NiceGuy Posted May 2, 2010 Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 i have a 200 johnson venom and its a total gas hog. i spend more money then i have on gas. the past 2 tournys i spent 86 dollars on 1 touryn 40 for practice and 60 bucks for the next one the followong weekend. boats almost empty again for this weekends tourny. i am lookinjg to buy a new motor , which would probably pay for itsself, to put on my 1995 strato 201 pro. i want a 225 or a 250 but my boat s rated only for a 245. can i get the stickers changed if i get a 250? is anybody getting better than 3 miles per gallon with the newer motors such as optimax, evinrude or yamaha? gas is killing me tournament fishing. about to break the bank. any adviced will be great.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stump9000 Posted May 2, 2010 Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 i have a 200 johnson venom and its a total gas hog. i spend more money then i have on gas. the past 2 tournys i spent 86 dollars on 1 touryn 40 for practice and 60 bucks for the next one the followong weekend. boats almost empty again for this weekends tourny. i am lookinjg to buy a new motor , which would probably pay for itsself, to put on my 1995 strato 201 pro. i want a 225 or a 250 but my boat s rated only for a 245. can i get the stickers changed if i get a 250? is anybody getting better than 3 miles per gallon with the newer motors such as optimax, evinrude or yamaha? gas is killing me tournament fishing. about to break the bank. any adviced will be great.... They allow a few percent on those ratings, a 250 should be OK. I have the Yamaha HPDI on mine and it does great. Snoot and myself run the lake for many miles this weekend hard with a bunch of miles under us and used less than 20 gallon. I put 50 dollars in it and have some left over. Plus mine has 6 years of warrantee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NiceGuy Posted May 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 how many miles per gallon does the newer motors get? i dont want to put 15 grand n a motor and get the same gas mileage.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stump9000 Posted May 2, 2010 Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 how many miles per gallon does the newer motors get? i dont want to put 15 grand n a motor and get the same gas mileage.... I don't know, never thought about checking but I will this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charger Posted May 2, 2010 Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 You will notice a big difference between that carbed 200 vs a injected 225. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2golforfish Posted May 2, 2010 Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 i had a 225 vindicator at one time and man oh man was that thing ever a gas hog, I now have a 20 ft triton with a 225 optimax pro xs and it is an absolute dream on fuel as far as boat motors go, i would estimate at 3/4 throttle 3/4 trim about 3.5-4 mpg, at wfo probably about 3mpg. Last year i filled it up (60 gallon tank) fished a week on smith mountain, a tourney on douglas and 3 tourneys on our small local lake flannagan. and when your gas mileage is that much better it saves alot of $$ on oil too, I would gurantee you it would pay for itself over 8 yrs if you fish pretty heavy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vol-fisher Posted May 2, 2010 Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 I think you might be better off looking at trading in the whole outfit on a newer boat and motor. I kicked around repowering to an ETEC on my old Javelin, a 225HO is going to run you around 10K for a used one with or without warranty, and a new one in the 14-15K range. For about the same amount you can trade into a newer boat and motor, and in some cases even save money in trading. If you put a new motor on it, when it comes time to sell you will loose your on the money put into the new motor. Look at some of these boats at C and O Marine. I guarantee you they will give you top dollar for your trade and you will come out better than repowering. http://www.candomarine.com/Page594.htm Here is my favorite rig he has on the lot right now. http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2005-STRATOS-201-Pro-XL-96660386 2005 STRATOS 201 Pro XL, 225 HO ETEC, 57 hours, hyd Jackplate, pro trim, hotfoot, hyd/tilt steering, livewell pumpout, MK Pro 80 TM w recess, 3 bank charger, 480 Lowrance GPS, X-125 in bow, ss fenders, disc brakes, swing tongue, Hamby's, popup cleats, center/step box, net storage box, ss prop, swing tongue, spare tire. Loaded and 9 of 10 condition! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingdoug24 Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 They allow for 30% overage on motor size as far as being legal. Unless you plan on going to Canada and fishing you will not have a problem. If you do go to Canada you need to remove your stickers all together and you will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vol-fisher Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 They allow for 30% overage on motor size as far as being legal. Unless you plan on going to Canada and fishing you will not have a problem. If you do go to Canada you need to remove your stickers all together and you will be fine. I think I disagree with this statement. The motor manufacturers are allowed a +-10% on the stated Horsepower of a motor, example of a 200HP would be somewhere between 180-220HP. The coast guard plate is what the boat company think is a safe rating for this size boat and what the transom is made to carry. I don't know of any tournament trails around that will let you enter an overpowered boat according to the coast guard plate and most will not let you enter if you have removed the plate, most stating in the rules "No boat shall have a motor of higher horsepower than the approved Coast Guard maximum". I found this rule on the heartland trails website "5. BOATS AND MOTORS. Any boat, 16 feet or longer, powered by a motor of 50 horsepower or more with a kill switch will be accepted. All boats must meet B.I.A. and Coast Guard requirements; no over-powered boats. Stick steering will not be allowed. Each boat must have a functional bilge pump and live well space, properly aerated, capable of keeping alive one limit of fish per angler." http://www.heartlandtournaments.com/rules/Team%20Tournament%20Rules.html I will say though that boats over 20 feet do not have to have coast guard plate attached and without it they are unrated. Another thing to consider would be insurance. Most agents will not insure a boat that is over on HP. Those that do, please don't assume that you are covered. If you have an accident in a boat like we are discussing, the families of those that might be injured will sue in court and win everything you have. You can read about this over on BBC, it is discussed every 2 or 3 months. You will also have a hard time even finding a dealer that will rig a motor that is too big for a boat. They do not want the liability of doing this. When it comes time to sell, it will be almost impossible to sell it and if it does you can still be held on trial for selling the boat if something happens to the next owner. http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff205/markw6361/PB040017.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingdoug24 Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 I think I disagree with this statement. The motor manufacturers are allowed a +-10% on the stated Horsepower of a motor, example of a 200HP would be somewhere between 180-220HP. The coast guard plate is what the boat company think is a safe rating for this size boat and what the transom is made to carry. I don't know of any tournament trails around that will let you enter an overpowered boat according to the coast guard plate and most will not let you enter if you have removed the plate, most stating in the rules "No boat shall have a motor of higher horsepower than the approved Coast Guard maximum". I found this rule on the heartland trails website "5. BOATS AND MOTORS. Any boat, 16 feet or longer, powered by a motor of 50 horsepower or more with a kill switch will be accepted. All boats must meet B.I.A. and Coast Guard requirements; no over-powered boats. Stick steering will not be allowed. Each boat must have a functional bilge pump and live well space, properly aerated, capable of keeping alive one limit of fish per angler." http://www.heartlandtournaments.com/rules/Team%20Tournament%20Rules.html I will say though that boats over 20 feet do not have to have coast guard plate attached and without it they are unrated. Another thing to consider would be insurance. Most agents will not insure a boat that is over on HP. Those that do, please don't assume that you are covered. If you have an accident in a boat like we are discussing, the families of those that might be injured will sue in court and win everything you have. You can read about this over on BBC, it is discussed every 2 or 3 months. You will also have a hard time even finding a dealer that will rig a motor that is too big for a boat. They do not want the liability of doing this. When it comes time to sell, it will be almost impossible to sell it and if it does you can still be held on trial for selling the boat if something happens to the next owner. http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff205/markw6361/PB040017.jpg TWRA and Coast Guard have both stated to me that they will not ticket for a boat motor being 30% over the recommended HP. The reason is because some older motors have the motor rated at the head and newer motors are rated at the foot. So they stated that they are lenient with that rule. Also my boat is rated at a 130 and I have a 150 on my boat and have insurance with State Farm and now with Progressive and haven't had a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vol-fisher Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 Doug, I am not aiming anything directly at you by any means, I am just stating this for infomation use. Just because you are paying your insurance premiums for your boat, don't just assume that if something happens and you are in an accident that involves injury or death to someone that you are going to be covered. Your insurance company and the others involved have lawyers and when they get involved they will leave nothing unturned. I am not talking about you hitting a rock/log and damage your lower unit becuase I am sure they would pay that. I am talking about the liability issues, they are going to look at you first. State Farm or Progressive does not know what your boat is rated for, they are only taking your VIN/HULL numbers and putting them on paper and then charging based on the amount you insure it for. They are interested in making money and as long as you are paying them all is fine, but when it comes time to payout a large sum of money, say $50K for medical bills, they will begin to investigate everything. My uncle is an Allstate agent and we have discussed this before, and he has heard about this a few times and the person with the overpowered boat always looses in the end. Everything will be fine until something happens, then you will more than likely find out that you have been paying for nothing. I am just trying to give the original poster the info on what can/could happen by overpowering his boat. Also, if I am reading the rules right for the Heartland Trail, you are really breaking the rules by having your boat overpowered. And letting anyone else enter your tournament that is overpowered as well, you are taking the liability of that boat as well as T-director. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingdoug24 Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 Doug, I am not aiming anything directly at you by any means, I am just stating this for infomation use. Just because you are paying your insurance premiums for your boat, don't just assume that if something happens and you are in an accident that involves injury or death to someone that you are going to be covered. Your insurance company and the others involved have lawyers and when they get involved they will leave nothing unturned. I am not talking about you hitting a rock/log and damage your lower unit becuase I am sure they would pay that. I am talking about the liability issues, they are going to look at you first. State Farm or Progressive does not know what your boat is rated for, they are only taking your VIN/HULL numbers and putting them on paper and then charging based on the amount you insure it for. They are interested in making money and as long as you are paying them all is fine, but when it comes time to payout a large sum of money, say $50K for medical bills, they will begin to investigate everything. My uncle is an Allstate agent and we have discussed this before, and he has heard about this a few times and the person with the overpowered boat always looses in the end. Everything will be fine until something happens, then you will more than likely find out that you have been paying for nothing. I am just trying to give the original poster the info on what can/could happen by overpowering his boat. Also, if I am reading the rules right for the Heartland Trail, you are really breaking the rules by having your boat overpowered. And letting anyone else enter your tournament that is overpowered as well, you are taking the liability of that boat as well as T-director. I understand all that you are saying except for one part. The part about me breaking rules. First of all I am not affiliated with Heartland Trail at all. I am affiliated with Heartland Anglers www.heartlandanglers.com we are a totally different organization. Not to mention there isn't anything in my rules that states anything about size of motor. I have never broken any tournament rules and don't plan on starting. No hard feelings but I didn't appreciate the slander about the rule breaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softbaitmaker Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 I realize that motors is what is being discussed here but I will add this also. While newer motors are being redesigned to get better fuel economy so are boat hulls. The hulls of anything above 2003 is redesigned to also improve fuel economy. If you are thinking about fuel economy it might be worth the effort to look at a somewhat newer boat motor combination. There are alot of boats for sale right now and you might get a good deal on just what your looking for. Just a suggestion.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vol-fisher Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 I understand all that you are saying except for one part. The part about me breaking rules. First of all I am not affiliated with Heartland Trail at all. I am affiliated with Heartland Anglers www.heartlandanglers.com we are a totally different organization. Not to mention there isn't anything in my rules that states anything about size of motor. I have never broken any tournament rules and don't plan on starting. No hard feelings but I didn't appreciate the slander about the rule breaking. Sorry, I just searched for Heartland fishing and the other trail came up. This was not at all about you breaking any rules, I was just looking at that site and their rules. Most if not all trails have rules on motor sizes. Sorry, that was not my intent as I did not know two Heartland Trails were out there. I apologize for saying you were breaking a rule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishman Posted May 4, 2010 Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 I got to agree with Vol-Fisher I have an 18' bullet boat it is a 93 modal an is rated for a 150 an it still says it is a 150 but actually it is a 286hp motor an up here were most of the Tx trails that know me an my boat wont let me enter the Tx with my boat because it is very illegal an with my insure company which is farm bureau they wont insure the boat because of the motor so i mostly just race it an fish out of 17' aluminum boat an win Tx BP............FISHMAN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie De Vera Posted May 5, 2010 Report Share Posted May 5, 2010 i've got a 20ft Bullet with a 250XS Optimax! im not exactly sure what the MPGs are on the thing but i can tell you this.. one full tank of gas which is 30gal will last me two weeks.. during that two weeks i may hit the water 4-5 times.. alot of it also has to do with the fact that i am learning how to drive it that keeps my foot out of the throttle .... im gonna have to agree with softy here, it owuld probably be best to spend your money getting a better, economical combo than just the motor itself... i like the 201s and nothing bad about them but the early to mid 90s models in my opinion are just way too heavy to be pushin and towin around.. try for an opitmax man.. sure glad i made the move !! now if i can get my dad to upgrade his 201/200GT combo to a either a Z520 or Z20 with an Optimax we'll be good to go!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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