Official Yamaha Performance Data for R-27/OB's F300UCA

[baz]

Subject: Official Yamaha Performance Data for R-27/OB's F300UCA

I've been waiting for this to show up. At the Roche Harbour meeting event I had asked Yamaha where this report was and they said they were waiting for RT's permission to post it to their web site. Well, here it is; Dated 28-Jun-2017.

I had contacted Jeff Messmer after the Roche meeting to enquire why this report was lacking. He said he would look into it.

https://yamahaoutboards.com/en-us/h...300-(4-2l)/pb_rgt_r-27_f300uca_2017-06-28_owa

The 'sweet' spot is definitely at 4500 RPM at some 31 MPH using some 2.01 MPG.

Yes boat's weight was 8,518 lbs.... almost 2000 lbs more than its dry weight.

Note that this performance test was conducted with a wind velocity of 10-15 MPH.

"NOTICE TO CONSUMER

The information and data contained in this Performance Bulletin is approximate and subject to many different factors and variables. It is provided as a guideline only and should not be relied upon as representative of actual performance. Your boat’s performance may be different than the information contained in this Performance Bulletin due to various factors, including your boat’s actual weight, wind and water conditions, temperature, humidity, elevation, bottom paint, boat options affecting wind/water drag and/or boat weight, and operator ability."

 

[ixlr8]

Finally!! I have been checking for this daily since I heard the tests had been done in June. I wonder if boat weight as tested came from factory or if Yamaha actually weighed it.
Hmmm. Only 500 rpm difference to get from 19 mph to 30 mph, Barry do you find that to be true? I would be real curious to see a more detailed testing done between 4000 rpm and 4500 rpm, there might be some interesting results there.

 

[knotflying]

I think "sweat spot" may be a matter of opinion. For cruising it seems like 2000 RPM gives you good economy and a nice cruising speed. After that you may as well go 4500 RPM for faster speed and a palatable drop in consumption.

 

[baz]

I've had my R-27 hauled out several times since delivery. Each time my Marina's lift scale was observed.

1) When it was delivered it weighed 8,300 lbs. This was with maybe 60 gallons of fuel, a full fresh water tank, zero gallons in holding tank and all the RT safety and optional gear onboard, and with the Yamaha 9.9HP kicker motor and 2 coats of bottom paint.

2) Since stowing all my personal gear onboard the boat when last lifted from the water weighed some 9,500 lbs. This was with a full 150 gallon fuel tank, full fresh water 40 gallon tank and little (maybe 2 gallons) in the holding tank.

Jim: you wrote - Only 500 rpm difference to get from 19 mph to 30 mph, Barry do you find that to be true?

Yes, the boat seems to get up on plan and starts to run very efficiently as speed goes from 20 mph to 30 mph with little increase in RPM. In fact as the throttle setting is moved to 4500 RPM the boat slowly speeds up from the 20 mph mark to 30 mph over maybe a full minute as it finds its 'sweet' spot.

The boat seems to hunt for efficiency as speed is increased from 15 mph upwards. I tend to move/nudge the throttle lever forward very slowly while stopping at 500 and 1000 RPM increments. When I get RPM close to 4500 RPM I leave the throttle alone and wait for the boat to settle down to the speed it wants to maintain. If I want to go faster than 30 MPH I nudge the throttle up a bit. The max speed I've gone at so far is 38 mph and the RPM is still below WOT setting.

I will be running my boat to gather its performance data and will wait for a clear, windless day, calm water and slack tide. I will run the boat on a constant heading using my autopilot's heading feature and run the boat from idle up to WOT in increments of 500 RPM with each increment being held for at least 30 seconds. I will repeat the test by running the boat in the opposite direction using the autopilot again to follow the exact same course/line/heading that was used for the first run. Before making the 2nd test run I will wait for maybe 10 to 15 mins to hover waiting for the water disturbances I made during the 1st run to subside.

I will have my GoPro attached/Suctioned to the window alongside the helm and mounted on a 3-axis gimbal device to capture the Garmin and Yamaha engine display screens as well as my iPhone displaying dB noise levels. This technique will allow me to perform the test solo as I can obtain all the performance data later from the GoPro video data as well as allowing me to concentrate on where the boat is going. 🙂 Whipping along at 40 mph needs to be done with care and attention, right ? :roll: 😉 😎

[EDIT]
As an aside, I've always run the R-27 so far keeping the engine's Up/Down trim set at 3 bars. I may play a little with this setting to see if varying this setting has any significant influence on the performance numbers.

 

[baz]

I think "sweat spot" may be a matter of opinion. For cruising it seems like 2000 RPM gives you good economy and a nice cruising speed. After that you may as well go 4500 RPM for faster speed and a palatable drop in consumption.

Yes Mike.... The beauty is that one can choose between

1) a slow cruise (8.6 mph, 3.1 GPH and 416 miles in 48.37 hrs on a full tank) with a decent fuel efficiency... and travel the 416 miles in 2 days or the 301 miles as for the fast cruise in 1.46 days.

and

2) a fast cruise (30.7 mph, 15.3 GPH and 301 miles in 9.8 hrs on a full tank) with less fuel efficiency.... and travel the 301 miles in 0.4 days.

😱 :lol:

 

[baz]

...snip...I would be real curious to see a more detailed testing done between 4000 rpm and 4500 rpm, there might be some interesting results there.

Yes, the R-23's F200 MPG graph between 4000 and 4500 is quite a bit different from the same RPM range for the R-27's F300.

 

[baz]

...snip... I wonder if boat weight as tested came from factory or if Yamaha actually weighed it.
...snip...

I believe the Yamaha's boat test weight of 8,518 lbs. My boat when delivered new to me weighed 8,300 lbs with maybe 60 gallons of fuel, some 30 gallons in fresh water tank and zero in holding tank + all the RT safety gear and the Yamaha 9.9HP kicker motor.

 

[Larry H]

Barry,

Are the Yamaha numbers statute MPH and statute MPG or are they nautical MPH (Knots) and nautical MPG?

 

[baz]

Barry,

Are the Yamaha numbers statute MPH and statute MPG or are they nautical MPH (Knots) and nautical MPG?

That I cannot answer with any authority I'm afraid. It will take a call to Yamaha to find the answers.

E.g., For questions regarding your Yamaha Outboard call:
(866) 894-1626

Maybe tomorrow I'll have time to call them and find out the answers. 🙂

My guess is that the MPH and MPG are the numbers as presented on the Yamaha engine display.

From reading the Yamaha Operations manual for the 6YC Information Station display (the engine display) on page 32 we get the following information...

The default for the speed, fuel flow and economy is; mph, gph and mpg. This can be changed to display knots for speed, Liters/hr for fuel flow and nautical miles per Liter for Economy read outs. Thus my guess is that the Yamaha numbers in the chart provided by Yamaha are statute miles/hr for speed and statute miles/gallon.

The boat Speed numbers can be selected to be: km/h, mph and knots.
The boat Fuel flow numbers can be selected to be: Liters/hr and gph.
The boat Economy numbers can be selected to be: km/Liter, mpg and nm/Liter.

One other aspect to keep in mind is the accuracy of the engine display readouts. For accuracy the fuel flow needs to be fully calibrated. This is done by comparing the difference between the fuel consumption display and the actual fuel consumption. This is explained in the Yamaha Operations manual for the 6YC Information Station display (the engine display) on page 35. I assume Yamaha has performed the calibration to ensure accurate numbers.... but of course this is just my assumption. 😉

 

[Larry H]

Barry,

Thanks for the info.
I have always navigated using the nautical measurements.
So the fast cruise would be 26.6 knots, with a range of 261.7 nautical miles. Using only 80 percent of the 150 gallons of fuel still allows a range of 209 nautical miles.

My R-27 with a Volvo D-3 200 at 11.5 knots gets 1.7 NMPG for a range of 136 nautical miles (80 % fuel used).

The new boat is way faster,and can go further on the tankage provided.

 

[BB marine]

If I lay my actual performance chart 26 Cutwater over the R27/OB's they are almost identical up to 4100rpm. My speed is slightly higher @ 3500 to 4100 other then that GPH, MPG, MPH are real close. So with that said I am happy with my (New style old fashion Diesel) The dry weight, overall length, capacities and draft of the 26C are very close to theR27/OB.

Advantages that the outboard model would bring to me are; 4500rpm 31mph with a top speed close to 40 on a Tug ! I don't like going fast but there are times having that extra boost and still getting reasonable fuel economy would be nice. The extra fuel capacity and cruise range. The under deck storage capacity. The maintenance cost would be lower and my knowledge of outboards is greater then my knowledge of diesels. ( I'm getting to know my way around the D3) but I do think the Yamaha would be easier to work on.

Disadvantages that the outboard bring to me; There is no place to put my RIB. We use it a lot at our home port and plan on using it as we proceed on the Loop. The alternator output of the Yamaha is only 70amps @WOT. The D3 is 180 amps. We don't have a generator but would probably need one if our max charging capacity was 70 amps. I use a pure sine wave inverter while cruising. Its a 2000W with 4000w peak maintaining approximate 16.5 ac amps= 182Amps DC with this we can use our crock pot, coffee maker, microwave, electric stove top, convection oven, and possibly the air conditioner with a inline capacitor that I was told is available. I only have 2 house batteries and a parallel switch to thruster battery so aprox 300amp hour reserve. I still have to run all the electronics, lights,refridgerator,pumps, and any thing else on 12V. I don't run everything at the same time, we use current management but even then we would be limited with max output of 70 amps @ WOT. Weight distribution, midship weight gives a better ride and handling in the water and the same on the trailer when towing. The Yamaha weighs 575 lbs dry weight hanging off the transom. The D3 bobtail weight 573lbs + transmission sits slightly aft of midship. I'm not sure this is an issue I haven't piloted the boat or towed it but it would be a concern mine.

Like I said in a previous post. I like our 26 Cutwater and at the time it was the right choice for us.If the R27/OB was available when we purchased the Cutwater it would have been a hard decision.The new R27 has a lot to offer. The performance is awesome.
Brian Brown
26 Cutwater
PORT-A-GEE

 

[baz]

Brian:

I note that the CW-26 is no longer a model shown on the http://www.cutwaterboats.com/ site ! When was it discontinued ? The CW-28 Northwest Edition at this time is same price as the new 2018 R-27/OB. However, there's an extra charge if a non-white hull is selected.

I agree that the RIB install is a big challenge on the outboard models. I've selected to have a nice 12.5-foot inflatable SeaEagle 385ft kayak that weighs 33 lbs installed on starboard side on top of the cabin's cross bars. The advantage of not having the RIB on the stern is having the wonderful rear view which IMO is essential for many reasons along with the most important aspect being able to see which way the outboard is pointing when docking stern in or even bow in.

The R-27/OB's central cockpit storage locker simply has to be seen to be appreciated. I have so much stuff in there with room to spare; 2 full size fenders, kayak paddles, 1st mates wheelchair, deflated kayak in its bag when not on the cabin's roof, 12v electric pump for kayak, three kayak seats, several 1 gallon jugs of fresh water, fresh water hose and the list goes on.

Underwater anodes are a thing of the past on the R-27/OB.... well almost. Just one bar anode for the engine mount bracket and the two trim tabs.... and that's it.

When the R-27/OB is loaded up with full 150 gallons, 40 gallons of fresh water and personal gear the weight distribution is leveled/evened out to compensate for the 575 lb Yamaha motor. With the bow's deep 22º V it cuts into the waves cleanly without much ado.

Quite honestly having owned the R-25 (Classic) and the R-21EC previously I'm finding there's not much difference in the way the R-27/OB handles the various sea conditions.

With relatively calm waters the R-27/OB running at 32 to 38 mph is absolutely rock solid, runs dead straight with little bow-up and can turn very gracefully at these speeds. I would go as far to say that the boat ride is more comfortable at the 30+ mph speed than running it at 10 to 20 mph. At the 10 to 20 mph the boat is more subject to slight swells and waves and will rock and roll some, whereas at the 30+ mph there's no such rocking & rolling as the hull just glides over the water which avoids the rocking about. I was at first somewhat uneasy at the thought of moving along at 30+ mph compared to the 10 to 12 mph for the R-25 (classic), but having now used the R-27/OB for several weeks (some 400 miles of cruising) I'm finding the 30+ mph quite nice and comforting and my uneasiness has fallen away completely. I've purposely run the boat at 10, 15 mph and find it kind of boring now when on long stretches of water with little to look at. Oh.... and now I can avoid the big Gin Palaces that always rocked the heck out of me in the R-25. :lol: We tend to see a fair number of these large boats in the PNW and San Juan islands at times along with large commercial tugs, containers, barges, cruise ships and Ferries.

We all don't necessarily behave rationally, and I'm no exception.... The biases and anomalies can distort our perceptions and thinking such as the "endowment effect" leading to ... once you own something, you value it more than before you owned it. :lol:

 

[BB marine]

26 Cutwater was discontinued sometime in 2016. My boat was built in 2015 but it is a 2016 model with the Blue hull 5000.00 upgrade. Honestly I now wish it was the white hull. The Blue looks great but it is hard to keep looking great !! The 26 was I think discontinued to make room for the 24 Cutwater production.
Brian Brown
26 Cutwater
PORT-A-GEE

 

[baz]

...snip... Honestly I now wish it was the white hull. The Blue looks great but it is hard to keep looking great !!...snip...
Brian Brown
26 Cutwater
PORT-A-GEE

Do you keep your boat uncovered and exposed to the elements ? If so, this will mean more TLC will be required to keep any colored hull looking pristine. My R-25 was blue and so is my R-27/OB. I kept both in in a covered slip all year long and the blue keeps its looks very well. The only area that needs attention is where the fenders rub on the hull when docked. I've used fender covers in the past but that does not completely solve the fender scuffing issue so I'm not about to place covers on my fenders again.

 

[baz]

Finally!! I have been checking for this daily since I heard the tests had been done in June. I wonder if boat weight as tested came from factory or if Yamaha actually weighed it.
Hmmm. Only 500 rpm difference to get from 19 mph to 30 mph, Barry do you find that to be true? I would be real curious to see a more detailed testing done between 4000 rpm and 4500 rpm, there might be some interesting results there.

Jim:

The +500 rpm to go from 19 to 30 mph is what I get on my loaded R-27/OB. It's simply that the boat gets out of the water and starts planing.

I have to say that the F300's sudden increase in thrust from moving from the teens to the 20s is strongly felt in the butt and wanting to lean forward to catch your balance if standing, much like you get in a chipped auto engine.... a very satisfying sensation if you ask me. 😀 This is not what you get with the inboard diesel engines which give you a steady increase in push/thrust with increasing RPMs. My guess is it's all to do with the hull designs, engine performance characteristics, prop performance and the water hydraulics.