Moving up to Seafarer 228, Engine Advise

[Ed Bukala]

Hi Everyone. We are in our second season with our 2008 Tournament 185 with 150 Yamaha. We really enjoy this boat but want to take a big step and move up to the Seafarer 228. We went with the max h.p. on the 185 and would like some advice on h.p. choice for the 228, with 250 being the max rated. We find theat the 150 and a 9.9 yamaha kicker is alot of weight on the boat and often when still fishing/drifting and especially at anchor I have to put plugs in or water comes into the boat through the scuppers. The 228 will have the hardtop option. I am not so much concerned with "top speed" as I am in having a good "hole shot" response and do not want water coming in as I do now with all the weight we have on the stern. Also, all our boating is fresh water and we do a fair bit of pleasure cruising as well as travelling through "no wake" areas. Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Bukster

 

[VeroWing]

Yamaha 225-250hp 4strokes are hard to beat. Should provide plenty of "out of the hole" and "top end" power. Personally, I like two strokes, but outfitting a new boat with a two stroke will probably hurt your resale value, since everyone is sold on 4strokes.
Comparing Hp to Hp, a 2 stroke will almost always outperform a 4stroke.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

We bought a left over 08 228 G that had every option available on it with a hard top. It was powered with the F250, so I can not speak on the 225. I had a 192 with the F150 on it and it was a great boat. it is a very different ride and feel.

The holeshot is decent from what I can tell, but it is hard to know in some ways what to expect from the boat in this size range. Comparing a 192 to 228 might not be a fair comparison? Does this make sense?

edited based on strikezones info for comparison .. our boat has 125 gallon tank, tops out at WOT 43 mph, cruise speed around 30-31 at 4200 rpm and with 4 folks on board at cruise 3.1 mpg.

I can say I like the motor and we do lakes here in the mountains to offshore fishing with trolling. The boat is still relatively cheap to run. It pulls well doing water sports.

The scuppers are positioned different, assuming the 185 is similar to the 192 wher the scuppers just went straight out the back from the deck. the 228 deck drains are higher above the waterline compared to the 192 ( or 185) and the deck drains through hoses which keeps deck water out of the bilge and full stern compartment. We have not noticed a water issue at the rear with the deck drains like we had in our 192. Also, I really like the full stern of the 228. Good luck with your purchase...

 

[Strikezone]

Ed,
I have on '00 228G with a 225HP OX66 2 stroke. The hole shot is good even when full of fuel (~150 gallons) and 4 full size men. She tops out around 42 MPH at WOT. Cruises at 4200 RPM and 30 MPH around 2 MPG.

I can't speak for the 250HP or four stroke engines but I am very pleased with the performance I have on mine.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Strikezone,
this topic got me thinking. Should all boats go from rest in the water to being on plane in the same amount time? I guess what I am asking is the hole shot for an express 330 the same as our boats? I have not timed it on my boat yet, but with your 225 on your boat, how quick does it get your boat on plane? is this the right metric to measure hole shot performance?

 

[Strikezone]

I would think there would be some difference in hole shot between different boats due to power/weight ratio difference, hull design, prop, etc.

It usually takes me maybe 3 or 4 seconds from neutral to plane on average. If the tanks are closer to empty it really jumps on plane quickly.

Sea conditions also play a roll in length of time to plane. I'm not sure what the best metric should be but I can usually tell when things are taking too long.

 

[Ed Bukala]

Thanks everyone for your comments so far. On the subject of 2 stroke engine option, I enquired about going with an E-Tec motor as a possability and was told that Grady discourages going to this motor and would rather stay with Yamaha. My 150 gets our 185 on plane but with 4 people on board she is sluggish doing so. You would think that with an engine that size this would not be the case. That is why I want to be as carefull as possible on the next motor selection and I appreciate the experience/feedback from present 228 owners. Good to hear that there are no water issues with water getting into the boat through the scuppers on the 228, this can be a pain at times on our 185.
Buckster

 

[Parthery]

If you are buying a new one, I think that it will be cost prohibitive to get anything but the Yamaha. GW rigs the boats at the factory, and everything would have to be switched out.

If you have concerns that your 185 is sluggish, then you need to do a thorough sea trial on the 228. The 228 is heavy....and if you add a hardtop you are adding not only additional weight, but wind resistance as well. Your 185 w/ 150 probably tops out at 45-46. The 228 will be lucky to see 42-43.

 

[Ed Bukala]

Yes, I was advised that it would cost an additional $5-6000 to go to a E-Tec motor on a new 228. You are correct on my 185, it tops out at 44-45 on a calm day with all my canvas down and two people on board. I am not so much concerned with the top speed, we only get her up there for fun periodically. I just want to be able to get the 228 up on plane easily with 4 people on board and want to pull my grandkids around on a tub every once and awhile.
Buckster

 

[wahoo33417]

Ed: More to consider: The F225 and F250 weigh about the same. The F250 will give considerably better mid-range torque. You also get digital throttle. Trade-off is F250 reqiures 89 octane rather than 87. And the F250 will get slightly worse fuel economy, especially in the mid-range.

I have never been a 228 owner, but I really like the layout. I took a new one for a test ride in 2005 with an F225 on it. There was, in my opinion, a brief time while coming up on plane where the weight of the engine out on a bracket gave the boat a bit of a 'stern squat' attitude. I think I would prefer the F250 to push past that point perhaps just a tad more quickly.

All told, I'm very happy with my F250 and highly recommend it.

Rob

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Took my boat out today based on this thread took some time to be more observant. The boat gets on a plane in that 3 to 4 second range from netural just as Strikezone's does. At 4200 RPM the boat cruised at 29 mph, fuel economy was 3.0 mpg. we had a nearly full tank of gas and 4 people on board. we were on a lake, smooth water in the coves, light chop in the open, performance was the same.

I am pleased with the 250.

 

[Strikezone]

I'm wondering if some of the "stern squat" couldn't be overcome with the trim tabs.

I'll have to check but I think the marina gas is probably 89 octane. If not everyone with a 4 stroke using their fuel is doing OK on 87. I tend to think that everyone is purchaseing fuel from the marina instead of the corner filling station so I sometimes forget about some folks fuel options.

Smoky,
3mpg is really great economy. I would love to see what it gets in 2-4' chop. Those lake conditions don't exist too often with us . I was at Lake Lanier Georgia last weekend and the large ripples they called chop cracked me up. Give me a call if you trailer your Grady to Chas and we'll have to see what your performance does in our conditions. Your numbers are about a 50% increase over mine. That's huge on a 75 gallon offshore trip. Maybe I should be thinking of an F250 :wink:

 

[Parthery]

Let us know next time you are at Lanier....we have a plethora of Grady's available and would love to have you join us. From my 180 to JiminGas 228 to Bokats 232 to Bob's Cays 204, we have them all covered....

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Strike, when I was fishing in the Gulf at the begining of the month, we had 2-3 foot seas with chop, my econ dropped to 2.5 to 2.2 mpg. I would love to fish your waters or at the very least meet up with owners like you at the dock afterwards for some boat drinks 8) ....

My boat has trim tabs and the stern squat is reduced with them and the tabs really help the boat in quartering seas and leading seas...so if you dont have them on the boat, it would be worth it to have them. Trolling the 250 gets around 7 mpg -burns around 3 gallons per hour this is a 8 knot troll speed at 1900 rpm. We headed off 50 miles out of Port Canaveral, Fla in June with 1 to 2 foot seas, trolled for 6 hours or so and returned to port and burned 48-49 gallons using Yammies fuel management numbers. I was happy with numbers.

We should "crash" the Lake Lanier Grady party someday...any good state parks there to camp out with the kids?

 

[NIGHTIDES]

Yes, I was advised that it would cost an additional $5-6000 to go to a E-Tec motor on a new 228. You are correct on my 185, it tops out at 44-45 on a calm day with all my canvas down and two people on board. I am not so much concerned with the top speed, we only get her up there for fun periodically. I just want to be able to get the 228 up on plane easily with 4 people on board and want to pull my grandkids around on a tub every once and awhile.
Buckster

The person that quoted you the $5-6,000 is full of it. New oil tank, control box, cables, harnesses, system check guage may cost you $2,500 tops which includes labor to de-rig / re-rig that boat. If you are buying new from the Grady factory, then they only want to rig with the Yam because that is what they sell.

 

[Ed Bukala]

Hi Nightides
Thanks for your response. Do you run with E-Tech engines? I have heard and read so many good things about these engines that I wanted to see what would be involved if I wanted to go that route. Yes Grady does want to stay with Yamaha's , great engines, but nothing wrong with investigating alternatives. E-tech owners out there, would really appreciate your real world experience and feedback.
Bukster

 

[Bokat]

Smokey,

There are a lot of parks around the lake so come on down. We have a second home just west of Waynesville in Walker-in-the-Hills. We might be coming up this week. Which lake do you boat on in WNC?

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

BoKat, We mainly go to Fontana, sometimes we make the drive to Chatuge or Santeelah over near Robbinsville... we are going to Lake Hartwell in a week or so for a few days, kind of the last hurrah before school starts. Staying at Tugaloo SP near Lavonia. Kids want to camp and boat.

 

[mullet]

I have a 250 ETEC and I'm very please with the performance and mileage.

 

[jisbell]

Maximum horsepower was stated as 250--not true; per the Grady White website, it is 300 HP. What I do not know, but would find of interest, is what MINIMUM HP is recommended. I'm used to seeing HP for a given hull as a range--you know like 90--150 for my present boat, but I do not see that on the Grady Website.