Hi!

I have a Phantom 25 with twin Merc 2.5 EFI SS engines. Due to gas - and maintainance costs I seriously consider to step down to a single engine again. I used to have a Promax 300 with an SVS for 9 years.

The boat dry weight is approx. 800 kilos without engines, gas and driver. It likes to have weight aft due to balance. Twin 2.5 EFI balance out very well.

The weight of the Optimax 300XS is 229 kilos and Verado 350 Sci is 308 kilos. However, you have to add the hydraulic steering to the 300 XS. I personaly do not think the extra 60 kilos aft mean so much. I may step down 2 inches of setback to 5,5 inches, instead of 7,5 inches which I ran with the Promax 300.

I have checked out the fuel consumption, and they are running both approx. 40 litre / 10 gallon per hour at 4,000 rpms. The Verado does not need more than 7 litre oil per season, the Optimax 300 XS need 2% oil.

The big question is speed; which of the two will be fastest? According to a owner of both his 24 feet centre console was 5 mph faster with the Verado 350 Sci than with the Optimax 300 XS. The Optimax 300 XS was 1 mph faster than the Verado 300 on his boat.

The Verado 350 Sci is an expensive engine, but if the package is 5-6 mph faster than my old Promax 300, it will be well worth the money. I will then break the 80 mph barrier with a single engine (81-82 mph in fact).

What do you think?

Cheers and thanks, Toffen G