Freedom 225 fuel economy

[Vic H]

We recently bought a 2012 Freedom 225 with a Yamaha F250XCA. We have the 15.5X17 Yamaha SWSII SDS prop which originally came with the boat. The best fuel economy I have gotten so far, is between 3.2 and 3.3 mpg at 3500 rpm which runs the boat between 26 and 27 mph GPS. The fuel tank was full, 2 adults were on board and the bimini top was up. I know these results were pretty good, but I was trying to match the performance bulletin on Grady's web site which shows 3.6 mpg at that speed. We just bought the boat used (10 months old with 110 hours on the engine). The 100 hour service was just performed by the dealer.

My question is which engine trim/trim tab combinations yield the best economy? Also, any other suggestions on how to best operate our new (to us) boat will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Vic

 

[RUFcaptain]

Congrats on the new boat! Sounds like the prior owner used his even less than I use mine :jaw . You will love the boat, truly a great family fishing machine. If you keep it in dry dock I would suggest a cover as they get trashed pretty fast between outings.

 

[Attitude Indicator]

Hi from Phuket Thailand......
With approx 1/2 fuel, 10 gal water, 2/3 legnth fixed-frame bimini, 200lbs of extra gear/junk, my wife and I run our 225T / F250AETX at 3,700RPM giving us a fuel burn of 38 liters per hour and 25 mph.
Engine trim at around 4 and trim tabs.....depending on conditions, 1-4.
Like yourself, I'm new to the GW225T (Had a 40' sailboat before) so I'm still learning and trying to find the right combination of settings for the conditions.
With 95 octane running at $5 USD / gallon ($1.25 USD/Liter) in Thailand, it pays to run as economically as possible.

Enjoy your new 225 Freedom. They're great boats.
Ian Mitchell
Phuket, Thailand

 

[Curmudgeon]

You're 0.3 from equaling factory performance numbers without really knowing how close you are to exact factory conditions, be careful 'fixing' what might not be broken. I have an older T-22 with Honda 225, and here's what I found after several hundred hours watching the fuel flow meter. Conditions being equal, the 'best' economy resulted from the motor being trimmed up as high as feasible without porpoise or venting in turns, tabs up. If the ride needs assistance, a slight amount of tab has less ill affect than lowering the engine trim. Best mpg occurs around 37/3800, but the speed is only about 26 mph, so I cruise at 4200 and 30 with only about 0.2 difference in actual fuel flow. I view factory performance specs like I do MPG estimates on new cars, maybe you'll be somewhere close and maybe not ... :wink:

 

[Vic H]

Thanks all. Your suggestions should help us get the most out of our boat. We plan to go out tomorrow and give them a whirl.

Vic

 

[Daman858]

You will love the boat and the engine too. Fuel economy varies due to a whole lot of different variables such as wind, tide flow, river currents etc. Once you get on plane, you can adjust the trim tabs and the engine to get the bow down. It takes some time to get the hang of it but you will. Just don't hold the trim tab buttons down; adjust them by punching the button quickly and letting go. Hope you have a great day on the water. try to get ethanol free fuel.

 

[Sterling Douglas]

If the ride needs assistance, a slight amount of tab has less ill affect than lowering the engine trim.

This is a great fact to note.

 

[Curmudgeon]

Remember, that's with my boat, but it's very consistent across my normal operating spectrum. My MPG average of all operations (from lots of idle to occasional full bore, and everything in between) is right at 2.9. Your results may differ ... :wink:

 

[Vic H]

Thanks everyone. We took the boat out a few days ago and followed your suggestions. There were 2 adults on board, the bimini top was up, and we started with about 80 gallons of fuel. Winds were between 10 and 15 mph from the south.

We cruised south for about 15 miles at 3500 rpm into a 2 foot chop. I set the engine trim to between 3 and 4 and set the trim tabs about half way down to soften the ride. The command link gauge showed between 3.1.and 3.2 mpg and a GPS speed of 26 mph.

On the return trip, we had a following sea and the same wind was behind us. I set the engine trim at about 4 (brought her up until slight cavitation, then back down a little). Trim tabs were all of the way up. At the same 3500 rpm, command link showed between 3.4 and 3.5 mpg and a speed of 29 mph. The ride was soft enough for my wife to ride up front.

Needless to say, I am very satisfied with the boats performance. Thanks again for your suggestions.