2002 33 Express with Yamahas 300 ???

Pwatlington

Pwatlington

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Hi everyone ! I’m Interested in buying a 33 Express 2002 with 2019 twin Yamahas 300 with only 30 hours. Asking price is 140K. Should I be concerned that the max hp rating for that year was 500 ? I’m worried that since there are so few hours on the boat with the new engines, no structural damage is visible yet but will occur in the future. Will I have trouble getting insurance for this boat ? What’s the most you would pay for this boat ? Thanks all for you input !!!!
 
I wonder why someone would spend big bucks on 300s and sell after only 30 hours of use. That's my suspicious nature I guess,
That aside, insurance can be an issue. I also suspect that if you ask Grady, they would probably state what the original HP limit was.
 
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There are several reasons that could have come up. Health concerns; re-location for a job in an area where the Express wouldn't be viable; he might've gotten in over his head financially and was forced to sell; He could've lost his job due to Covid; maybe he just didn't bond with the boat? Who knows?

I agree with Seasick on insurance: I wouldn't want a boat powered over the Capacity Plate that might not be insurable. Check into that thoroughly before committing.

I would call Grady directly and ask their advice before proceeding. There may be structural problems down the road with the 300's as you stated.

Hope it works out!
 
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AFAIK Grady doesn't recommend the 300s on the older boats. My impression from reading is that has some to do with transom strength, as well as some to do with overall hull structure. My 2002 has a factory refit where they added new foam stringers in at the forward edge of the aft cabin- I think it was here that I read that the early boats were designed to be lightweight since the power options in 2002 were limited. My 2002 also has large aluminum bracing from the transom to the stringers - I assume that was factory original although some boat manufacturers offered retrofit kits, and there's nothing to say that a 2006 wouldn't have stronger, larger bracing.

All that said, lots of people have repowered the early boats with 300s and I don't think I've read of any issues directly related to that. Both Suzuki and Yamaha have motors that are technically 250s but same block etc as their 300 counterparts. As always, do your homework and choose what you are comfortable with.

I would not worry about the low hour motors. A lot of guys either repower to sell, or repower and then realize that they still aren't using the boat as much as they'd like.

That sounds like a decent price to me if the boat is in good shape - those motors were probably low $40s/high $50s installed.
 
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I called Grady once on this issue and it is two issues. 1 is the increased torque and 2 added weight
 
There is an 04 in tavanier Fl for 140k with 300 yammies. The 03 I am surveying Thursday has 225’s with 410 hours. As soon as I get this boat home motors will be sold and 300 yammies will be going on it. I sea trialed one with 250’s and it was terrible I thought. I had an 01 with 250 ox66’s and the performance numbers I see on the 300’s is almost identical.
I’ll take my chances with the 300’s my family would disown me if I went back to two smokes.
 
You should ask why the boat is being sold. I have found that divorce is a common reason ( I am being serious)
 
I think your fine with the 300,s I put them on my 265 express and it’s holding up nicely and my buddy with a 2003 33 express went from 300 Suzuki’s to dual prop 350’s and still no issue at all.
 
People really seem to be scared to put 50 more horse power then it says. The motors don’t weight anymore maybe 18lbs from 250 to 300’s. I had no prob getting insurance but I’m in Canada so maybe it’s earlier.
 
My friend had also repowered his 2002- 33 express with 350 Suzuki over two years ago, no problems with engines ,or insurance , over 400 hours .
 
I think it is very common for people to list boats after repowers. Repowering is a huge investment that is sometimes forced if a motor blows and if you sell when motors are relatively new you recover your investment back.

Also a lot of people repower thinking they will fall in love with their boat all over again and sometimes that doesn’t happen.

In My opinion a 2002 should be very closely surveyed as the early 33’s had major issues with saturation in balsa coring on hullsides.

best of luck whatever you decide!
 
i've been away from this for awhile, but i do know that the earlier prohibition was with the F350's repowered on a pre 2008 hull. that was direct from GW. i believe that the highest hp available when the model first came out was 250, so max 500.

you really should call the factory, they will be very helpful. good luck, ron
 
For what it's worth, the 4.2L F300 is exactly they same motor as the 4.2L F250, but with a different ECM. These motors actually weigh less than the older 3.4L F225 & F250's that were originally on the 330. They do provide more torque however, but many 2002 and 2003 330's have repowered with 4.2L F250's without any issue. I also contacted Grady and their answer was "don't exceed the recommended HP," but I think they have to say that. I think the right question to ask is what changes were made to the transom between 2003 and 2004 when (if I recall correctly) the HP rating went up to 600.
 
Flot said:
Suzuki and Yamaha have motors that are technically 250s but same block etc as their 300 counterparts. As always, do your homework and choose what you are comfortable with.
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Suzuki has 2 250's. The one with electronic controls is bigger and the same as the 300. That version is a electronically detuned Zuke 300. The Zuke with mechanical controls is a smaller motor and a true 250.
 
Twin 300’s said:
I think your fine with the 300,s I put them on my 265 express and it’s holding up nicely and my buddy with a 2003 33 express went from 300 Suzuki’s to dual prop 350’s and still no issue at all.
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I'd be very interested to see the stats on the early boat with twin 350s - cruise/top speed and MPG....
 
My buddy has a 2003 33 express with twin 350suzuki dual prop and it goes 52mph. I know when we go to my cabin in his boat it’s 33 miles from the dock he cruises at 35 mph and it burns about 23-25 gallons if it’s not to bad of sea conditions.
 
Twin 300’s said:
My buddy has a 2003 33 express with twin 350suzuki dual prop and it goes 52mph. I know when we go to my cabin in his boat it’s 33 miles from the dock he cruises at 35 mph and it burns about 23-25 gallons if it’s not to bad of sea conditions.
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If you can get him to put together some RPM/Speed/MPG numbers that'd be amazing. That sounds like a 25% improvement from my F300s across the board. Unfortunately the early DF350s had some issues but I'm hopeful those have gotten resolved by now.
 
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I re-powered with Yamaha 300s this year, Yamaha dealer said the only difference between 250s and 300s is the Engine control unit.
I had no issues with insurance, and the boat shows no signs of problems, Its a great match for this boat, I run Powertech 4 blades 15x15
I cruise at 30 MPH at 4000 RPMs Full fuel and water, WOT at 5500 at 40MPH
 
fsc60 said:
I re-powered with Yamaha 300s this year, Yamaha dealer said the only difference between 250s and 300s is the Engine control unit.
I had no issues with insurance, and the boat shows no signs of problems, Its a great match for this boat, I run Powertech 4 blades 15x15
I cruise at 30 MPH at 4000 RPMs Full fuel and water, WOT at 5500 at 40MPH
Click to expand...

Curious what your MPG is at best cruise?
 
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