My 272 has 225 Yamaha 2 stroke. A friend has a 282 with 200 HPDI's and mph per mph is about 20% less on fuel although his rpm/mph is higher than mine.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
SAILFISH RE-POWER-OPTION or NOT
- Thread starter GradyGEO
- Start date
Bob...The truth is I don't know how long I intend to keep the boat. If I have a good year or two, heck, I would consider buying a new one. I just don't want to make a poor decision with that kind of money.
This all started with my frustrations dealing with the issues associated with running the OX66's slow most of the time. They just don't like it. I have a 30- 45 min run through a no speed zone to get through just to get to the inlet. Then I run on plane for about 10 to 15 minutes to the fishing grounds, only to start trolling all day. And that’s in the summer. In the winter, we have a lot of wind down here but the weather is perfect otherwise. The days where the wind lays down are far and few between. This lends itself for a perfect day cruising the intercoastal, and yes, most of it is no wake. Now I could go offshore in the winter more, or for that matter run to the Bahamas in the summer. The boat can handle it for sure. But I'm not hard core anymore. My crew consists of my wife, two young kids, and the occasional guest(s). So, it’s slow and comfortable for me nowadays.
When I asked a buddy of mine what his Suzuki's cost, I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting to here 40K and they weren't anywhere near that. So when I went to the local dealer and he showed me what my engines were worth, the net price sparked my interest. That's what started me looking at all of the other engines. Factor in the current environment and I thought if I was ever going to do a repower, now might be the time.
This all started with my frustrations dealing with the issues associated with running the OX66's slow most of the time. They just don't like it. I have a 30- 45 min run through a no speed zone to get through just to get to the inlet. Then I run on plane for about 10 to 15 minutes to the fishing grounds, only to start trolling all day. And that’s in the summer. In the winter, we have a lot of wind down here but the weather is perfect otherwise. The days where the wind lays down are far and few between. This lends itself for a perfect day cruising the intercoastal, and yes, most of it is no wake. Now I could go offshore in the winter more, or for that matter run to the Bahamas in the summer. The boat can handle it for sure. But I'm not hard core anymore. My crew consists of my wife, two young kids, and the occasional guest(s). So, it’s slow and comfortable for me nowadays.
When I asked a buddy of mine what his Suzuki's cost, I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting to here 40K and they weren't anywhere near that. So when I went to the local dealer and he showed me what my engines were worth, the net price sparked my interest. That's what started me looking at all of the other engines. Factor in the current environment and I thought if I was ever going to do a repower, now might be the time.
BobP
GreatGrady Captain
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2005
- Messages
- 4,744
- Reaction score
- 6
- Points
- 38
- Location
- Long Island, NY
- Model
- Sailfish
Conventional 2 strokes, all of them, are just not good at some things, especially fuel efficiency and emissions at low RPMs, it's just part of the older non-DI 2 stroke designs.
Since you can't deal with the OX66s any longer, any motor on your list will solve the problem, however, if you sell in so short a period of time, so you have no regrets latter, you better understand you will loose your shirt on resale of the $35K you spent.
So, if you sell in just two years:
Essentially you are paying about $7K per season not to put up with the OX66s. Can you afford it?
Since you can't deal with the OX66s any longer, any motor on your list will solve the problem, however, if you sell in so short a period of time, so you have no regrets latter, you better understand you will loose your shirt on resale of the $35K you spent.
So, if you sell in just two years:
Essentially you are paying about $7K per season not to put up with the OX66s. Can you afford it?
Yes I can...but that doesn't mean that I want to waste my hard earned money. After reading the very helpful comments made I would buy the Suzuki's if I did anything, and as I stated in my Aug. 14th post, I'm thinking that the best course for me right now would be keep what I've got.
BobP
GreatGrady Captain
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2005
- Messages
- 4,744
- Reaction score
- 6
- Points
- 38
- Location
- Long Island, NY
- Model
- Sailfish
The sooner you get a better handle on ownership duration plans, the better off you will be when it comes to justifying expenditures on the boat relative to "wasting hard earned money".
If you decide to keep the boat another 5 or more years, or if you devise a plan to take the motors with you to your next boat, then your hard e,arned money will be used up by you in the life of enjoying the new motors fully warranted for the duation, not handed over to the next owner near gratis.
If you decide to keep the boat another 5 or more years, or if you devise a plan to take the motors with you to your next boat, then your hard e,arned money will be used up by you in the life of enjoying the new motors fully warranted for the duation, not handed over to the next owner near gratis.
gradyfish22
GreatGrady Captain
You have 2 choices to make, if you plan to sell in thenear future, do NOT repower, you will never get the value back on them on a used boat, you will get more then the old power but no where near your repower price, typically from what I've seen guys who repower then sell take a big hit. If you plan to repower, plan to keep the boat for atleast 5-10 years, 5 is on the light side though, personally for me it would be 7-10. If your unsure of this time frame, buy newer for sure, it is a better investment for your money, that is the first choice.
As far as engines, I agree with much that you have stated, E-Tec's I've heard mixed things about, know 3 guys with issues with plugs fouling and engines going into winterization mode heading in from the canyon at 4000rpm...scary to me!! Also the 4 stroke technology is great and the way to go for value down the road.
Yamaha is very reliable but often heavier and will not have the punch of the line, but they are good on gas over all and quiet and to most are the best fit for a Grady since that was what they were designed to run and what most owners seek.
Merc Verado's are a good engine when running, and good on fuel, but not as good as they claim in some adds, but they are faster for sure for the hp. They love to run at higher rpms sop if you can utilize that that might be a plus. Personally I know too many guys who hate their verados so it would take a lot to convince me to buy one, but those were mostly the first gen first or second release of them where they had lots of issues, since then reliability has gotten much better, seems like a pattern with merc...issues with all new engines but then they become tanks after 2 years when issues are worked out, just like the optimax, they started out with tons of issues but then became a true workhorse and very reliable.
As far as suzukis, they are surprisingly good on fuel for the hp and often then not are better on fuel then the Yamaha's, but not quiet as good as a verado, maybe in between. They will have similar power to the Yamaha but not the power of the Verado. The new suzuki 4 strokes are very reliable as well, most on this site who repowered with them have nothing but good things to say about them, and most would highly recommend them.
As stated before, local dealers are important, are they reliable and do you trust them to service you engines, that may play a big part for service, for me it would since not all engine dealers are local to me by water, traveling by trailer is not reasonable nor sensible for me suince I do not trailer and would require permits to do so.
Get a price quote from all manufacturer's even if you plan to eliminate them, it might give you leverage with another brand to get a slightly better deal or some freebies thrown in.
Also, going to a new brand might require not only new guages, but new steering as well. Yamaha and Merc engines are NOT mounted on the same mounting spacing so that is an issue as well, so not having to modify your transom is a big issue. If you ignore that you might have issues where you will be playing with mounting heights and props fopr a while to tune it in right, and each manufacturer's shaft length is NOT the same, something else to consider if you change brands. Yamaha does have new fly by wire for their engines just like merc does, both systems are awesome but will add to the cost as well.
Best of luck, let us know what you choose!!
As far as engines, I agree with much that you have stated, E-Tec's I've heard mixed things about, know 3 guys with issues with plugs fouling and engines going into winterization mode heading in from the canyon at 4000rpm...scary to me!! Also the 4 stroke technology is great and the way to go for value down the road.
Yamaha is very reliable but often heavier and will not have the punch of the line, but they are good on gas over all and quiet and to most are the best fit for a Grady since that was what they were designed to run and what most owners seek.
Merc Verado's are a good engine when running, and good on fuel, but not as good as they claim in some adds, but they are faster for sure for the hp. They love to run at higher rpms sop if you can utilize that that might be a plus. Personally I know too many guys who hate their verados so it would take a lot to convince me to buy one, but those were mostly the first gen first or second release of them where they had lots of issues, since then reliability has gotten much better, seems like a pattern with merc...issues with all new engines but then they become tanks after 2 years when issues are worked out, just like the optimax, they started out with tons of issues but then became a true workhorse and very reliable.
As far as suzukis, they are surprisingly good on fuel for the hp and often then not are better on fuel then the Yamaha's, but not quiet as good as a verado, maybe in between. They will have similar power to the Yamaha but not the power of the Verado. The new suzuki 4 strokes are very reliable as well, most on this site who repowered with them have nothing but good things to say about them, and most would highly recommend them.
As stated before, local dealers are important, are they reliable and do you trust them to service you engines, that may play a big part for service, for me it would since not all engine dealers are local to me by water, traveling by trailer is not reasonable nor sensible for me suince I do not trailer and would require permits to do so.
Get a price quote from all manufacturer's even if you plan to eliminate them, it might give you leverage with another brand to get a slightly better deal or some freebies thrown in.
Also, going to a new brand might require not only new guages, but new steering as well. Yamaha and Merc engines are NOT mounted on the same mounting spacing so that is an issue as well, so not having to modify your transom is a big issue. If you ignore that you might have issues where you will be playing with mounting heights and props fopr a while to tune it in right, and each manufacturer's shaft length is NOT the same, something else to consider if you change brands. Yamaha does have new fly by wire for their engines just like merc does, both systems are awesome but will add to the cost as well.
Best of luck, let us know what you choose!!