Help with Fuel economy on GW 265 with F225's needed

gradyfish22

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Summer Rae,
I have to agree with Tim, I would not be worried so much about the side to side motion as structural issues, yes the tower might make it slightly more tender but if it is just a standing platform without controls or a buggy top that is not that much weight, maybe 200-300lbs at most. The biggest concern is the hardtop itself, if the standing platform is on a stock hardtop I'd avoid it. You really need a custom hardtop or one modified all together. The 265 has a large hardtop for a 26 ft boat, possibly the largest on any boat in its class. Grady does not recommend a liferaft on top which weights maybe 100lbs, there is no area strong enough to support this area when you are running and pounding. You would have to add an aluminum plate under neath to support the weight, that means taking the wiring out of the piping to weld it in. Then you need to reenforce the hardtop supports. Tim's hardtop came loose with no added weight, but his is the only one I heard oif that happening to so far, but I have heard of problems on hardtops where guys did install liferafts, the mounting bolts came loose or the pipe welding cracked. It may only be 100-300lb of weight but it is in a place it was never designed to be supported and it adds a bit of stress on the hardtop and its structure. If having the tower is a big benefit to you, be aware you may need to modify the hardtop and spend a few bucks to make her safe for years of use. Regardless, I'd sea trial the boat and see how she feels drifting, if she feels fine to you go for it, if not find one without the tower there are a handful for sale. We just listed our 1989 22 Grady with a broker and he just posted a gorgeous 4 stroke powered 2002 265 express I think they are asking $78,000. Boat is through brightwater yacht sales in pt pleasant NJ. I only took a quick glimpse of the boat from the dock but it looks to be in great shape and priced about right for 4 stroke power, I'm sure with the market they would come down a bit as well. I know you may not want to travel but always remember southern boats are exposed to the elements more and are typically used more so they should be a few bucks cheaper in price then a northern boat that is run for a shorter season and stored on land and covered, not saying you cannot find a great boat down south but they should be a few bucks cheaper in price.
 

gradyfish22

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Summer Rae,
I have to agree with Tim, I would not be worried so much about the side to side motion as structural issues, yes the tower might make it slightly more tender but if it is just a standing platform without controls or a buggy top that is not that much weight, maybe 200-300lbs at most. The biggest concern is the hardtop itself, if the standing platform is on a stock hardtop I'd avoid it. You really need a custom hardtop or one modified all together. The 265 has a large hardtop for a 26 ft boat, possibly the largest on any boat in its class. Grady does not recommend a liferaft on top which weights maybe 100lbs, there is no area strong enough to support this area when you are running and pounding. You would have to add an aluminum plate under neath to support the weight, that means taking the wiring out of the piping to weld it in. Then you need to reenforce the hardtop supports. Tim's hardtop came loose with no added weight, but his is the only one I heard oif that happening to so far, but I have heard of problems on hardtops where guys did install liferafts, the mounting bolts came loose or the pipe welding cracked. It may only be 100-300lb of weight but it is in a place it was never designed to be supported and it adds a bit of stress on the hardtop and its structure. If having the tower is a big benefit to you, be aware you may need to modify the hardtop and spend a few bucks to make her safe for years of use. Regardless, I'd sea trial the boat and see how she feels drifting, if she feels fine to you go for it, if not find one without the tower there are a handful for sale. We just listed our 1989 22 Grady with a broker and he just posted a gorgeous 4 stroke powered 2002 265 express I think they are asking $78,000. Boat is through brightwater yacht sales in pt pleasant NJ. I only took a quick glimpse of the boat from the dock but it looks to be in great shape and priced about right for 4 stroke power, I'm sure with the market they would come down a bit as well. I know you may not want to travel but always remember southern boats are exposed to the elements more and are typically used more so they should be a few bucks cheaper in price then a northern boat that is run for a shorter season and stored on land and covered, not saying you cannot find a great boat down south but they should be a few bucks cheaper in price.
 

Summer Rae

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265 fuel economy 225s

Thanks for the insight. I was not aware about the limitations on the factory top. I will definitely check into the modifications made, if any, b/f buying one with a tower.

Lastly, what is the bottom line on the 4 stroke 225s on a '00-'01 265? I am hearing that the scuppers are too low. Is it the general consensus that I should only look at '02 or newer w/ 4 stroke power unless I commit to having the scuppers moved up?
 

SlimJim

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Re: 265 fuel economy 225s

Summer Rae said:
Thanks for the insight. I was not aware about the limitations on the factory top. I will definitely check into the modifications made, if any, b/f buying one with a tower.

Lastly, what is the bottom line on the 4 stroke 225s on a '00-'01 265? I am hearing that the scuppers are too low. Is it the general consensus that I should only look at '02 or newer w/ 4 stroke power unless I commit to having the scuppers moved up?
Yes. If you have a 00- or 01 it could put the scuppers underwater with 4 stroke power. My scuppers set right on the line with the HPDI's and its a 2001.
 

Conjuror

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I ran the following last evening. 1-1.5 ft chop. slack tide, 3/4 fuel, one passenger. Note speeds are kts not mph

4000 RPM 28 kts 19.5 GPH
4300 RPM 30.7 kts 21.5 GPH
4600 RPM 32.3 kts 25.1 GPH
4800 RPM 34 kts 26 GPH
5000 RPM 36 kts 27.5 GPH
 

Bill_N

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I think I spoke to the owner of the '02 265 mentioned above a month or so back before he listed the boat. It was in south Jersey about 5 hours away and I wasn't anxious to make the drive. Sounds like a nice rig, I think he bought it last year from All Seasons Marine and now wants to move up. He was in the neighborhood of 70k when we spoke. I think I have his number somewhere if anyone wants it.

Bill
 

fishingFINattic

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As Jim mentioned above - 2000 and 2001 scuppers are at water line with two strokes.... if you put four strokes on they will be below water line.... I have seen it done, but would not be comfortable.
There are some great deals of 265's w/ two stroke power.
Tim
 

BobP

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I thought I saw a used 265 on Judge Yachts website, in case anyone is interested. Judge is in Maryland.
 

Conjuror

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Yes, you did see a used 265 on Judge Yachts....it is a 2005 in excellent condition.....see my ad in the for sale section... :wink: It really is a great boat for you folks looking at 265's.
 

Bill_N

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Just an update on this; I picked up a set of Mercury Mirage Plus 18's and am seeing a 10-15% gain in fuel economy as best as I can tell. Biggest gains are at cruise. I was seeing 1.4 - 1.5 mpg at 3800 rpm with the SWS 17's, yesterday it ran 1.7 mpg all the way in. Cannot tell the difference in holeshot. Numbers are posted on Propgods website. I think these are the right props for the boat. 19's would be too much pitch.

Bill
 

fishingFINattic

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I also just looked at your prformance numbers on Porp Gods -

Have you ran them fully loaded (250 gallons fuel, ice, bait, 5 guys)

I had 5 big guys (average weight was probally 225) on the last trip out - 250 gallons of fuel, 6 flats of bait, bucket of chum - fish locker full of ice - Holy crap was she heavy - boat new the weight was there but performed great with the stock props -

Thanks

Tim
 

gradyfish22

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Fuel update, We ran to the Tom's Canyon last weekend for an overnight tuna trip. It is a 113nm run to the tip from my marina, we trolled for a total of 6.5 hours and burned 190.2gal for the trip. We ran at 4200-4300 on the way out seeing 1.5-1.6mpg with full full fuel(literally, we had it so you could see it at the gas fill) the center box full of ice and a 120qt cooler full of ice along with 5 flats of bait, a Honda 2000 generator and 4 guys onboard and full offshore gear. We cruised at around 28-29mph. On the way in we ran faster to avoid an oncoming storm that afternoon and ran between 4500-5200rpm; 5200rpm put me around 40mph. We covered a total of 281nm so that put us around 1.45nmpg for the trip which IMHO is great for this boat. Also, we would have did better on fuel figured if we cruised in instead of running harder to avoid that storm. Also, I do not have an autopilot so we could have done even better. I just had the engines tuned and it seems I am burning a hair less gas since the tune.

I took a peak at those prop numbers, they look good but like Tim said, at the price they cost it isn't worth it, I'll just add autopilot this winter and it will save me physically and mentally on rides out and just as much on fuel for the same amount invested.
 

Bill_N

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I got them from Ken at Propgods. The Mirage Plus are shown on his website. He had a LH in his shop that he wanted to get rid of so he paired it with a RH and sold them to me for $742 for the set. I could sell my 17's for around $400 and get out of it for around $350 but I'll probably keep them for spares.

I think this would be a good prop with the HPDI's also. They should pull the extra pitch easy. I've seen used ones on eBay or on some of the fishing forums (singles).

Tom, Those are great numbers loaded. I haven't had a chance to run these with a full load on yet. What kind of bottom paint do you run? I have an ablative paint on my boat which I'm told is not good for fuel burn.

Tim, Tell your crew they need to go on a diet! :)

Bill
 

gradyfish22

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I'm using Micron Extra paint, to apply it and get the best results, add about 1/4 of the interlux paint thinner into a gal of paint, it goes on thinner and wears better and will be a bit smoother. I learned this from where I work, it also made painting the bottom much easier. I just redid the bottom myself, we have one boat of barrier coat and then I did 3 coats of the Micron over it.
 

jekyl

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The new props sound promising .....please keep on posting your results especially loaded. Any thoughts on using them with the 200hpdi's is useful. I imagine the torque of the hpdi's would work well with them.