Tuff Marine's New 25 Shines with a Yamaha V6 SHO
With incredible new models like the 25 and 20, Tuff Marine is busy but that never stopped Mark and Thomas Weigl from innovating. The new 25 is based on the 24, with a bustle added, slight hull revision, extending it to a true 25 at the transom, and 26’1” to the bustle. The beam on the svelte machine is 7’1” which makes for a near perfect looking boat. Even though the 24 was arguably one of the best looking sport boats in recent times, that just wasn’t good enough. I love how they keep upgrading, pushing design and improving. Let’s take a peak at some numbers Tuff released running the new Yamaha SHO.
Although the latest Yamaha features a new cowl, upgraded alternator and a few other things, internally it’s the same 4.2 V6. It’s a proven performer and for those in Canada it is a top choice as from what I hear Mercury Racing products are hard to come by. Another great thing about the Yamaha is the attractive pricing and ability to be tuned. For instance, you can upgrade the mounts, prop shaft and gear ratio to really make it a performance outboard. If you want more, you can have the ECU programmed; Hydro Tec and Nizpro offer this and I believe the rev limiter is raised to 6,500 RPM, having the big V6 put out around 330 HP.
At just over 7’ beam, the 25 looks incredible. The proportions are just right, narrow enough to slice through the air and water, but enough for a great interior layout. Is the fastest mid size sport boat also the most practical?
Thomas said they ran the stock 200 SHO on the 25 with a Bravo 32” prop and it hit an incredible 80 MPH at 5,000 RPM. Obviously the Yamaha can rev more, and I know with some other props and adjustments, you can imagine high 80s pretty easily at 5,800 RPM to 6,000 and the right setup. But they flashed it, added a custom nose cone, allowing the 32 Bravo to work and it hit 104 MPH on the limiter. If you consider upgrading the gears to 1.62 and the fat shaft, you’re probably close to 110 MPH. It will be interesting to see how the 1.62s spin the big bravo but either way that’s incredible.
The interior layout is amazingly creative, practical and radical. The vintage blue looks just right on this one of a kind Tuff 25.
A regular layup, not a carbon boat, so you can say the Yamaha is knocking on the 300Rs door, maybe even faster? With power being so close, it really comes down to the setup; gears, gearcase etc. And the Yamaha might have an advantage here with the sleeker lower unit. Thomas did mention how well the Yamaha ran in general, quiet, smooth and the mounts seemed pretty firm for rubber. The 200 SHO is a good option if you are going to tune it anyway as the price is very good. This isn’t surprising, Yamaha has been building some of the best engines for a long time. When Lexus was building their LFA super car, they tapped Yamaha to design and build the engine.
6 passenger but built around the driver.
We are looking forward to updates are over due for a trip up north soon to see the 25 and 20. And, how about that stunning blue color on this one. The interior is also incredible, reminds me of a three man race bolster layout but the center steer is very cool. Tuff is the most exciting boat company right now.
