Buying a New 34' Boat w/twins - Verado 275 or Suzuki F250?

[Ray KSUSA3]

Owners please chime with performance (boat/cruise/burn), hours, years, and reliability experience - good or bad.

Please don't tell me about Yamaha, E-Tec, or Honda. I'm already a Yamaha guy and it just isn't an option for the two boats on my short list.

[Seawolf2]

Why you need superchargers in a boat when big blocks will do? Do you have a Suzuki dealer nearby? By the way, if you decide for the Verado's, the 250 HP uses regular fuel and will perform like the 275 HP, except that the 275 will add a couple of MPH's, which to me is not a big deal if you want to save a little at the pump.

[WildLines]

33' Palmetto Custom
Twin 250 Zukes
Estimated Weight: 12,000#
Power Tech 4 blades - 21 Pitch (@ prop shop adding cup this week to improve #'s)
Motors on Third Hole & we think we can go up one more (if so, could see 3-5% increase in performance)
Oversized Hard Top
Coffin Box (just Added)
3 Guys
300 gallons fuel
Full Water
250 pounds Ice
Full tackle
LifeRaft/Ditchbag
2-3 foot sea
Little Tab - Motors Trimmed
5000 RPM's
37-38 mph - Burning 28-29 gph

WOT Fully Loaded (350 gallons fuel) 6100 RPM:: 51 MPH burning 44-46 gph - Not sure about WOT Light - we are always loaded.


Over the course of day of fishing 60 miles off shore and doing everything from pulling lures to bait to WOT to head and following seas. We will average 1.2-1.3 mpg.

Motors have been good. One thing nice about Zuke is NO Premium fuel required. Not sure on the hours, I would say around 85 (had 300's on this boat prior).

IMO, Verados will cost you more but they ar the best COMPLETE Motor Package. My only complaint is there higher RPM Fuel #'s and weight.

I have no regreat with the Zukes, love the warranty we got, the price we paid and if I was repowering this boat today I would go the same route again.

[steveyacht]

Both are excellent choices. As was already mentioned, I would consider the 250-HP Verado instead of the 275 for a couple of reasons. First, in order to make 275-HP it will require a minimum of 91 Octane gas. You can run 87 or 89 Octane, if so, the motors will produce approximately 260-HP. You will have to ask yourself if the availability and extra cost of t premium gas is worth it. Secondly, it will be a direct comparison to the Suzuki, if you are doing a head-to-head performance comparison. That, and I don't believe that the increase in performance will be that significant.

The Verado has other advantages (IMHO) The DTS controls that auto synchronize over 1500 RPM, The Power steering is something you need to experience, as I would not have believed the difference had I not tried it for myself. And, the SmartCraft guage package is the best in the business.

You will also have to factor in the availability of warranty, parts and service for each manufacturer. Suzuki, rightly or wrongly has the reputaion for bad parts availability and distance between servicing dealers. Mercury dealers, on the other hand, are much more prevelant. But! Not all Mercury dealers have technicians that are certified on the Verado. (although this is getting better, fast) I would ask my primary servicing dealer to show me the Verado Tech's certification if I were to choose the Merc.

Ain't it Great that we have all of these very good motors to choose from?

[abbie]

Do you want to buy just another outboard or a complete propulsion system?

The weight of both outboards as so close and on that size of a boat it will not be a factor.

[Glen E]

you need to at least get a ride on a big verado boat - I'm sure others will chime in but you need a few hours on a Verado boat to understand Merc's master plan with this engone system Verados - they are not like any other engine on the water - their good points far outshadow the disadvantages after a few hours in the saddle...

and they have been rock solid since they have been introduced...

[Ray KSUSA3]

I should clarify.

I've already run both boats with twin 275 Verado's. Very good performance and I don't know the grade of fuel. Both boats were 38-40 mph burning 23-25 gph. Have not run the Suzuki's.

What's important to me is cruise range and reliability. I make 250 mile round trips and can't afford to break down, or run out of fuel. Now, both boats have plenty of fuel capacity, but the more the reserve, the better.

OK, one owners endorsement for Suzuki and one for Verados.

[waveguide]

Ray- the Verado offers more. there is a cost for this. Merc parts are usually easy to find. the Suzuki is very power full down low and into the midrange but will not run with the Verado wins up top. the Suzuki has a lot better numbers for fuel economy above 4500rpm. Only marginal below 4500rpm. I run a triple YF36 with Verados and have spent some time running a YF 34 with triple Suzuki's. It lays out like this to me. If you want the Cadillac go with the Verado if you want to cut your cost Suzuki. The type of boat and budget would make my decision. If I had a friend with a work/commercial boat I would recommend the Suzuki. If my friend was buying his dream boat Verado. Hope this helps.

[captainkevin]

I have to say the Suzuki's are fine motors. I like Merc's but have not run a Verado yet, the steering is so easy with my twin Suzuki's I don't know how it could be improved.

[Dentman]

Wow i just posted this question!

[tunatango123]

ray what boat are you looking at? do you have someone in north jersey to service suzuki? I live in monmouth count and that was the reason wh I did not buy suzuki's there was no service around here. I have a 34 yellowfin with yamahas and my buddy has one with the 275 mercs. aside from a steering issue he has had with the motors everything else has been solid. especially the service he reiceved when the power steering pump died. extremely smooth running motors.

[Ray KSUSA3]

TunaTango,

I'm in Monmouth as well. I sent you an email.

[TopFin36]

Ray,

I currently have a 36 Yellowfin with Twin 275 Verados. The boat cruises at 38 mph @ 4200 RPMs. The fuel burn is 1.6-1.8 mpg. So far the engine has right around 200 hours with no problems on them.

Good Luck.

Jose

[Iya]

Ray,

I don't know anything about Verado. In my country there are only 2 units installed on someone's boat and it seldom goes out.
For Suzuki 250HP, I know this engine very well and in fact it took me almost 2years before I decided to re-power my boat from diesel to outboards with Suzuki. The reason is simple, I want power and proven reliability. The only brands I can choose were Suzuki or Yamaha, but Yamaha service in my country for 4 stroke is close to non existent because they are still selling Jurassic 2 strokes as best sellersand at that time 200HP was the only Yahama 4S available. Even today the Yamaha dealer do not have the LapTop to do diagnosgtic and do not carry parts. Suzuki has best support here in my country today, most professional, backed by one of the richest conglomerate, longest warranty at 2 years. This info is probably no use to USA resident, however, my waiting close to 2 years was to see what could go wrong with the 250s Suzuki. I too had fear of new engines.

I bought the Suzuki after the fact that an Australian friend of mine operating in Bali ( a famous tourist resort in Indonesia ) who runs a 40 seater RIB serving their big dinner cruise vessel, bought 3 x 250 Suzuki and ran the engines daily at 5,000+ RPM in 9 months and logged 1,600 hours without a significant problem. The only problem it had was the water pick up tube, developed pin holes leak due to water flow corrosion and the engines were overheated because massive air bubbles cavitating the seawater pump. Suzuki rip open the engine, no damage and install new gaskets, the engine ran fine till today. Now it should have logged 2,000 hours or more. My friend was so happy because he was using the caburator VX250 Yamaha before this. At 600 hours he made his money back in fuel savings and now with the extra fuel price, he is even happier.

The other reason was my friend who runs a charter boat uses a single 250 Suzuki and I use that boat almost a full year and it has logged almost 800 hours with what I call neglected maintenance but it ran fine till today.

My group of friends have owned 225HP Johnson Ocean Runner ( caburator ), Mercury 250HP EFI and Yamaha 200HP ( caburator ). We run these boats every week to the island 40 miles out. Johnson and Mercury 200HP and above do not last in my country. Our fuel is bad, our water is dirty and all the bad things killing the engines. Only Yamaha old 200HP survived but it drinks like crazy. Any outboard engine that can survive 1,000 hours without problems in my country is a thumbs up.

Now boaters in my country, who can afford, will buy Suzuki because everyone realized its proven track record in such a hostile elements ( like my country ).

It is such a simple choice for me to choose Suzuki. It has proven itself surviving in a condition where users can be considered as Morons, poor maintenance attention & all the harmful elements for the engine exist in abundance. Again I don't know Verado but Merc and Johnson are considered garbages in my country, even the used ones are so difficult to sell ( 200HP and above ). No offence to both brands but their track record here and support is just plain disgusting. My country is a good test ground because high speed ferry using 4 x 200 to 4 x 250HP outboards are so common.....by the hundreds nation wide. These boats get pushed a lot everyday with high loading and useage, before the Suzuki 4 stroke days, only Yamaha 200HP can survive with profit. These guys depend on their engines for living and their lives at sea. Even if you give them free Johnson or Merc engine, they will not want it. The frequency of breakdown is simply not worth it.

I will never buy a Verado. I used to modify my cars a lot 20 years ago and my friends are still doing it today with turbo and supercharger. A 2.6 liter displacement being boosted up by a supercharger to let say 250HP ( let alone 275HP ) will never outlast an engine with a big displacement like Suzuki 3.6 liters pumping a decent 250HP, if all components quality are equal. With so much output from a 2.6 liter, a Verado is a high performance engine running at massive stress level. Ask any REAL engineer, if you want longevity what is the honest choice. So sorry, Glen, I honestly do not mean to insult Verado but at 275HP a 2.6 liter engine is just being pushed hard to a level I find scarry for a boat where its work is equivalent to a car engine in low gear climbing an infite/endless hill at a rather difficult angle. More power from a small displacement, one had to trade off long term reliability, high power is not free. I know you love your Verado but here's my point of view. No offence.

Mercury used to be popular in my country because it is the fastest outboards but reliability in the end win the game.
Even Yamaha of Japan do not want to sell the 4 strokes in to my country because they know the down right insane operating condition we have here and the ultra low fuel grade. There are only 8-10 units of Yamaha 200 4 strokes in my country, imported personally by the agent from free market, not from factory.

America is the world biggest market in the world for outboards but my country is still one of the best hostile testing ground.
Today after two years of introduction, Suzuki have sold 400+ of 200HP and above, Yamaha only +- 10 units. Merc Verado 2 units ( too new an engine ). Before the 4 strokes, the Suzuki 2 strokes ( 200 and above ) only sold like 2 units a year, compared to 2,000+ Yamaha a year.

The subject of power steering is a simple matter. Seastar has battery powered PA1200 Power Assist unit which is very good and nice.
I happen to own the very first unit in Asia. Have not logged much hours on it but it is worth the US$1,400 retail ( in my country ). Now my boat drives even lighter than a Hynautic power take off type power steering unit found on big yachts. I really love it.

Good luck shopping.........

[Glen E]

hey - no need to apologize to me - if Ididn't have a good merc dealer down the street - no telling what I would have bought - probably a zuke!

[mackattack1]

LOVE MY SUZUKI 250 4 STROKE, AT 240HRS IT HAS RUN GREAT, QUIET AND EFFICIENT AT 4500-5000RPMS . HOPEING FOR MANY MORE PROBLEM FREE HOURS WITH GOOD MAINTAINENCE REGIMENT.

[sundancekid]

The difference between motors that have forced induction added and the Verado is that the internals of the Verado were designed and built with the added stress levels of forced induction in mind. Verado was designed from the get go to be a supercharged powerplant, it was not an after thought.

[steveyacht]

sundancekid - 11/13/2005 5:12 PM

The difference between motors that have forced induction added and the Verado is that the internals of the Verado were designed and built with the added stress levels of forced induction in mind. Verado was designed from the get go to be a supercharged powerplant, it was not an after thought.

In addition to this, the people that engineered and designed these powerplants are from a company that is well known for building relialble, high-horsepower, endurance proven, race winning, forced induction engines. That company? Porsche. There is at least one example of a Verado, in hard commercial usage, that (last time I knew) had well over 1300 hours on it.

That is not to say that the Suzuki is a better or worse motor, I happen to feel that there is no consistantly BAD four stroke available today, no matter the maker. I just dislike the mis-information that has no basis in fact as it relates to the Verado.........Mostly we see non-factual based speculation, or unsubtantiated anecdotal stories about some supercharged motor twenty years ago that a friend of the bartender's, grandmother's, uncle's, sister heard about from a guy at the corner gas station who's aunt owned one. I would, instead, rather rely upon factual information gleaned from this web site, factory warranty persons, factory engineers, local technicians and (the most reliable), the folks that actually have them hanging on their transoms.

Sorry for the rant

[Ray KSUSA3]

Anybody know the maximum extended warranty available for the Verado? I see from their website Suzuki is up to 6 years. Mercury doesn;t say on its website.