Will be purchasing a 282 Sailfish-?'s for other 282 owners.

[Renovator]

I am currently in the market for a 282 and hope to pull the trigger within the next couple of weeks on a used low hour boat. A few questions for other owners.
(1) What is the better power option, the Yammie 225's or the 250's ? I assume the 250 will get a little better performance in fuel burn #'s.
(2) The GW website publishes a fuel burn of around 1.6-1.8 m/pg at cruise(30knts I think). Is that realistic with fuel, folks, and gear on board?
(3) Any issues with the Yammies and Ethanol E-10 ? Unless you fill up at the marina you can't avoid it here. I would imagine that changing the filters will be necessary until all if any crud is removed. What is the average cost of the fuel filters?
(4) Can you do most of the PM on the 4 stokes yourself? That may be a dumb question but I have owned a Shamrock 246WA for the last 10 years since new and have done nearly all of the repair and PM work, mods, etc. So going back to OB power may have a tough learning curve for me, I dunno?
(5) Is the standard windlass on these models a "freefall"? I have a Good Windlass freefall unit on my Shammie and it's bad to the bone and has always performed well, hope these do as well.

Sorry for the long post, thanks in advance for the replys fellas. Hoping that I will enjoy the boat as well as I have enjoyed the Shamrock of which will be going up for sale.
Catch'em up, Ron

 

[seasick]

At best you will get about 2 mpg at cruise on th Sailfish, not 1.6 gal per hour.
Cruise is about 30mph so you are looking at about 15 gal per hour.
As to maintenance, you can do pretty much waht you can on auto's these days.; change the fluids, filters, plugs etc. It is computer controlled so specific diagnostic tools are needed for trouble shooting. Don't worry about the E10 per se. There are thinhs you can do to protect yourself from some problems but a lot has to do with the current condition of the tank. You didn't say whatyear it was but check to see what type of fuel tank it has. If poly, great. If aluminum, you will need to have it checked out. If fiberglass ( which I doubt) walk away...

Fuel filters will be the least of your expenses. A Yami 10 micron runs about $16.

 

[Capt Bill]

282 is a good choice; is predictable and handles well. Plenty of fishing amenities, and some creature comforts too. The F225's are plenty of power, and as was said in the previous post, your fuel burn will bring you close to 2.0 mpg, but in snotty seas with full gear, ice and crew, you will probably be closer to that 1.6 that you mentioned.

I do fluid and filter changes, plugs, winterizing and Spring commission myself; np problem. Flush the engines after each use (I use Salt Away and the S.A. flushing adapter).

She's an easy boat to like. What model year are you looking at?

 

[Renovator]

Looking for a 2004-2006 depending on the price. I need a trailer also as we will usually pull down to the Keys once a year. Nice looking rig there Capt. Bill, I would like to find one that hasn't been bottom painted yet as I will also keep it on a lift. Looking forward to becoming a GW owner as my research has shown most to be very satisfied with the brand and support. I learned much from the Shamrock Owners Forum and I'm hoping this site will be just as helpful.
Ron.