drbatts said:
Fowl Hooked said:
On my 265 with the F225s and stock Yamaha props I was seeing about 1.7-1.8mpg at ~3800 rpm pushing me along at around 25-26 mph.
Agreed. The 265 likes to run. I usually run mine at 27-29mph and mpg will drop to around ~1.5ish mpg.
wow, fuel economy improved more then I thought it would with the F250s.
The performance improvement all around with the 250s was pretty remarkable. The boat ran good with the 225s and if I'd caught the corrosion before it hit the powerbeads I'd have done the midsection work and kept on running, they had a bit over 1,100 hours but were going great.
The 250s though just run that boat better in all respects. I'm up on plane quicker, especially when fully loaded, and once there the boat just seems to cruise 'easier' if that makes sense. There is the noticeable difference in economy, though I don't typically see it as I generally run about as fast as the water conditions allow me to go, but it's nice to know what I can get out of them if I'm planning a really long run.
I also don't have to play with the throttles much anymore when pounding through chop - not the up and down for managing big waves but the cruising along in 2-3 and the bow digs in on a random wave. It's not like cruise control or anything but the engines sense the slowing in speed and rev up accordingly to get back to where I was and then slow back down to whatever they'd been set at before. My 225s didn't really seem to do that at all and I was constantly tapping the throttles.
Being forced to repower sucked but at least the cost for the upgrade came with some tangible performance benefits plus I no longer have to look at that unsightly scratch on the cowling.