So the seasons done lets have a report on your new 250 Etec.
Do you love it? Any regrets? Do you wish it was a merc opti instead. How much fuel do you burn in a day. Give us something to talk about
S
The 2013 'Rude 250 lived up to all my expectations and then some. I logged 210 hours since it touched the wet on April 5th, and every one of them was a pleasure! It proved to be a very consistent, reliable motor, and quite frankly, the thing can take some abuse. Just ask this log:
As you can see, not only did the gear case buck a nice piece of firewood off this 40+ foot log, (which I T-boned dead centre) but the durable stainless 4 blade prop filleted the log a dozen times, coming out of the collision without a mark. The hull, to my surprise when I pulled it out of the water, didn't even have a mark I could find. Surprising since I hit it on plane @ 32 mph!
Fuel consumption was great in my opinion. At 28.5' LOA (24.5 hull, 4' pod + engine) and fully loaded and fueled @ approx 5500 lbs, I burn 10.5-11 GPH and anywhere from 2.5-2.8 MPG.
Oil consumption....she's a thirsty beast! But that is largely due to it being the High Output ETEC H.O. model. It burns at a steady 50:1, no matter the grade oil, where as the regular ETEC engine can burn at 100:1, if you use the right (XD100) oil.
Evinrude 2 stroke oil ranges from $30-50/gallon.
The engine at cruise or WOT was quiet, allowing for normal conversation at any given time. The exhaust of this was non existent. She is one clean, actually the cleanest burning outboard on the market. It was great.
Power, there is no shortage of it with these ETECs. So much torque, which was demonstrated on the boats maiden voyage. Coming around its first turn just west of the River Rock Casino, we came upon a stranded 35' formula cruising boat, twinned with Mercury motors (both mercs were DEAD lol. And it sat at the dry dock for weeks and weeks, Mercury, geez!! HAHA jk John!!). He was pinned against the log pilings and was in need of rescue. ETEC to the rescue! We tied on and Trendsetter masterfully towed that pig up river with very little trouble. It was my first day out so I let his experience handle the helm while I manned the ropes. I imagine the Formula's owners embarrassment when my working mans boat towed his very expensive boat home.
When she's not towing or chopping firewood, the boat flies. Wide open, it jumps out of the hole like a cheating husband lol. I was proud to have my boat powered by this engine and it treated me right! I would surely look to an etec if I was repowering. I will likely replace my kicker in the next couple years with the beefy Etec 15HO kicker.
She is now out of the water and back home. I am planning to run it a few more times in the river before I wrap it up for the winter. I do not have any scheduled maintenance until I log 300 hours, which is another bonus with this engine. I look forward as well to fogging the engine for the winter with a turn of the ignition, as it winterizes itself.
Very little maintenance.
Reliable.
Powerful.
Efficient.
Hell, it even brines bait!
[lGsQjy1yAcg] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGsQjy1yAcg
...that's all folks!
