Honda 225 efficiency.

[B-Faithful]

WOW am I impressed by the new "lean burn technology" of the new Hondas. Here were some fuel burn numbers according to my Northstar 210. I had my family of 5 on board plus my parents. Regular boat gear (no fishing gear) and 3/4 fuel on calm seas. We were running with the motor right about level trim and the ql tabs at the two hits down. (1.5 bar on the indicator lamps) The prop is a Powertech 15.25x15 4 blade performance prop and the honda gear ratio is 1.86:1

3800 - 24-25mph - ~7.6gph
4000 - 25-26mph - ~8.0gph
4200 - 27-28mph - ~8.6gph

On a short burst to WOT she hits over 38mpg in the protected Magothy river with just my son and me.

These numbers are better at cruise than I had with the OptiMax The more I run the Honda the more impressed I am with her. I dont think she is as hydro dynamic through the water as the Merc or has the the throttle response of my OptiMax (not that I punch it) but she is whisper quiet at idle. Sound levels at cruise are probably close to the optimax and will take a little getting used to as it is a deep growl. I do miss the DTS and smartcraft features a lot but overall am impressed by the Honda. Lets hope she is as reliable as most say and that she will be as good to me as the OptiMax.

 

[DaleH]

> 3 mpg with a load on her like that is tough to beat! My bro runs a Honda 130hp and loves it and a few fishing friends run them, one toona guide never thought he'd like the Honda, but he did ... 'til he replaced it with a 300hp Suzuki.

Have fun with that rig ! Great to see you still posting here.

 

[B-Faithful]

Dale it is tough to compare as there are differences in the hulls but my father runs a 2001 27 Judge with twin 130 Hondas and we see about the same performance numbers. However he burns about 40% more fuel. Where I am at 8.6gph he is about 12gph. His boat is also a little heavier being the downeast layout and being wood cored.

According to a buddy who owns the same boat with a zuke 250 and the builder. The zuke 250 burns about a full gph more at the same speeds. However it has a much faster wot at over 42mpg vs my 38mph.

I would have considered the 300 zuke as Judge is a Honda and Zuke dealer but the cost was quite a bit more. Between the additional cost for the motor and the electronic controlls for two stations, it was a solid $3500 additional. Being that the Honda performs to the level I desire, I couldnt bring myself to spend the extra cash for what I saw as really only gaining DTS. I dont think this hull is really intended to cruise over 30mph. Besides my buddy who owns BOE Marine will be becoming a Honda dealer in the future to go with his line of boats that sports Hondas (Pacific and Bristol Harbor). I plan on using him for my service work in the future as Judge is 40 minutes away from me.

 

[captbone]

Congrads!!!!! It is beautiful.

I cant wait until you start dialing it in the way you did with your Maycraft.

I would love to see you break 40mph with a 16 pitch Enertia or 15pitch Rev 4.

 

[Megabyte]

Greg, Is there much of a difference between your dads hull design and your newer (post-fire) design?

 

[B-Faithful]

Hard to say everything that is different. I have a little more beam, 8'4" vs my 8'10", and the chines are supposively different. My boat is also probably significantly lighter than my dads boat (which is wood cored and a downeast style with a larger cabin).

Judge tested a lot of props with the Hondas. I am running an expensive powertech stainless 4 blade performance prop.