330 Express RePower

[mg1826]

I'm looking at re-powering my 2007 330 Express from twin F250 3.3 dec engines to brand new F300 4.2 engines. Has anyone done this recently with Yamaha's new engines? I'm wondering if the new 300's are significantly better for overall performance considering a the additional 100 horsepower and a little less weight.

My current controls are the older DEC setup and I haven't been able to find a pair of 300's or may even 350's local to me on the Connecticut shoreline that could possibly work for my application. My controls will work with engines up to 2018. Any thoughts and/or feedback is welcome. Thanks!

 

[family affair]

Are you wanting to keep controls due to budget? If not, do yourself a favor and go to digital/electronic controls. For twins, it's the only way to go IMO.
If budget isn't an issue, you have a lot of options, as long as you aren't limited by max HP rating.
If you search, a number of forum members have repowered 330s. Yamaha, Suzuki, Mercury, and Honda all have excellent options. If budget and reliability are factors, Suzuki 300s are the way to go. Performance - Merc v10 350s. Want to fit in with the crowd - Yamaha 300s or the new V6 350s.

 

[mg1826]

Thanks family-affair, I appreciate your thoughts. Budget isn't so much of an issue. I was looking at all options to get back in business a little quicker. Just discovered a hole in the thermostat housing on my port side motor.
I'm leaning towards a full new re-power with updated controls but always open to suggestions, experience and advice.

 

[family affair]

What's the max HP rating for your hull?
If 700, I'd be looking at the Honda V8 350s or Merc v10 350s.
If I were spending your money, here is what I'd consider in this order:
1) Merc v10 350
2) Honda V8 350
3) Suzuki duo prop 300 or 350
4) Yamaha V6 350
5) Suzuki V6 300
6) Yamaha 300

That said, all are damn good, but each has its pros and cons.

If you are limited to 500 or 600 HP, throw out the above list and I'll give you a different one!

 

[kirk a]

Repowered last winter with 300's. Moved up from 225 3.3l lots more torque, and more speed. Seat of the pants feel is day and night. Economy not as significantly better as desired, but that could be props. Thrilled overall. Feel free to PM with any specifics.

 

[wspitler]

Re-powered my 2007 330 from 3.3 F250s to F300 4.2s, two years ago. Now have over 250 hours on them. 17p props from my old 250s were too high-pitched to get enough WOT RPM went with lower pitch 15p and economy is 1.0 to 1.2 fully loaded, but seeing significantly higher cruise sppeds. 27 kts at 4400 RPM. The gear ratio is different. Didn’t spring for digital as I’m happy with the current controls.

 

[HMBJack]

I also repowered from 2006 3.3L F250's to 2022 4.2L F300's with digital controls.

I'm using my same 17 pitch 4 Blade props and I'm seeing cruise at 28 knots Vs. 24 knots with the exact same economy.

Also seeing a little bit higher end at WOT but not much frankly (3 knots more I'd say).

The F300 since it's introduction has MILLIONS of hours on them. I personally wouldn't go to another brand but that's me.

 

[mg1826]

I also repowered from 2006 3.3L F250's to 2022 4.2L F300's with digital controls.

I'm using my same 17 pitch 4 Blade props and I'm seeing cruise at 28 knots Vs. 24 knots with the exact same economy.

Also seeing a little bit higher end at WOT but not much frankly (3 knots more I'd say).

The F300 since it's introduction has MILLIONS of hours on them. I personally wouldn't go to another brand but that's me.

I'm going to stick with the Yamaha's as well. If my hull was much newer I'd seriously consider the new F350's or even the F425's if the transom/hull was rated for it. Did you add a joystick with your upgrade? And did you replace your transom cap or do any transom work while the engines were off? Thanks!

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

Thanks family-affair, I appreciate your thoughts. Budget isn't so much of an issue.

Ok, thats good to hear and it's a wise decision to go with new engines.
For the old 3.3L i would not save $$$ to reuse the old digital control and get A to Z all new for new engines.

If you want to stick with Yamaha then twin F300 are fine and there are some users who did it above.

I probably repower my 306 Canyon and i would not get Yamaha again, i am doomed with Yamaha and made very good experiences with Suzuki.

I can install twin 350 so i have to decide between
DF300AP (very good engine i know blindly as i had 3 of them)
DF350 (afaik the duoprop makes a huge difference for torque and heavy GW probably benefit from that with much lower crusing rpm what will be much better fuel economy.
BF350 (Honda made a big, fat V8 and throwed in all their experience in engine building and it semmes the BF350 will have around 20% better fuel economy than any other 350.

Against the DF350 and the BF350 speak that they are considerable more expensive (what would be doable for me) but their weight is about 200 lbs more than a 300 and that would be 400 lbs more on the stern. Not sure how much this is a problem for running level, the less pronounced dead rise and the beam may equalize that.

Should i could choose and don't mind about 16K more cost then i probably would choose the BF350 as i consider it as a awesome outboard but for logical and economical reasons the DF300AP would be the wisest decision.

All big Suzukis have a 2.xx:1 gear reduction what allows them to swing a 16" wide prop and usually with 2" more pitch and that makes them a better choice for big and heavy boats.

Chris

 

[HMBJack]

Correction FYI: My props are 16 pitch 4 blades. Not 17 pitch as stated above.

In answer to your questions:

1. I have a Bow Thruster so no Joy Stick installed, and
2. My transom was, and continues to be, fine. My boat is stored on a lift so I think that helps. I also closely monitor my transom cap area (out of necessity).

 

[twin yams]

I'm looking at re-powering my 2007 330 Express from twin F250 3.3 dec engines to brand new F300 4.2 engines. Has anyone done this recently with Yamaha's new engines? I'm wondering if the new 300's are significantly better for overall performance considering a the additional 100 horsepower and a little less weight.

My current controls are the older DEC setup and I haven't been able to find a pair of 300's or may even 350's local to me on the Connecticut shoreline that could possibly work for my application. My controls will work with engines up to 2018. Any thoughts and/or feedback is welcome. Thanks!

Hey buddy,
I just did a RePower on my 2005 330, coming from F250’s with cable controls. I went with F300’s and DEC controls. I did also change the transom cap to the newer vinyl/pvc as well as replaced the end caps and it looks great. As far as performance…my difference was night and day. I did also change props, as others have said the gear ratio is different, I now run Turning point 3 blade 15.6 x 15 Express OS. No cavitation, which I had with my old set up when coming out of the hole in decent seas that were quartering the stern….none at all with the new setup (which my “OCD” mechanic said was the old props and not the old motors).

New performance numbers: (slight variances with conditions of course)
4200 rpm 25 knots
4300 rpm, 26 knots
4600 rpm 28.5 knots
4800 rpm 29.4 knots
5900 rpm 35.8 knots

Most of the time I see 1 mpg, even at and up to 5000 rpm (my normal high cruise is around 4600-4800 rpm) as I don‘t like to push it too much. Lower cruise speeds 4200-4500 can see 1.1(.2) at times, so not a huge difference. Just went tuna fishing last week and did 26 knots on the way out and 28-29 on the way back.
Top speed seems to be 42-43 (mph) but I don’t do that for more than a few seconds, saw 44 (mph) twice in perfect conditions. Biggest difference I saw with the RePower was out of the hole and midrange cruise, huge difference when we are heavy for tuna fishing. Also the digital controls are amazing. Any other questions, let me know.

 

[Automated14]

I'm looking at re-powering my 2007 330 Express from twin F250 3.3 dec engines to brand new F300 4.2 engines. Has anyone done this recently with Yamaha's new engines? I'm wondering if the new 300's are significantly better for overall performance considering a the additional 100 horsepower and a little less weight.

My current controls are the older DEC setup and I haven't been able to find a pair of 300's or may even 350's local to me on the Connecticut shoreline that could possibly work for my application. My controls will work with engines up to 2018. Any thoughts and/or feedback is welcome. Thanks!

I can't answer your yamaha specific questions, but I did just repower my 330 express. Went from 3.3l 225's to merc v8 300's.

basically, the switch from 3.3L yams (225's vs 250 not a big performance difference) to any manufacturer's 300's on this hull will net you roughly 5-7mph better speed at pretty much all rpm ranges at the same or better mileage. Really makes it feel like a different boat. I top out at 42 normally. I've gotten feedback from others with merc, yam, suzuki 300's on this hull who have even better numbers... topping out at 45mph. My bottom has literally 20 years of bottom paint on it and it's a chunky monkey.

I really feel like another 100hp would be perfect for this hull. I think the later years where they had the v8 yam 350's were just about perfect. Honestly, while the new hulls with 425's which are now 450's are beasts, it seems like overkill to me. with 450's, this thing has to do 55mph. How fast do you really need this behemouth of a hull to be? I can see them offering it with new yam 4.3L 350's now that they are available. That's probably a nice ride.

but alas, that 600hp max hull rating from grady limits you on our older hulls.

 

[Comfortably Numb]

Update coming soon!

Repowering 2017 330 Express. Current motors: Yamaha F350 V-8’s. 1400 hours. Port motor has developed a mid-section exhaust corrosion issue. Starboard motor had a new lower unit installed 28 hours ago. They’ve been great motors but I’m at the point where I don’t want to spend any more money on them. If Yamaha still offered these engines I’d buy them tomorrow. Unfortunately I just don’t think the v-6 will perform the way my v-8’s have performed

New motors: Mercury 350 V-10’s getting installed next week

I’ve searched all over for a performance report for this hull with the Mercury V-10’s and I cannot find a report anywhere.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Older thread, and I'm sure that the OP has likely already figured out his solution but a few things to note here... first of which would be that the OP's 2007 model year only had a maximum horsepower rating of 600 hp. I Imagine with newer outboards and their lighter weights, that one could likely put 350's on that vintage of hull and have no issues, and/or no one would say anything. Just throwing it out there, and it doesn't appear that the 700 hp maximum horsepower rating was changed up until the following year in 2008. Second... for anyone that's looking to repower, I'd seriously check out Suzuki. Their motors are typically a bit on the heavier side compared to Mercury or Yamaha, but they're oftentimes the cheapest option out there. Just doing a quick 5 minute Google search and I can find the Suzuki DF300AP for less than $19k, for a total installation price of $23.5k per motor, or $47k total including installation. Comparatively, the cheapest Yamaha F300 that I can find on their price sheet is $31k, which is a difference of $12k per motor, or $24k total saved. If you don't care about the money or savings and want to go with Yamaha regardless, then by all means do so. For those that are like me and are much more on the frugal side of things, that $24k will save you a considerable amount of money that you can put towards other things like fuel, etc. Plus, Suzuki offers a standard 5 year warranty whereas Yamaha only comes standard with a 3 year warranty. The Yamaha F300 does weigh 551 lbs, whereas the Suzuki DF300AP weighs in at around 640 lbs a piece, so you will save 90 lbs in weight per outboard. On a boat that in all likelihood weighs over 12k+ lbs though, I can't imagine a difference of 180 lbs is going to be a dealbreaker, especially when the older Yamaha F250's of that time weighed just over 600 lbs a piece. Making the Suzuki's only about 80 lbs heavier in total than the OP's current setup.

 

[Comfortably Numb]

My boat is a 2017 rated up to 700 hp and topped out at 51mph with the V-8 yamaha. Cruise was high 30’s at about 1.1mpg. They held the boat on plane in rough seas at 20.5 mph

That’s my yardstick and the only motors that will match it are V-8’s or v-10’s

That means Honda or Mercury for me. Honda are $20k cheaper overall but there aren’t enough servicing dealers where I live and where I travel to

 

[Ekea]

Are you wanting to keep controls due to budget? If not, do yourself a favor and go to digital/electronic controls. For twins, it's the only way to go IMO.
If budget isn't an issue, you have a lot of options, as long as you aren't limited by max HP rating.
If you search, a number of forum members have repowered 330s. Yamaha, Suzuki, Mercury, and Honda all have excellent options. If budget and reliability are factors, Suzuki 300s are the way to go. Performance - Merc v10 350s. Want to fit in with the crowd - Yamaha 300s or the new V6 350s.

doesnt the OP have digital/electronic controls? he mentions that he has dec. isnt that Digital Electronic Controls?

 

[family affair]

doesnt the OP have digital/electronic controls? he mentions that he has dec. isnt that Digital Electronic Controls?

It is, but that was 2 years ago. He might have edited his post after my comments. Or I had sniffed too much glue that day.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

My boat is a 2017 rated up to 700 hp and topped out at 51mph with the V-8 yamaha. Cruise was high 30’s at about 1.1mpg. They held the boat on plane in rough seas at 20.5 mph

That’s my yardstick and the only motors that will match it are V-8’s or v-10’s

That means Honda or Mercury for me. Honda are $20k cheaper overall but there aren’t enough servicing dealers where I live and where I travel to

Eh, just throw twin Yamaha F450's on her and she'll be fine!

You're saying the Honda's are $20k cheaper? That's surprising, Honda's usually always seem to be considerably more from what I've seen in the past. Typically they're up there near what the Yamaha's are, and the Mercury's from what I've seen are considerably less, comparable to what Suzuki's are being sold for.

 

[Automated14]

I’d like to know what they did to increase the hp rating on this hull. I’ve been very deep in the bilge in my ‘04 and it’s already got steel beams triangulated and connected to the transom. It looks like they just increased the max hp on paper as higher hp engines became available.

Anyway… for a 700hp rated boat my only choice would be Honda. V8’s and much cheaper than anything else. For newer boats, it’s the v10 Merc for me. For my era boat, I went with v8 300’s. Partly because that’s max rating for my hull and I’m a rule follower and partly because the the only 350’s available at the time were 6cyl which are a non starter for me. I’m a v8 guy.