Boat option questions
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: General Forums
Forum Name: The Boat Shed
Forum Description: Discuss all things boating.
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=80591
Printed Date: 07 Jun 2026 at 1:39pm
Topic: Boat option questions
Posted By: alanimal
Subject: Boat option questions
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2012 at 10:15am
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Hi Guys, I sold my5.8M fishing vessel and am looking at something over 7 meters now - second hand with low hours on engine. I was wanting some opinions on anyone that owns these models and how good they are or arent. These are the models I have on my shortlist: HAINES HUNTER SS 700 BUCCANEER 735 EXESS Smuggler Stealth 720 RAYGLASS LEGEND 730 Challenger 720 Offshore All nice boats so would be good to hear from people that own or owned them. Also whether it is better to go inboard or outboard?
------------- By and large the reporting is factual, but in a few instances I have claimed the right of readjusting the facts to which every angler is entitled. |
Replies:
Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2012 at 10:52am
| Regardless of the hull, on that size boat an outboard is going to be your best option. |
Posted By: Moki Marko
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2012 at 11:09am
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all nice boats al. If you are after a low hour late model boat then I think you should just check and what is available, ie once you start to narrow down things then something often jumps out at you. Agree with Tagit re outboard being the best option and don't get too hung up on 'hours' - outboard motors usually 'age out' before they 'wear out' so I'd go for the newest engine not the lowest hours. |
Posted By: Dunwurkn
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2012 at 8:13pm
| If you still want to achieve good economy like you have been used to with your optimax go four stroke or direct injection motor especially as the boats you are looking at will need big horsepower. |
Posted By: alanimal
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2012 at 8:49pm
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Too right. I like the smart craft guages makes it easy to talley up a day trip with mates at the end of the day. Definately going 4 stroke, I also like the verados I have heard good things about them. So far leaning towards a buccaneer 685 or 735 excess , I note most have 225 or 250 yamahas, are they all good? Grown up with mercs and last 4 boats I've had have had them so far. ------------- By and large the reporting is factual, but in a few instances I have claimed the right of readjusting the facts to which every angler is entitled. |
Posted By: tobez
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2012 at 9:32pm
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just about at 4000hrs on my yammy 225
outboard a great option for a 7-8m boat
any of those boats will serve u well ------------- Waikato North Harbourmaster...Got a Nav Safety question for the Waikato region?...call me 021705642 or download the app Marine Mate! |
Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2012 at 11:00pm
Depends a bit on the age for the Yamaha's. Up to ~2007 (at best guess) the F225 especially, and the F250 less so, have been known to have issues with major exhaust corrosion and oil seals eating into shafts. Both powerhead off fixes and potentially pretty expensive, especially the corrosion fix. I understand that in the US, Yamaha have finally slashed the cost of the parts for the fix, but don't know if our local guys have followed suit. Lots of different stories out there about this, but there seems like there might be a pattern of these issues mostly starting to occur around 600hrs or so. You can check the oil seal quite easily by dropping the lower unit and checking for engine oil on the top of the driveshaft. At least you will then know if it has started already. The corrosion issue needs someone who knows what they are looking for armed with a snake camera to be sure, but can also be seen with the lower unit off if you recognise the signs and it is already bad enough. For some reason only a % of these engines seem to have been affected so far, so you could be lucky, or not. According to US govt testing that you can access on line, the F225 only actually makes 208hp. Possibly the weakest 225 on the market, so be aware if you find it on a heavy hull. (Sorry Tobes, I know you have had a reasonable run with yours). Of the two I would be more comfortable with the F250 which doesn't seem to have been so badly affected for some reason.
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alanimal wrote:Posted By: fitzy
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2012 at 11:58am
| The Buccaneer 735 Billfisher is rated as a better boat than the Excess. Evidently the fuel tank is better located which evidently improves the ride. |
Posted By: alanimal
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2012 at 10:24pm
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Thanks for the info guys, I have opted for a Buccaneer 735 Sportsman with a Yamaha F225, seems like a sweet setup for both fishing and family weekends away. Tagit - this is a 2012 engine - do you know if these are only pumping out 208HP as you mentioned? ------------- By and large the reporting is factual, but in a few instances I have claimed the right of readjusting the facts to which every angler is entitled. |
Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2012 at 10:27pm
| Is that the new 4.2l version? If so it is an entirely different engine and I haven't seen any info on them yet other than what Yamaha publish for their own benefit. |
Posted By: alanimal
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2012 at 10:39pm
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yea thats the one. 4.2L v6 ------------- By and large the reporting is factual, but in a few instances I have claimed the right of readjusting the facts to which every angler is entitled. |
Posted By: Espresso
Date Posted: 22 Jul 2012 at 8:53am
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Nice, you'll be a happy chappy ay?! Now for the wind to 'just say no' for a while |
Posted By: alanimal
Date Posted: 22 Jul 2012 at 9:42am
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yeah I reckon. bein delivered Wednesday, weather looks good for a fish ------------- By and large the reporting is factual, but in a few instances I have claimed the right of readjusting the facts to which every angler is entitled. |
Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 22 Jul 2012 at 11:26am
| Once you have it sorted, let us know how the fuel burn looks at 4000rpm if you could. From figures I have seen from other owners, Honda and Suzuki seem to have both made impressive advances in fuel burn in a couple of their new models. Will be interesting to see if the new Yam is the same. |
Posted By: Moki Marko
Date Posted: 22 Jul 2012 at 1:46pm
| reports I'm getting are that the new 4.2L yamaha isn't super economical. But I think this wouldn't be significant if it proves to be a reliable engine in the long term |
Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 22 Jul 2012 at 2:22pm
| Fuel burn might be a significant issue if the figures I have seen on the new 250hp Honda are correct. Figures are from a new owner, not Honda, so no spin on them, and I saw the photos of the gauges showing speed, rpm's, fuel burn etc. Only question might be whether the engine was underloaded. Anyway, if that new 4.2 burns fuel like it's predecessor F225, it will burn somewhere around 33lph at 4000rpm when 'correctly loaded'. The new Honda 250 numbers I saw indicated just over 26lph at 4000rpm. So, in simple terms, more than 10% extra hp available and well over 20% less fuel. I did some calcs for a guy on this forum the other day with a new 'Lean Burn' Suzuki and it came out about the same (smaller engine but same % improvement in fuel burn). If the new 4.2l engine hasn't hit the same sort of savings then Yamaha may have missed the boat a bit compared to their competitors. I haven't seen any real life numbers for one of those 4.2l engines yet, but I see that Yamaha was advertising better fuel burn than their competitors, but only in the 300hp comparison on the stuff I saw. Couldn't find any mention of comparisons at the 225hp and 250hp level so maybe there is a reason for that? |
Posted By: Bounty Hunter
Date Posted: 22 Jul 2012 at 6:19pm
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got a 300 on the way - am guessing around 40lph - we will see...
------------- No disintegrations! |
Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 22 Jul 2012 at 6:38pm
| BH - I would be hoping for better than that based on some of the figures around for latest gen engines. Anything over 35lph at 4000rpm would upset me based on what seems to be happening with engine developments. Let's hope you get a pleasant surprise. |
Posted By: Bossco
Date Posted: 22 Jul 2012 at 7:06pm
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Those figures from a Fyran Tagit? my old 225 was burning just under 30lph at that rpm. |
Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 22 Jul 2012 at 7:31pm
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From a 21.5ft glass boat. I suspect that it might have been a little under propped, so would like to see more numbers to get a real feel for what the numbers are. Still look much better than the previous gen 4 strokes. There seems to have been some good advances in efficiency in the very latest 4 strokes. Not sure why, but the figures I am seeing are certainly suggesting that it is happening in some engines at least.
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Posted By: Moki Marko
Date Posted: 22 Jul 2012 at 8:31pm
when I was running a big johnson 225 2 stroke I don't think I had a single day out when the motor didn't give us some sort of grief - either difficult starting or just refusing to start or just running on 3 cylinders - I spent 1000's on it and even when it went it used about 50L per hour - Now I'm getting better then 30L per hour of trouble free boating with the Honda, it's great. So yes, if I was going to replace it I'd go for the new Honda 250, but Alanimal went for the Yamaha, and that's good too. The average 100hour (or less) per year boaty is looking at a few hundred dollars difference in fuel between the motors, I'm thinking there are guys on this forum who spend that much over the bar at the end of each fishing trip
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Posted By: Big -Dave
Date Posted: 23 Jul 2012 at 9:03pm
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i used tyo think, cheap motor and what I saved will pay for fuel. But I resented feeding the hungry sod, and it gave me starting issues, so a honda went on. Now I can enjoy my boating in confidence. |
Posted By: Bossco
Date Posted: 23 Jul 2012 at 9:53pm
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They are definately making things tempting. Going from a Verado burning 43lph at 4000rpm to a Honda burning closer to 26lph at 4000rpm you would be looking at a saving up between $5000 to $8000 in fuel bills alone depending on use and how much the Honda burns (on a diff boat). Add those savings up over a 5 year ownership period and even the bank manager might approve. |
Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 23 Jul 2012 at 10:30pm
| What size Verado Bossco? That seems high for a 250. I would have hoped for closer to 37lph. I know the Verados are claimed to get thirsty once you open them up, but at 4000 you would expect the fuel burn to be optimised as this is the 'standard' cruise rpms. |
Posted By: Bossco
Date Posted: 24 Jul 2012 at 6:29pm
| It's only a 225 and a Gen 1 motor, so a bit underpowered and old tech. |
Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 24 Jul 2012 at 7:40pm
| Bossco - not convinced that a 225 4 stroke should be burning that much fuel at 4000rpm. Have you ever done a serious check of the whole setup? A carb'd 2 stroke 225 is only ~45lph when properly set up. |
Posted By: Bossco
Date Posted: 24 Jul 2012 at 9:04pm
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Yeah, it hits 6100rpm and tops out at 37knots. Those figures are under load though and with the boat trimmed down so its more liveable in good conditions. Southern won't reply to any emails or contacts so I can't find out comparison figures on similar models, but from the boat tests I can find it looks like the gen 1's verado do just burn a lot more gas. |
Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 24 Jul 2012 at 9:24pm
| What size is your boat Bossco? |
Posted By: Bossco
Date Posted: 24 Jul 2012 at 9:45pm
| Southern 810 with 5mm hull. |
Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 24 Jul 2012 at 10:30pm
| We have a 7.4 HTO with a 200 2 stroke. Cruises around 26knts at around 43lph. |
Posted By: harryh
Date Posted: 25 Jul 2012 at 2:40pm
| Was talking to Fishermans Friend at the Bounty Hunter and his new Extreme 850 with the new 300 Lean Burn Suzi with optional gearbox rotation, I think was burning 33lph at around 4000rpm doing 29mph, I think, he may be able to confirm. |
Posted By: Bossco
Date Posted: 25 Jul 2012 at 6:49pm
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That's pretty good. Read a review saying that the yam 300 burns 39lph/30knots at 4000rpm on a Southern 7.5. Will have to weigh up how a 300hp cruising at a lower rpm will compare economy wise to the Honda 250. |
Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 25 Jul 2012 at 8:15pm
| Those figures for the 300 on the SS 7.5 sound pretty horrible to me. Fuel burn looks OKish, but only 30knts? As long as the boat has plenty of power and isn't struggling, I don't believe that the difference between 250 and 300hp in fuel burn would be very much at the same speeds. With the 8m deep V boat however I would be tending towards the 300 just because it is a better power match for that size boat. |
Posted By: Bossco
Date Posted: 25 Jul 2012 at 10:11pm
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http://www.southern-lazer.co.nz/Southern%20XP756_May11_boatingnz.pdf" rel="nofollow - http://www.southern-lazer.co.nz/Southern%20XP756_May11_boatingnz.pdf Not bad at 3500 though and it is a freshwater test. But looks like the Suzuki's have a pretty significant edge in that 3000-4000 rpm bracket and they claim even better figures with new tech this year. http://www.stabicraft.com/Documents/BoatTests/759SCSPORT/300Hpshoot-Outpropeller.pdf" rel="nofollow - http://www.stabicraft.com/Documents/BoatTests/759SCSPORT/300Hpshoot-Outpropeller.pdf |
Posted By: bluesignature
Date Posted: 26 Jul 2012 at 8:14am
| you could try asking boat city bossco about expected fuel economy as they are agents for southern and mercury.i had the chioce of merc or yamaha through them and went with yamaha.the biggest challenge with these 4.2 yamahas seems to be getting them propped correctly we had too much prop slip with the yamaha props (seem to recall something in a recent magazine boat boat test that made me think they had the same problem).did some prop testing last week on lake dunstan (220m above sea level) we were getting better perfopmance with amerc prop revolution 4 .however we have not run it in sea water yet and with more grip i think the motor will need to go up a hole.theese motors have a differnt gear ratio so you need less pitch on your prop.as a guide on the lake we were doing 29mph at 3800rpm burning 34.8l hr boat was well loaded full of fuel 2 men and 300 l water in fish bins to duplicate load so it should do better on saltwater at sea level boat 716 southern |
Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 26 Jul 2012 at 9:40am
| What engine size BS? |
Posted By: bluesignature
Date Posted: 26 Jul 2012 at 3:04pm
| 4.2l 225hp yamaha tagit you helped with setting intial engine hieght you said lower one hole but thought 2 would be the answer we had allready gone down 2so left it as it was so may now try going up 1 as have more grip |
Posted By: Tagit
Date Posted: 26 Jul 2012 at 3:25pm
Sorry BS, had forgotten that  . Blame it on old age. Just doing my mental maths exercise on fuel burn etc. Your figures look close, but I would have expected maybe 1 or 2 mph on that hull and maybe a couple of lph less. Fine tuning only, but that extra hole might be the final tweak. Doesn't seem though that the lower hp Yam 4.2's have made the same gains in fuel burn that Honda (and possibly Suzuki?) have made. Only got very incidental data on this so far, but is interesting to keep an eye on.
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Posted By: Moki Marko
Date Posted: 27 Jul 2012 at 4:28pm
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yes - the response I have had is that the yamaha is a bigger engine so it burns more fuel. Even tho its doing the same amount of work I guess the combustion chamber is a certain size and they can only lean out the mixture so much. Big issue I have noticed too is that an 8m boat is proportionally way bigger than a 7m boat - a 225 just isn't big enough on an 8m boat, especially when owners insist on running the motors at lower than optimum revs to try and save a few cents on gas - it;s counter productive. |
Posted By: alanimal
Date Posted: 07 Aug 2012 at 1:16pm
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well am now a happy owner of a Buccaneer 735 Sportsman (the one in last boating nz magazine). only done one overnighter so far but is very comfortable and quite an upgrade from the Fi-Glass lightning. Awesome boats - so much room!!! ------------- By and large the reporting is factual, but in a few instances I have claimed the right of readjusting the facts to which every angler is entitled. |