Merc 225hp Optimax questions

[Rigg dogg]

I know I probably should have asked these questions before I bought the boat, but hey I got all excited with the idea of having a new to me boat.

I bought a 2003 Crestliner TS 202, with a 225 Opti, motor has 180 hrs on it.
I bought the boat from a buddy of mine, he had bought it from one of the SWT pro's with only 40hrs on it. I know he has never done any repairs or updates to it.

As far as the boat goes it is great, there will always be the battle between welded & riveted hulls. Just a matter of personal preferance IMO. Have never seen enough Hard data to swing me one way or the other.

I did do some research on the Opti's, I know they had problems with the earlier units. But it sounded like Merc had them sorted out by 2003.

I have fished in the boat before in a few tourny's, when my buddy owned it. Seems to run pretty strong with a top end of 54mph, great holeshot.

As soon as this damn ice is gone I will give her a whirl.
Anybody with any info such as props, do's and dont's or any other help would be greatly appreciated.

[Chris K]

As far as the Opti's go, they were not too great in 2000 and 2001, and they changed their motors (block design) and updated them (thermostats, fuel rails) quite a bit those years. Stuff after that has had a much better track record. I smoked a powerhead on a 225 opti in 2001 with 17 hours on the outboard, and so did pretty much anyone who had one...or whomever bought it afterwards.

Did your buddy who had the boat live in Bonnyville? I would be willing bet that he bought that boat off of Doug Hartle.

Welded vs Rivited...well the same parent company owns both companies...it's personal preference. I prefer riveted boats, and there are many reasons why I feel so, but let's not get into that. The biggest differences are the interiors, and the layout for storage and such. It all boils down to what floats your boat and what you like best.

For props you will probably be running a 19 or 21. I like the Tempest Plus as it has great bow lift and good top end, and it hooks up good in rough water. How you got the boat though it will probably be "optimized" to run it's best as it was run by a factory pro. You are right where you whould be for speed, and there is not really too much you can do or neeed to worry about as you are performing at par with other people I know that have similar setups.

Make sure you use the Mercury DFI Oil for Opti's, and let it warm up for a bit before you hammer down for the day. Idling for a bit warms up the block, and doesn't harm anything. If your motor runs a bit sluggish after a while, a new set of plugs makes a big difference on the Opti's. Make sure you starting battery is a 1000 amp one too, as there is a good draw for starting too. If you have the smartcraft guages you can get all sorts of great info from them, including your GPH (gallons per hour) and you can dial in your speed with your GPS to the GPH and find out what speed you can cruise at and burn the least amount of fuel, so when recreational fishing or cruising, it's no so hard at the pumps.

Enjoy your boat and best fishes this summer! Chris K

[Rigg dogg]

Hey Chris
Thats the boat. Thanks for all the info.
It has the smart gauges installed so I will be playing with it some to see where she runs the best.
Just going to check on my starting battery.
I had also heard about letting them warm up some before putting the hammer down, will keep it in mnd.


Thanks again.

[Tofinofish]

Rigg Dog,

I have been using Optimax engines since the first ones on the market...I haven't had any blow up on me, but there have been a few minor issues over the years, and a few quirks to watch for. I've been running these on boats anywhere from 21 feet ( a little overpowered ) to currently hanging on one of my boats just shy of 26 feet and 3700 lbs dry weight ( see http://www.tofinofishing.com/vesselsandgear/index.php )
This should provide an example of the range of uses for these motors. I have cycled through approx 12 of them over the years, with an average of 1400-1800 hours of use on each. We don't troll on them, so these are almost all travelling hours in Sal****er offshore at average of 3800-4000 RPM. As you likely know by now, anything over 4000 and the fuel sucks hard. It does depend on hull displacement, as I have a 225 on a 23ft boat and on a 25.5 ft boat, different models. The bigger boat gets better fuel economy,,,go figure.
We use mostly 17P Mirage plus Stainless props for our Sal****er use and Hull designs. There is a new prop on the market that is apparently far better, but I am not ready to buy 8 of them at $850 each.
I am also a fan of Yamaha products, but we only have service for Black power in my semi-remote location, and these motors have been good for us.
I do all my own maintenance, aside from computer diagnostics and warranties, and keep on top of;
Drian Racor filters daily and scheduled replacements every 100 hours
Drian VST periodically with replacement on VST filter every 300 hours
Plugs (expensive) every 300-500 hours
We need to really watch Zinc/Aluminumn Anode condition in Sal****er due to Electrolosis..
I agree with warm up time, and they do have good hole snap compared to the 1 225 Four Stroke that I run as well.

I know I'll remember a few things while I am getting my knuckles greasy over the next few weeks, but hope this helps.

J.

[Rigg dogg]

Hey Tofino, thanks for the info. Sounds like you have put a few motors to the test.

I have an old Grady 254 Kingfish with twin 150HP Yamaha HPDI's, uses about 10 GPH @ 3800 RPM, if I remeber correctly. Will be interesting to see what the Opti does.


One question what is the VST and where would the filter be?

Thanks again.