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Random Quote: You can have it fast, cheap or right. Pick two.
I am concidering trading my boat (Haines Hunter Patriot 680) on the larger model (Patriot 800). My current boat is 23' with a single Honda BF225.
The Patriot 800 hull wieghs in at 4180lbs, has a length of 27' and a beam of 8'4", holds 185 gal of fuel, 32 gal of water and is rated to 450hp.
There are two other boats like this in my town and they are both powered by twin Honda BF225 engines. At WOT they can reach 55mph.
My main goal is to have maximum range with the fuel I carry as I go on long fishing trips in remote areas where fuel is not available. Therefore I am concidering fitting twin Honda BF150 engines.
I have calculated this should push the boat to about 42mph. Is this sufficient power to push this boat in all conditions and would they save a significant amount of fuel over the twin BF225 engines?
Cost is not a concideration so if there is no gain in fuel range or the boat would lack performance with only BF150 engines, I would go with the BF225 engines.
My boat is very similar in size and weight ( 26' 8", 4200#'s, 9'1" beam), 258 fuel, 15 water. I can't imagine trying to power my boat with twin 150's when I'm loaded for long offshore trips. I'm not familiar with the Patriot hull, and this power may be just fine, just sounds under-powered to me with the weight of the Honda's added to the mix.
All boats are marked by a minimum and maximum H.P. I never go to the maximum H.P. as that is a waste. What I do is take the minimum and add 25 H.P. to it. You'll probably never going to run WOT all the time. But the extra HP is there to help you get up on plane.
Since you mentioned your goal, i would seriously consider twin Merc Verado 200's....you get an extra 100 hp, and they are still 4 cyl....and supercharged....the new merc efficiency seems impressive..., with 4 strokes, you don't want to be anywhere close to underpowered...., the verado 200's would be a nice fit......(I'm not a merc guy, I run etecs...but am impressed with new verados'...with me it is all application that matters),,
I've got a Robalo R240 (24' with 8'9" beam 22 deg V) which weighs in at 5500 lbs with twin 150 Yamahas (4 stroke) and no fuel. It holds 200 gals of gas and 30 gals of fresh water. It's a very heavy 24 foot boat. Those Yami's have plenty of juice to move it in open seas. I just got it and haven't really topped it out yet but the other day I was pushing well over 40 at WOT for a second or two. I didn't want to push those babies too hard yet. Of course it will depend on the hull design. I've been very happy with the fuel economy on 2 trips. At cruising speed of 25 mph I'm getting 11 gal/hr. btw - i'm rated to 400 hp.
Since you mentioned your goal, i would seriously consider twin Merc Verado 200's....you get an extra 100 hp, and they are still 4 cyl....and supercharged....the new merc efficiency seems impressive..., with 4 strokes, you don't want to be anywhere close to underpowered...., the verado 200's would be a nice fit......(I'm not a merc guy, I run etecs...but am impressed with new verados'...with me it is all application that matters),,
I'm sure twin 150's will be fine propped correctly. We got towed in by SeaTow a few weeks ago (bad gas). My boat is about 6000# loaded and he towed us with a powercat approx. 24' with twin Suzuki 150's. I thought he would rip the eye right out the front but he pulled us in on plane at 25mph gps. Awesome power
If you did put the twoin 150 motors on the boat and felt the need for more power, what would this cost to change?
Then again if the boat has more power you simply back off the throttle, better to be able to choose.
I agree the new 4cyl 200 Verado motors look like a good match for you.
If you did put the twoin 150 motors on the boat and felt the need for more power, what would this cost to change?
Then again if the boat has more power you simply back off the throttle, better to be able to choose.
I agree the new 4cyl 200 Verado motors look like a good match for you.
Steve
I could see if my dealer has a pair of used BF150 engine to try first.
I am seriously thinking Verado now I have read about the improvements. Just need to read more about them.
Topend, can you talk with the other two owners of the boats mentioned in your OP? Try to see if they can provide
any real life fuel burn numbers since this will tell you alot about the range you would have. I also looked at your
projected top speed with the bf150s' and that seems to be accurate. If range is your goal you might also think
about an auxillary tank deck mount/removable type, since the 200 hp 4cyl Verados would save you the weight of
a 24 gal tank or close to it. Power steering is a plus for the Verado but if it were me and the concern is maximum
range, look up a lot of test data and crunch the numbers for all of them. Hopefully Mercury will have more data
to look at very soon. I thought the Honda numbers looked pretty good and in all fairness the larger blocks would
not be in as much of a strain. Decisions, decisions-- good luck.
You don't really save much if any fuel by running smaller engines at the same speed as the larger engines, plus it will take more power to get out of the hole, and maneuver when in heavy seas. Having said that, you will be able to run the boat with the twin 150's, but I wouldn't see you running in the 40's--more in the high 20's to low 30's. I run a planing cat about 8,500 lbs loaded with two 150 Zukes..and top out in the 45 range, cruise in the mid 20's to mid 30's. Different hull configuration--but the 150's will push the boat.
Will twin 150 4-strokes power this boat OK? 
