I have original 2004 225 HP Yamaha's on my 2004 Marlin that are starting to rot. Just redid the exhausts on the starboard, only to find out a short while later that the power head was leaking by the thermostat housing (a dealer said this was a common problem). I have tried a marine-tex patch, but the issue may require a new power head. Starting to shop for replacement engines before I have to sink more into the power head or the port engine. Right now I am leaning toward 300 Yamaha's, but not sure whether to stay with the mechanical to save some money or go with the fly by wire. Obviously, my other choice is the 250's. If you have experience or thoughts regarding the repower, choice of engines or controls, please share. Thanks.
Repowering 2004 Marlin
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I repowered with the 4.2 F250 2 years ago. I went digital and it's a wonderful system. Smooth. Silky almost , throttle control would be a way to describe it. Now, I only had 1 motor to do this with and I am not sure what the costs are on the dual binnacle digital. If you have it to spare I would not hesitate telling you to go digital.
I went from the 3.3 f250 to the 4.2 f250. It's night and day better in terms of torque in the low to mid range RPMs. I would think going to the 250 or 300s would be a huge improvement in performance on the Marlin over what you have now. Good luck in your choices.
I went from the 3.3 f250 to the 4.2 f250. It's night and day better in terms of torque in the low to mid range RPMs. I would think going to the 250 or 300s would be a huge improvement in performance on the Marlin over what you have now. Good luck in your choices.
... look at Suzuki 300's... i re-powered my 97 marlin last year with them... the digital 300 zukes were very close to the same price as 250 mechanical Yammies... even with all new rigging... and the digital system is great... throttles can be touchy... but they are exponentially smoother than the mechanical ones... i can give you any info you'd need if you have any questions...
I would love to hear more about those suzuki’s. I lost an engine in my 282 last weekend and am trying to figure out if I will repower or repair. How much work was it to convert?
By the way, for those of you who have had water in oil, I took a video. Would love to hear what might have done this.
Legend
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I had the same F225 corrosion issues 2 years ago on twin engines on a Sailfish. I did not want to sink that kind of cash into new powerheads and the corrosion repair on 04 engines. I first priced out the F250s 4.2 electric and they came to around 62K with new gauges, steering ram and install. I ended up going with the mechanical 4.2 and the final bill was around 48K. I know several people that have the electric models and they really like the smooth shifting but that a lot of money for it. Not sure if the gap is still as big between the electric and the mechanicals? Good luck - either choice the 4.2 is a great engine and people I know with the 300s love them. I saw a noticeable power between the f225 and F250 with thrust and top end speed.
There are a whole bunch of good F-225's on the market that had the corrosion service done. You could probably grab a replacement and swap out the bad one for 6-7K. It would a couple hours. Then sell the bad one for parts...
They are easy to swap with a fork truck. Even if you have unlimited funds putting 50K into a 15 year old boat may not be a great proposition.
They are easy to swap with a fork truck. Even if you have unlimited funds putting 50K into a 15 year old boat may not be a great proposition.
I originally had the 250 ox66's on my '97 and was looking at a few different options... after pricing it all out and talking to a seemingly endless amount of people... i decided to go with the zukes and go up to the digital 300's (basically the same engine as the 250's with a different computer) i had a shop in NJ do the take off, re-rig, and install and the total came in $52 all in... taxes and all.... we did have to change the steering rams as the mounts for the ox's didnt fit the mounts for the zukes...
the weight difference between the new ones and the old ones isn't really that much once you consider the removal of the 2 stroke oil tanks and brackets... it comes out to about 100lbs more ... the zukes are incredibly quiet...
we do mostly offshore fishing... so WOT wasn't really a concern... on saturday we ran with 250 gals of fuel, full ice, and full water with 4 guys and offshore gear... we ran out in the early AM at around 3700-3800rpm doing about 23kts and getting about about 1.2 - 1.25 .... bumped it up to about 4200 at about 27 kts at 1.1 once we got light... we ran 65 miles out.. trolled for about 7.5 hours and ran home another 65 miles in a tight 3' slop and we burned 131 total on the trip...
the boat definitely handles better with the 300's than it did with the 250's... i feel that is doesn't knife off anywhere near as much in a following sea...and we ride a little smoother in a light chop... WOT she gets about 5800 rpms and saw 38-39 kts... again... not many chances to do that in the ocean...
I know there's a lot of conversation about "overpowering" and the insurance issue, but with a good marine insurance carrier, the underwriter makes the determination to insure based off of a survey... once a boat is over 21 feet, it is outside of the realm of the coastguard power formula...
Fishtales
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I also have an 04 Marlin and we have repowered it with Suzuki DF300’s. Great engines. Zero issues for me and I’ve owned 5 of them across different boats.
I get 1.3-1.4 mpg at cruise typically 28-32 mph and I get about 44 Mph wide open. Electronic controls are all you can get on a DF300 and after owning them I would not want cables.
I think the boat does great with the hp.
The 04 is rated for 600hp as stated. 04 also has the new cockpit design and updates to the cabin. It’s very close to the current Marlin.
I get 1.3-1.4 mpg at cruise typically 28-32 mph and I get about 44 Mph wide open. Electronic controls are all you can get on a DF300 and after owning them I would not want cables.
I think the boat does great with the hp.
The 04 is rated for 600hp as stated. 04 also has the new cockpit design and updates to the cabin. It’s very close to the current Marlin.
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Guys, this is great info! I appreciate your taking the time. I pulled both my lowers last night and the one was corroded through to the oil pan, the other with some corrosion but not too bad. I got a quote for dual Yamaha 300’s for 48k installed using existing harness and controls. I have a quote for the Suzuki 300’s with electronic controls for 39k plus install. Does anyone have a rigging manual for the 300 Suzuki’s? I want to add backing plates on the transom bolts and need the dimensions to make some at work.
Where have you been seeing those engines? I’m definitely interested in saving that money if I can.
Thanks everyone for the great information. After a discussion with one mechanic today it appears that the computer mapping for the Yamaha 250 and 300 differs only at high rpm. I wasted coming out of the hole and cruising would be similar with both models. The benefits for the 300 come in if you regularly run at high rpms or you typically run a fairly loaded boat. Quotes I have on the 250 digital are around 55,000 and 47 for the mechanical motors.