25' Foot Boat Range

[HangOutdoors]

Anyone have independent verification of the range on the 250, 252 and 255 yet?

 

[212s]

@HangOutdoors You mean maximum cruising range? It should be about the same as the 212 series since they use the same engines. The 255 is another story with super-charged engines.

Mine gets on average 3.0mpg cruising at 27mph and about 5100rpm consuming 9.0gph (both engines combined), so with a 50 gallon tank that translates into a best of 150 mile range. Refilling the tank and figuring consumption at the pump, this is pretty accurate so I trust the Connext system when it tells me how much fuel I'm using. I would expect the 25ft hull to drag a bit more but not a lot, so maybe 145+ miles.

Only issue I've had is the fuel gauge says I have 20% while cruising along, but when I come off plane it says 2%...not sure which one is accurate but when I fill up this weekend I'll have a better idea of how much she takes as this is the lowest it's been and first time I set off the alarm since bringing her home the first day.

 

[HangOutdoors]

@212s Yes maximum cruising range. The 25's have bigger gas tanks as well as a good difference in weight and difference in hull design. That was the only reason why I was asking. Thanks for the math though. I guess I could of extrapolated based on 50 gallons, with a weight factor and figured in the 70 gallon tanks. Was hopefully looking for those whom have ran some tanks through them with some real world numbers. It will be a factor in our decision this winter. Although my dealer wanted me to come look at a 252 this week I couldn't get up there. I plan on seeing one in his next batch of boats hopefully.

 

[212s]

@HangOutdoors Oops forgot about the larger tanks - ok change that to about 200 mile range giving up 10 miles for weight and drag. My basic calculations are all based on 2-4 adult passengers and 100-150lbs of gear with a full tank of fuel. More guests and gear will reduce this of course, but practical use shows this to be pretty close.

 

[tkeru408]

Wish I could give you some kind of answer but after being out four times in the new boat I still only have 6 hours on it--we've covered so little mileage the gas gauge is still reading 100%! Kids just want to park so they can get out and play, but that time has come to an end with the water getting too cold. Now that they can't get out they don't want to go out at all so I've got to find a way to keep them entertained while we just cruise around (think I'll make a post about that).

 

[Stan M]

Only issue I've had is the fuel gauge says I have 20% while cruising along, but when I come off plane it says 2%...not sure which one is accurate but when I fill up this weekend I'll have a better idea of how much she takes as this is the lowest it's been and first time I set off the alarm since bringing her home the first day.

My fuel gauge said I had more fuel while cruising as well...from about 90% to 77% when docked. That's quite a big difference.

 

[Sean R]

A few weeks ago cruising at around 30 gas gauge was 18%. Stop for no wake zone dropped down to 2%, wife was freaking. Got back up on plane, back to 18% and headed back to the marine. Same thing no wake in marine 2%. When i filled it up with gas it took 41 gallons.

 

[specracer]

A few weeks ago cruising at around 30 gas gauge was 18%. Stop for no wake zone dropped down to 2%, wife was freaking. Got back up on plane, back to 18% and headed back to the marine. Same thing no wake in marine 2%. When i filled it up with gas it took 41 gallons.

So the on plane reading was correct.

 

[Sean R]

Thats my hypothesis. I don't usually run it that low on fuel but I was trying to burn the 87 octane out. This time of year I switch over to ethanol free.

 

[212s]

So the on plane reading was correct.

That sounds about right...I need to fill up the tank and add more stabilizer this weekend so I'll be able to confirm it then too.

 

[212s]

Thats my hypothesis. I don't usually run it that low on fuel but I was trying to burn the 87 octane out. This time of year I switch over to ethanol free.

Why do you switch? The ethanol has never been an issue for us for years during our long winter storage (about 6 months) with stabilizer added to it. Putting in ethanol-free requires 91 or higher here in Canada and at the equivalent exchange price of ~$4 a gallon of premium it's not worth it. Never had an issue running in the spring with a full tank of stabilized 87 over the winter, always fires right up like it was fresh gas and runs great. Much cheaper to put in $5 worth of stabilizer rather than $50 extra from premium fuel.

 

[Sean R]

Regarding ethanol free gas, basically it gives me peace of mind. I just filled up with ethanol free or what they call in Georgia "Rec Fuel" and will top of again before i store for the winter. Hoping to go out 2 or 3 more times as the leaves begin to change.

 

[JetMania]

We’ve run some ethanol-free, but we’ve also run some 87 10% ethanol fuel too which is nice to have that option after having a supercharged BRP. I add the Yamaha Med RX fuel additive when adding the 87 octane as recommended in the manual.

Seems logical the best reading would be when as level as possible which would be when stopped or at no wake versus at speed. Most boats and vehicles for that matter vary when under acceleration.

 

[HangOutdoors]

@HangOutdoors Oops forgot about the larger tanks - ok change that to about 200 mile range giving up 10 miles for weight and drag. My basic calculations are all based on 2-4 adult passengers and 100-150lbs of gear with a full tank of fuel. More guests and gear will reduce this of course, but practical use shows this to be pretty close.

200 mile range doesn't even seem close with the tests that came out in another thread. I wish it were the case.

 

[212s]

200 mile range doesn't even seem close with the tests that came out in another thread. I wish it were the case.

I must have missed that thread...what numbers and how was it tested? I can't see if getting a lot worse mileage than the 242 series.

I know I can consistently get more economical mileage than Boattest - their numbers can be a little wonky, and the graphs are sometimes way out of whack. The numbers are close in some areas, but sometimes way off. Best mileage they claim was:

5500

30.3

26.3

10.45

2.89

2.52

130

113

85

But I know from empirical data I can do about 5100rpm - 27mph - 9.0gph - 3.0mpg = 135 miles using 90% of the fuel capacity. Having said that, 5 miles of range is only 4% difference and could be within the margins of error.

 

[HangOutdoors]

From this test on the 252, and if I factor in a crew of 4 full tank and gear I would estimate 140-145, at 5500 rpm in average conditions. Give or take a few miles. I really wanted the 25's to push 200 or so. Would love to see the curve on the lighter 250 though.

Yamaha 252SD (2021-) | BoatTEST

boattest.com

what is interesting is if you go up to 6000 rpms your burn rate goes up almost another 30% for the same range, you just get there quicker.

 

[mike220022]

If I had to look at weight, wind speed, water temperature, elevation, gas load, how much gear I carry, how many people are on my boat, and have a math degree to see if buying a certain boat makes sense I think Id stick to an inflatable.

 

[212s]

As I said, their numbers can be wonky (read: wrong data) - I've read quite a few reviews where the numbers don't make any sense and they either entered it wrong or recorded it wrong. I also wish Boattest would keep consistent graphs, but they change them so you can't compare...take it all with a large grain of salt.

As for going up RPM I've found this to be the same on any boat in their respective RPM ranges. On our old Mercruiser 2900-3500 was consistent. But once you hit 3800 the 4brl carbs really started to open up and suck more fuel. On my current boat 5000 through to 6500 the fuel to speed ratio doesn't change a lot because you're on plane and cruising efficiently. If I want to get somewhere faster I have no problem pushing it higher up to 6500 and not worry about fuel consumption. Going higher it starts to suck more to get those extra MPH as efficiency starts to drop. The thrill level climbs too though, so there's fun in that.

If fuel range is your biggest concern, you shouldn't be looking at a jetboat. Sailboat maybe...

 

[mike220022]

If fuel range is your biggest concern, you shouldn't be looking at a jetboat. Sailboat maybe...

[/QUOTE]

Ive heard this my whole career in the car business...."if you're that concerned about the gas mileage, maybe you shouldn't be looking at buying the vehicle"

 

[212s]

Seems logical the best reading would be when as level as possible which would be when stopped or at no wake versus at speed.

I wonder if the idea is to keep fuel readings more accurate while cruising because you'll be consuming it much faster than at no wake speeds? It's not like a car that rides level all the time except steep hills.

I've noticed the fuel gauge doesn't vary much when crossing wakes and bouncing the boat around though, just dropping off plane when the fuel is lower it really changes. Also when I filled it, and at the dock it showed 100% but 5 minutes later on plane it's dropped to 95% which isn't practically possible to consume that much toodling out and then taking off.

Either way, I tend to fill up so I don't have to worry about fuel for the day...never know when we might decide to go somewhere or do something different and it would suck if we said, "30% is enough to go out for today" and then we can't go.