ID and advice on this 25?

[flipfloplife]

First time poster, long time lurker. Upper Florida Keys, mostly ocean-side fishing and spearing, would love to be able to make Bahamas run. Been looking for a 25' Pilot House with a tower (need tower for sailfish, cobia down here). Sometimes I reef fish, sometimes troll, sometimes run out to the hump. right now i'm getting 1.5 mpg out of my current boat and not that happy...

I like the notion of dual outboards. Diesel is cool and all (and less expensive to run) BUT -- i need to be able to get around a little bit in the back country here (read 16-18" of water...) and i'm not comfortable working on a diesel myself. Correct me if i'm wrong but with dual outboards you get a little better fuel economy than one bigger single? although maintenance cost may be higher? could i ultimately put them on a jack plate? or would you guys rather see a single Yam 225, 4 stroke? no matter what it needs to be out on a bracket -- my current boat doesn't have a bracket and it's a pain.

electronics -- willing to do all the updating myself if required. i need reasonable GPS and fishfinder, much later maybe a radar. i'm decent at this part.

fishing stuff -- i'd LOVE to have 2 livewells and one huge killbox and one huge cooler. it would rock if they were integrated into the boat but i don't see that very often on the parkers i dont' think. i can do one larger standalone livewell and live with it, and i guess 2 coolers (? killbox and beer ?). Maybe later if you guys tell me i can i could do some cutting and put them in myself? lay them in that HUGE back deck area?

i don't have a ton of cash. i'll be ok once i sell my current boat (2005 R230 Robalo CC - Yam300 2 stroke - LOADED -- takers?) but i'm just off active duty and still figuring things out down here in the keys.

ok so here's the boat i'm sweet on right now. i haven't seen it yet and the dude isn't back in town until friday. i'll try to post the pics and maybe you guys can help me with the id of the exact model (yep, not posted) and thoughts on what you see. i think i like the ones that have the slightly longer pilot house (forgive my ignorance please on nomenclature). i do have 2 little girls and they come out fairly often -- on the CC i have now there is nothing out of the sun/wind/waves. i know the cabin will heat up a bit but i'm hoping with windows (fan?) that it could give them a place to crash (they're 4 and 3). oh -- the dude is asking 24,900 on this boat i'm posting pics of.

also -- anyone who has thoughts, ideas, opinions or smart remarks --- bring it. I value your input. i'm still shopping ...

 

[flipfloplife]

the guy is down in key west -- there was another one that i think is the one you are talking about -- i tried for it - is called the 'fintastic' and has single yam200 outboard. so ... i dunno.

i looked at another up in miami. a couple w/o a tower (that seems dumb, cost for a tower is high).

 

[Bryan 2530]

That boat is a 2520, looks like a mod vee, can't really tell. Year? 2002??

Anything with an extended house is going to have a 30 designation, like mine is a 2530 deep vee, same hull as a 2520 deep vee but with an extended pilot house.

I have two little girls also, 5 and 7, and the 2530 is one of the main reasons I have the boat I do, the other reason is it's a great all around fishing platform, not sure about the back country stuff, although I do live on a tidal river with some skinny access at some points in the tide and never had a problem.

 

[Megabyte]

If you could get the HIN off the stbd side of the transom and call the factory, they might be able to tell you a good bit about that boat.

From the photos, and due to the size of the logos, I'm going to guess she is older than my 2520 MVSC. Mine is a 1996 has has the larger logos that came later (though I'm not certain when they started showing up). I'm guessing that boat is pre-96, I'd also guess it was a 14 degree modified vee, which would be consistent with a pre-96 boat.

If the motors are original, and I believe from the photos that they are, they are carbed Saltwater Series. The fuel injected OX66 (SWSII) didn't debut until 1997 (I own one).

Hard to see any details, but she appears to be in good shape. :wink:

Now then... don't believe that two smaller motors will give better economy than a big single. Parasitic drag and a whole lot of factors combined will not allow it. If you want twins, there is nothing wrong with that, but don't ever think economy is a good reason to go that way.
A single, on a MV, will always be more economical than twins.

Oh... and the boat in the photos is a 'standard cabin' 2520. The extended cabin model is the 2530 (and they are indeed sweet).

Hope this helps!

 

[Bryan 2530]

Kevin, would a pre 96 boat have the plastic cabin door??

 

[flipfloplife]

it helps a LOT! now i'm wondering if maybe i just run those duals until "forced" to re-power -- then going with a single ... any ideas on what that might cost? even the "number of digits of the price" would help. i'll do some homework on CL for engines...

makes me want to snake the 300 hpdi off my Robalo and do a swap-er-oo. but then i fear i'd never sell my robalo.

can you guys tell from pics if those are fishboxes across the back? livewells?

would it be smarter to find something with a single on a bracket and then "build" the tower -- there just don't seem to be many avail with a tower ... and at a price point i can do.

 

[Bryan 2530]

can you guys tell from pics if those are fishboxes across the back? livewells?

No, you just have a kill box about 10" deep at the center with a drain that goes overboard.

 

[flipfloplife]

where do you guys do coolers/fishboxes? i usually have a 90 qt filled with liquid refreshment (miller light and capri sun's...) and then i have a couple fishboxes (5' long and a foot deep, a foot wide) and i'll FILL one of those with ice and fish on a good day ---- what do you guys do along these lines with the PH's you are running?

advice much appreciated!

 

[Megabyte]

Kevin, would a pre 96 boat have the plastic cabin door??

Good question. I saw that too, but I think the teak doors went away in the early to mid 90's.
I wish there was a way to verify that.

I'd love to get a look at that HIN. :wink:

 

[flipfloplife]

how hard to go from the twin setup on this boat to a single 4 stroke? assuming i stay yamaha? just looking at options....

 

[ReelyNauti]

new motor new controls 17 to 20 K....keep the twins

rebuild em at a cost os 3800 to 4200 and enjoy the boat ..or find one with a nice single......

just my two cents

 

[Megabyte]

new motor new controls 17 to 20 K....keep the twins

rebuild em at a cost os 3800 to 4200 and enjoy the boat ..or find one with a nice single......

From an expen$e standpoint, I would agree.

Also... going from twins to a single would require a bracket change.
And... if I were going to all that labor, I'd put a transom in while I had it all apart.

If you like the boat, and can get it for a good price, keep the motors and treat them well.
Those older Yamahas will run forever if maintained.

 

[pelagic2530]

new motor new controls 17 to 20 K....keep the twins

rebuild em at a cost os 3800 to 4200 and enjoy the boat ..or find one with a nice single......

From an expen$e standpoint, I would agree.

Also... going from twins to a single would require a bracket change.

would it need a bracket change? i know on mine, which should be very similar to this setup, it seems like all that would be necessary is to pull off the twins, fill the holes, and drill new ones in the center of the "lip" that the engines bolt to in order to install the single. the supposts are equidistant, which creates 3 compartments on the lip, the one in the middle being the same width as the ones on either side that currently have the engines mounted to them. am i missing something?

 

[Megabyte]

would it need a bracket change? i know on mine, which should be very similar to this setup, it seems like all that would be necessary is to pull off the twins, fill the holes, and drill new ones in the center of the "lip" that the engines bolt to in order to install the single. the supposts are equidistant, which creates 3 compartments on the lip, the one in the middle being the same width as the ones on either side that currently have the engines mounted to them. am i missing something?

It might be possible to adapt a twin bracket to a single motor (tho not the other way around), but I wouldn't be the one to attempt it.

http://www.armstrongnautical.com/repower.htm
http://www.stainlessmarine.com/
http://www.marineenginedigest.com/speci ... ackets.htm

 

[CaptainJim]

that seems like a lot of ponies for a 14deg MV...

My thoughts on a MV:

I wouldnt be taking it to the bahamas, that run can be nasty as hell, and you have nowhere to go once you are in it. The MV is a stable platform, but its still a flat bottomed small boat when you boil down to it. I have one, and if the weather kicks up, I *will* get home, but I will have a headache and a backache when i get there.

The price for that boat seems pretty reasonable, but that gets back to the twin 200s, which on a slick calm day would make the boat a rocket, but a single 200 will actually push that boat pretty well if the bottom is maintained and the boat is propped correctly. The MV was designed to run well with a single engine. I would think an F250 or an F225 would push that boat as economically as possible.

My 14deg mv with a clean bottom and full of fuel and gear cruises at 24kts, tops out at 30kts and at 22-24kt cruise at 4000rpm im burning about 11gph, so about 2mpg is pretty good for me. If I get any more than a 2 foot chop i have to throttle back...

In 3-5s i can make about 13kts without pounding or leaping off waves. its not fun, but i get home. i dont go out in weather like that unless i *have* to


that tower would be the first thing to go if I were to own it... just catches wind, makes me drift faster and slows me down.

 

[flipfloplife]

they are twin 130's. he also states in the ad that it's got 220 gal of fuel tank ... are we sure this thing is an MV? i'll get the HIN # when i go down and look at it.

i also need to drive it - i sort of hope that it's 2-4' seas when i do -- i would like to know that the ride is "reasonable" in that sort of weather. i have read the many debates on whether the ride is "rougher" in a pilot house style (specifically parkers) and i think the only real answer to that is going to be to drive one and see. hell, if it's 4' seas in my current boat i have to slow down or it pounds me -- even if it's 2' and i'm trying to do 30 kts that's gonna hurt.

the whole point of looking at the parkers was to be able to fish more days and more comfortably. sucks to be out on the hump in the snot (good fishing days!) and just get so cold that you have to leave (currently have a CC). also -- i spend a fair amount of time spearing -- would be nice to be able to jump in the cabin for a bit in the winter just to warm up before jumping in again. the tower thing -- i spend a LOT of time now (in my cc) with one foot on the gunnel, one foot on the console and hanging on to the t-top looking for sailfish, cobia, dolphin -- not having a tower down here is just sort of silly.

thanks for the thoughts all. i'm starting to think that maybe the answer is to find just a bare 2520 hull and do what i want (hang a 250 4 stroke on the bracket and build a tower). been looking for a hull to see if that's possible, i looked at a guys 1998 2520 in marathon but he wanted 25k for it and it definitely needed a re-power. solid hull but it was dirty and electronics were crap, upholstery pretty much shot, etc. i was thinking more like 8k for just a hull - the rest i think i could do.

 

[Bryan 2530]

If you can get a shot of the bottom, the MV will have one lifting strake and the deep vee will have two.

That is the quick and dirty way to tell.

 

[flipfloplife]

ok -- i'll look for the strakes.

hey -- what do you guys think you'd get as far as performace with those twin carb'd (we think) yam 130's? i mean are we looking at 2 mpg at 24 knot cruise here? topping out at 35 knots? is that what i should expect? i have a single yam 300 2 stroke right now and i'll cruise at 25 kts at about 1.8 mpg. just trying to do a cost comparison on the smaller twins vs one big 4 stroke. what are you guys who have single larger 4 strokes getting for mpg at cruise? MUCH better than 2 mpg?

this forum is cool. between here, bloody decks and the hull truth i think i have avoided more than a few mistakes... anyway - thanks

 

[Megabyte]

they are twin 130's. he also states in the ad that it's got 220 gal of fuel tank ... are we sure this thing is an MV? i'll get the HIN # when i go down and look at it.

It could very well be. My boat (14 degree MV) has 3 fuel tanks and can carry that much fuel... but I only filled all 3 thanks once - just after I bought it. (because I didn't know any better)

Never again. It just makes the boat way too heavy.
These days I only fill the main tank and that has always been plenty.

My boat was ordered from a dealer in Delaware, and we believe it was built that way to go offshore.
According to my present dealer, they have never seen a 2520 with triple tanks before, so I believe that amount of tankage is rare.

Someday I'll cut the deck and remove that excess weight, but until then the wing tanks just go unused.

Take a look at the deck. If you see 6 pie plates, you have 3 tanks.
(#6 is out of the frame in this photo)

If you get the HIN and call the factory, they can tell you what you have there.

 

[flipfloplife]

ehhh ... bear with me and my crazy notions -- i'd rather not have the back wall to the pilot house. could i make it go away? maybe make up some isenglass curtains for the 2 months a year i might need them? would i have to cut it out? could i make that look good? is there a chance it's bolted on and i could just unbolt it? even with the tower? seems like support from the tower is coming from the sides ... (?)

i like this boat...