Sam I am
Well-known member
Good morning, Sports fans...here's an end of season update on the Starliner and Evinrude 250HO G2.
In short, the boat has been a pleasure. It's a beauty of a boat that looks really fast even on the lift and also get's lots of compliments from everyone, including small children, which can be hilarious.
Kid: "Can we go for a ride in the blue boat?!? I'll bet it goes 500 mph!!!"
Me: " Absolutely we're going for a ride in the blue boat, and goes close to 600 mph..."
Kid: "Really?!?!?!"
Me: "Yup."
The best part has been the ease in which it handles lots of folks. I routinely take 8 folks out tubing...3 on the tube, me, a spotter, and 3 more kids in the bow who are constantly asking if it's their turn yet. No worries on the pestering, I just crank up the tunes. Which leads me to the other best part of the boat: the stereo. I upgraded and went with 6 speakers and a sub in the boat and I have to say, it was worth every penny. I've had stereos before, but they were always kind of weak. This one pumps. The second battery has never had to be utilized as we are rarely anchored or beached with the radio on.
The gel has held up pretty good on the top side. It made it two whole seasons before my black lab decided to jump on the front of the boat and scratch it. Of course it was waxed so his feet shot out from under him which he tried to stop by digging in...the results are what one would expect. My reaction was what one would expect: he got picked up by the scruff of his neck and backside and launched. He ate some sand on impact with the beach and stayed away from me for awhile, but we're buddies again. There are a couple of stress cracks coming through in one spot, but hey, it's an 89. There are also some thin spots in the gel around some of the outside bends in the hull lines, but it is what it is. On the bottom of the hull there are some obvious flaws in the gel work...which I attribute to the wait, wait, now hurry up and get it done op tempo when it went in. It is what it is, and I can't see em' but I was pretty disappointed when I found them. If you remember, they lost Kenny in the middle of this project...so, that does explain a lot regarding the gel work.
The interior is wonderful. Super comfy and really pleasing to the eye. Also, it cleans up really well. The new style captains chairs are absolutely the best decision for comfort and long days in the seat.
The Evinrude has been great. BUT...I lost the lower unit about a week ago. I believe it was failing gradually as I got two over temp alarms when I was really loaded up with folks and pulling a tube. I was really confused by that as water pressure was always rock solid. On the second one, I slowed down to idle, and I could here the motor was having trouble idling. I went to neutral and it purred again. Went back into forward and it sounded like there were marbles in the motor. Great. So, I limped back to the lift and parked it. Turned out the LU let loose. So, I'm getting a new one and thankfully it's all under warranty. Looks like a bearing let loose and tried to shoot some mechanicals out the side of the housing. I'm trying to get my warranty extended...we'll see how that pans out. All in all though, the G2 has been an awesome motor. Super strong and great on fuel. I was hoping for more top end, but mid to upper 70's is good enough. I was hoping for 80+, and who knows, maybe it's there, but I don't have enough lake to find out. There ya go...updated.
In short, the boat has been a pleasure. It's a beauty of a boat that looks really fast even on the lift and also get's lots of compliments from everyone, including small children, which can be hilarious.
Kid: "Can we go for a ride in the blue boat?!? I'll bet it goes 500 mph!!!"
Me: " Absolutely we're going for a ride in the blue boat, and goes close to 600 mph..."
Kid: "Really?!?!?!"
Me: "Yup."
The best part has been the ease in which it handles lots of folks. I routinely take 8 folks out tubing...3 on the tube, me, a spotter, and 3 more kids in the bow who are constantly asking if it's their turn yet. No worries on the pestering, I just crank up the tunes. Which leads me to the other best part of the boat: the stereo. I upgraded and went with 6 speakers and a sub in the boat and I have to say, it was worth every penny. I've had stereos before, but they were always kind of weak. This one pumps. The second battery has never had to be utilized as we are rarely anchored or beached with the radio on.
The gel has held up pretty good on the top side. It made it two whole seasons before my black lab decided to jump on the front of the boat and scratch it. Of course it was waxed so his feet shot out from under him which he tried to stop by digging in...the results are what one would expect. My reaction was what one would expect: he got picked up by the scruff of his neck and backside and launched. He ate some sand on impact with the beach and stayed away from me for awhile, but we're buddies again. There are a couple of stress cracks coming through in one spot, but hey, it's an 89. There are also some thin spots in the gel around some of the outside bends in the hull lines, but it is what it is. On the bottom of the hull there are some obvious flaws in the gel work...which I attribute to the wait, wait, now hurry up and get it done op tempo when it went in. It is what it is, and I can't see em' but I was pretty disappointed when I found them. If you remember, they lost Kenny in the middle of this project...so, that does explain a lot regarding the gel work.
The interior is wonderful. Super comfy and really pleasing to the eye. Also, it cleans up really well. The new style captains chairs are absolutely the best decision for comfort and long days in the seat.
The Evinrude has been great. BUT...I lost the lower unit about a week ago. I believe it was failing gradually as I got two over temp alarms when I was really loaded up with folks and pulling a tube. I was really confused by that as water pressure was always rock solid. On the second one, I slowed down to idle, and I could here the motor was having trouble idling. I went to neutral and it purred again. Went back into forward and it sounded like there were marbles in the motor. Great. So, I limped back to the lift and parked it. Turned out the LU let loose. So, I'm getting a new one and thankfully it's all under warranty. Looks like a bearing let loose and tried to shoot some mechanicals out the side of the housing. I'm trying to get my warranty extended...we'll see how that pans out. All in all though, the G2 has been an awesome motor. Super strong and great on fuel. I was hoping for more top end, but mid to upper 70's is good enough. I was hoping for 80+, and who knows, maybe it's there, but I don't have enough lake to find out. There ya go...updated.
