The regular fuel thing is a big deal for sure.. I’m hoping that Boat Test will do a test on the 252 at some point in the near future, and it would be even better if they did a side by side test of the 255 and the 252 highlighting the differences to help people like yourself make the best decision for their needs… I do have to admit I’m lustfully interested in the 255, she’s such a sexy beast, but the electronically controlled shifting is a deal breaker for me, if I was fishing off shore with higher trolling speeds the E shifting would be okay, but I troll at 1.8mph..
I do like the higher gunnels / freeboard as well..and the bigger lakes up in here the Midwest get some pretty big & high frequency waves in the range of 8-10’ at the high end. For me, I’d probably end up having to do the high altitude impellers which isn’t that much of an issue since I have the experience with my 210. Zack Adams seems like he is very satisfied with his 252 for offshore work. For me, I’ve spent so much time and money in the last few months working on my 210 to make it even better I think I’d like to enjoy it for a good long while before upgrading.
Best cruise is going to be in that 27-31mph range on the 252/255 and according to boat test and boating mag best cruise mpg is pretty close to the same (?) around 2.0 mpg but at full song the difference in fuel consumption is dramatic, 43.8 mph 24gph /1.9 mpg in a 252SD ( only boat close to the 252 with NA 1.8‘s but it is 150# less in dry weight) and 57.5 mph 44.3 gph / 1.3 mpg in the 255 FSH, with the 210 FSH coming in at 27.7 mph 8 gph / 3.5mpg @ best cruise and 43.8 mph 16.8 gph / 2.6 mpg at wot.
View attachment 183086
View attachment 183085
View attachment 183084