[seaworm1]

I'm looking for some advice from you guys that are running different motors on your boats. As we have all felt the pain of rediculous gas prices affecting us at the pumps when filling a 150 gallon gas tank, I've decided to upgrade the motor on my boat- or perhaps upgrade the entire boat by selling and buying a different model.
I run a 24 ft Wellcraft coastal w/a with a 1998 johnson 225 2 stroke.
I absolutely love the boat(minus the terrible lack of storage) but the run to my tuna/cod grounds 24 miles out ends up costing around $400-

wich sucks, but I still do it regularly, so somethings got to give.

What do you guys think of the 4 strokes you run, inboards, even diesels? Its tough to take recomendations from dealers because they all swear thier product is the best. Thanks for your input

 

[Scott1280]

I have a Yamaha F150 4-stroke that has been trouble free for the 3 years and 450 hours I've had it. I do the maintenance (Oil changes, plugs, gear lube, impeller) myself and it's a breeze. Yamaha makers great stuff. Hopefully you can buy one in the year they are offering an extended warranty so you get 6 years instead of just 3.

Good luck!

Scott

 

[6to8ftSeas]

make sure you take out a pen and paper and crunch the numbers on how much you will save vs how much you spend. if you're having reliability problems with your motor and want a new one that's one thing. but if you're just looking to save money you will be amazed at how long it can take to make your money back.

figure out how many gallons per hr you burn. then see if you can find someone with a boat similar to yours with a new four stroke and see how much they burn.

 

[MakoMike]

Stick to ourboards, converting an outboard to an inboard will be cost prohibitive no matter hoe much better the new engine would be on fuel.

 

[Fishbust]

Gas....

Selling your boat dirt cheap to sell it fast in a market of many thousands of boats for sale just to buy another one that burns a couple gallons of gas less per day, I feel would not pay off in any way.

Just buy a new motor. Fuel injected. Won't get any better than that for fuel economy. Stick with the 225 2 stroke or up the horses to 250 for a 4 stroke. Do the math for what is best for you. Shop for a leftover, save some money. Sell your old motor, help with the cost of the new one.

Nothing like having brand new power out of the box hanging on the transom!

 

[Scott1280]

You'd have to check the performance reports, but from what I have heard the Yamaha 225 4-strokes are much more fuel efficient than the 250's. Not sure why or even if it's true, but check it out before you decide.

 

[seaworm1]

figure out how many gallons per hr you burn. then see if you can find someone with a boat similar to yours with a new four stroke and see how much they burn. wrote:


since i motor out for about an hour and a half, then troll for 6 hours and do another hour and a half back, How exactly would I figure out my cruising GPH? it ends up a bit different every time, but i'd say on average the trip uses about 80 gallons. would it make sense to say Im probably burning about 20 GPH at cruising speed? I figure that trolling at just abouve idle speed probably doesnt use very much fuel? Does that seem a bit much for my boat/motor setup? P.s. Reports of 180lb BFT cought at the grounds I fish now means that I'll be making the trip twice a week!

 

[6to8ftSeas]

if you think your trolling is screwing up the accuracy of your numbers you can try running a short distance on a temp tank. this way you can clock the time and distance accurately with a precise amount of fuel.

just curious but, how does your current motor run? is it giving you any problems.

 

[Fishbust]

gas...

seaworm1 wrote:
figure out how many gallons per hr you burn. then see if you can find someone with a boat similar to yours with a new four stroke and see how much they burn. wrote:

since i motor out for about an hour and a half, then troll for 6 hours and do another hour and a half back, How exactly would I figure out my cruising GPH? it ends up a bit different every time, but i'd say on average the trip uses about 80 gallons. would it make sense to say Im probably burning about 20 GPH at cruising speed? I figure that trolling at just abouve idle speed probably doesnt use very much fuel? Does that seem a bit much for my boat/motor setup? P.s. Reports of 180lb BFT cought at the grounds I fish now means that I'll be making the trip twice a week!

Somehow you use too much gas. I don't burn that with twin 200's, I doubt you are burning 20 with 1. They burn 21 together per hour, 10.5 each.

Those old carb motors are real gas hogs anyway.

Go fuel injected, do the time/work to strip the hull and paint with VC Offshore teflon paint {low friction=less fuel}, lighten the load as much as you can, put a fin on the anti-ventilation plate (they really do save a ton of fuel and pay for themselves). All these things will add up to a savings over time plus having a fresh motor for those offshore trips.

 

[seaworm1]

Fortunately the motor has been very good to me, never any problems in the two years ive owned this boat. To be honest, I'm not overjoyed with the amount of storage space that the wellcraft has, so I think I'm going to seriously consider selling and getting a 3-5 year old boat with newer motors.
ANYONE NEED A NEW ROOF??? WILL TRADE FOR NEWER FOUR STROKE!!!

 

[Bigkeepers]

FWIW I bought my '87 Yamaha 200 used from a dude on Craig's List. He was downsizing the motor on his 20' Wellcraft since the 200 was too much power for him. He bought a 2000 Suzuki four stroke I think a 150hp class and he got it off Craig's List as well. I don't remember the exact amount he paid for it but he got a deal I remember that. Craig's List has some steals on it if you look every day and a lot of the time beats out Ebay since you don't have to get into bidding wars with some guy in Latvia who doesn't even know what he is bidding on. The best part is you can list your boat on Craig's List and its free.

The direct injection two strokes on the market are pretty reliable as well if you really like two strokes. Or you can go with the four stroke motors. I'd follow the advice already given and crunch numbers. Figure out how much each engine weighs, see what the manufacturer's estimate is for fuel consumption, all that jazz. I know that the Suzuki fours are real good on gas.

 

[leftjammer]

seaworm1 wrote:
I'm looking for some advice from you guys that are running different motors on your boats. As we have all felt the pain of rediculous gas prices affecting us at the pumps when filling a 150 gallon gas tank, I've decided to upgrade the motor on my boat- or perhaps upgrade the entire boat by selling and buying a different model.
I run a 24 ft Wellcraft coastal w/a with a 1998 johnson 225 2 stroke.
I absolutely love the boat(minus the terrible lack of storage) but the run to my tuna/cod grounds 24 miles out ends up costing around $400-

wich sucks, but I still do it regularly, so somethings got to give.

What do you guys think of the 4 strokes you run, inboards, even diesels? Its tough to take recomendations from dealers because they all swear thier product is the best. Thanks for your input

Buy my 1993 GW Adventurer with a brand new in 2005 175HP Evinrude I had installed in '07, It has 33hrs and comes with a trailer with new parts.

 

[Fireman154]

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outboard/products/perfbull.aspx
You can go to site and find performance reports for engines, there is gph vs rpm charts, just pick boat model close to yours. I never looked but I would think the other engine sites would have something similar.

 

[659218]

gas or diesel

i prefer diesels