern would be spending the money, not being satisfied with the performance or fuel economy and where you wished you’d spent the extra thousand to couple grand and gone with what you really wanted or needed. My boat tops out at 40 mph currently with a SS 3 blade prop, unknown on pitch/diameter, around 3/4 tank of fuel, pretty light fishing gear and myself. I have a sheet from GW with the performance data on my boat that says she’ll top out at almost 45 mph, which I could definitely see with less fuel/weight in the boat, maybe a slightly better prop and so forth. I was only at around 5,700 rpm when I hit 40 mph on Sunday, so a 4 blade prop with a better pitch or different diameter that could get up to 6k rpm could possibly get that almost 45 mph speed, as well as some weight shaved off it.

I personally don’t really care about top speed as I bought the boat to fish in and because it’s not a “go fast” boat but I wanted to see what her top speed was as I just bought her last fall. And, when I was going at WOT I was also burning around 20 gph of fuel, of which I’d rather go 20 mph and only burn around 8 gph instead. Your hull should be rated for a maximum of 250 hp, which if you wanted to you could also go that route as well and that would also give you a slightly better middle range, although at the expense of burning more fuel at the top end. If/when I personally go to repower I’ll likely go with a Suzuki 250 as they’ve got a standard 5 year warranty vs Yamaha which only has a 3, it’s a much less expensive motor and I’ve heard pretty much only good or great reviews on Suzuki as a company and how well they take care of their customers. Yamaha in some places throughout the country could be $5k-$10k more and only has a 3 year warranty, and I’ve heard a few issues about their customer service over the years. The Suzuki 250 is about 50 lbs heavier than the Yamaha but I’d rather save the money and per Google, they say my 2004 Yamaha F225 is about 583 lbs dry. So, I really doubt that I’d ever notice the extra 20 lbs or so back there anyway.

 

[Olyfishin]

I’ve got a 2004 Yamaha F225 on my 2004 GW 228 Seafarer and while the 226 is obviously slightly different from the 228, I don’t think I’d want to go with less than the 225, but that of course depends on your needs and how/where you generally use your boat. If it was in freshwater or relatively well protected waters then I’d say you could probably get away with a 200 hp outboard. But my concern would be spending the money, not being satisfied with the performance or fuel economy and where you wished you’d spent the extra thousand to couple grand and gone with what you really wanted or needed. My boat tops out at 40 mph currently with a SS 3 blade prop, unknown on pitch/diameter, around 3/4 tank of fuel, pretty light fishing gear and myself. I have a sheet from GW with the performance data on my boat that says she’ll top out at almost 45 mph, which I could definitely see with less fuel/weight in the boat, maybe a slightly better prop and so forth. I was only at around 5,700 rpm when I hit 40 mph on Sunday, so a 4 blade prop with a better pitch or different diameter that could get up to 6k rpm could possibly get that almost 45 mph speed, as well as some weight shaved off it.

I personally don’t really care about top speed as I bought the boat to fish in and because it’s not a “go fast” boat but I wanted to see what her top speed was as I just bought her last fall. And, when I was going at WOT I was also burning around 20 gph of fuel, of which I’d rather go 20 mph and only burn around 8 gph instead. Your hull should be rated for a maximum of 250 hp, which if you wanted to you could also go that route as well and that would also give you a slightly better middle range, although at the expense of burning more fuel at the top end. If/when I personally go to repower I’ll likely go with a Suzuki 250 as they’ve got a standard 5 year warranty vs Yamaha which only has a 3, it’s a much less expensive motor and I’ve heard pretty much only good or great reviews on Suzuki as a company and how well they take care of their customers. Yamaha in some places throughout the country could be $5k-$10k more and only has a 3 year warranty, and I’ve heard a few issues about their customer service over the years. The Suzuki 250 is about 50 lbs heavier than the Yamaha but I’d rather save the money and per Google, they say my 2004 Yamaha F225 is about 583 lbs dry. So, I really doubt that I’d ever notice the extra 20 lbs or so back there anyway.

Thanks, Mustang. I'm definitely not at all concerned about top speed or anything like that. It's mostly about when I get into some heavy seas off the coast I want to be able to power through safely. So different issue, but I think I've heard plenty of feedback enough to not consider the 200 and just accept the extra weight and I will just deal with the water that comes in through the drains with check valves.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Thanks, Mustang. I'm definitely not at all concerned about top speed or anything like that. It's mostly about when I get into some heavy seas off the coast I want to be able to power through safely. So different issue, but I think I've heard plenty of feedback enough to not consider the 200 and just accept the extra weight and I will just deal with the water that comes in through the drains with check valves.

No worries! I know Luckydude and others have installed check valves and other items as well and have had success in doing so. It can be a pain but you could also move your batteries forward to save almost the extra 100 lbs or so that you’ll add with a kicker motor. That, and adding new scupper flappers every season couldn’t hurt.