After inking the deal on Jan 31st I finally took delivery of my Tournament 225 from Beaver Park on Friday. I have bought a lot of things in my life but I have never been treated better by any organization than Beaver Park treated me. Pat Grasso, sales manager, Bill Schaeffer, owner, and the entire staff of technicians spent from 8:30AM until 2:00 PM with me making sure everything went smoothly. It was as if they didn't have another customer in the world. And believe they did as they had three other boats going out that day. We sea trialed the boat on Lake Erie and went over every system, we rigged the trailer and shrink wrapped the boat for the tow home. Any issue was immediately addressed and dealt with. They even bought me lunch. It was hands down the best retail experience I have ever been involved with. They even threw in some hats and T shirts. When it was time to leave on the 7 1/2 hr drive back to Cumberland I didn't want it to end.
The trip back was uneventful and the boat towed beautifully. The only problem was one of the axles threw it's bearing cover/ grease cap somewhere along the way but I was able to replace it Saturday morning before launching the boat for the first time.
As for the boat, I was able to put 10 hours on it this weekend and it exceeded all my expectations. The ride is simply phenominal compared to my previous Boston Whalers and I am absolutely convinced I made the right choice.
As for the F225, I broke it in according to factory recommendations @ 2000 RPM the first hour, 3000 RPM the second and various RPMs the remaining 10 hours. It maxed out @ 6000 RPM @ 48 MPH w/ two people, full fuel tank, no water, normal personal gear. The Command Link said @ 4000 RPM trimmed out I was getting 3.7 MPG! What a great motor. It starts like a car and is as quiet as a church mouse!
Two minor issues though. Like some of the rest of you I got the "Water in the fuel" light @ about 9 hrs and then it quit only to reoccur @ approx 9.8 hrs and quit again. I really do think it's a sensor problem since I filled the boat up with fresh fuel Friday night at a Kroger gas station in Somerset, KY that sells lots of gas. I also added ring free and stabilizer. No change in the running of the engine when the light came on either time. I'll have it checked at the 10 hr service though.
One other frustrating issue was whomever installed my #2, port battery @ the factory got the nut on the negative post cross threaded on the stud and the connection was loose. I discovered it when the boat shut down while running on the #2 battery. It restarted so I continued only to have it happen again and that's when I checked the battery connections and found it. Unfortunately when I attempted to tighten it down the post snapped off. Therefore I now have a one battery boat and will have to address that issue tomorrow. I think all boat builders could locate their batteries in more accessible places, including GW!
Sorry to be so long winded but I can't say enough good things about Beaver Park as a a dealer and about how thrilled I am with my 225. It was definitely worth the wait to Get the Grady!
The trip back was uneventful and the boat towed beautifully. The only problem was one of the axles threw it's bearing cover/ grease cap somewhere along the way but I was able to replace it Saturday morning before launching the boat for the first time.
As for the boat, I was able to put 10 hours on it this weekend and it exceeded all my expectations. The ride is simply phenominal compared to my previous Boston Whalers and I am absolutely convinced I made the right choice.
As for the F225, I broke it in according to factory recommendations @ 2000 RPM the first hour, 3000 RPM the second and various RPMs the remaining 10 hours. It maxed out @ 6000 RPM @ 48 MPH w/ two people, full fuel tank, no water, normal personal gear. The Command Link said @ 4000 RPM trimmed out I was getting 3.7 MPG! What a great motor. It starts like a car and is as quiet as a church mouse!
Two minor issues though. Like some of the rest of you I got the "Water in the fuel" light @ about 9 hrs and then it quit only to reoccur @ approx 9.8 hrs and quit again. I really do think it's a sensor problem since I filled the boat up with fresh fuel Friday night at a Kroger gas station in Somerset, KY that sells lots of gas. I also added ring free and stabilizer. No change in the running of the engine when the light came on either time. I'll have it checked at the 10 hr service though.
One other frustrating issue was whomever installed my #2, port battery @ the factory got the nut on the negative post cross threaded on the stud and the connection was loose. I discovered it when the boat shut down while running on the #2 battery. It restarted so I continued only to have it happen again and that's when I checked the battery connections and found it. Unfortunately when I attempted to tighten it down the post snapped off. Therefore I now have a one battery boat and will have to address that issue tomorrow. I think all boat builders could locate their batteries in more accessible places, including GW!
Sorry to be so long winded but I can't say enough good things about Beaver Park as a a dealer and about how thrilled I am with my 225. It was definitely worth the wait to Get the Grady!