SO TH IS IS WHAT 1700 HORSES FEELS LIKE -M

1700 horsesfeels like It’s no secret; the popularity of larger outboard engines is on the rise, especially for Great Lakes boats like the Grady-White Canyon 456. So naturally when Yamaha Marine announced the release of its biggest outboard to date - the XTO Offshore V8 5.6L four-stroke - Grady-White was interested in pairing this engine with its flagship model. For those who haven’t had the opportunity to board the Canyon 456, it’s basically a luxurious center console sportfishing yacht. At a recent Yamaha media event where the new outboard was announced, there was a wide selection of boats to...

By Brady L. Kay aspirated 5.6L V8 that was designed for a different application,” said Yamaha Marine group President Ben Speciale during the media presentation. “Development of the new engine started with a target propeller size for large offshore fishing boats. What we want to do is spin a bigger prop, and to spin a bigger prop you need a bigger prop shaft, diameter and gears, and much more displacement in the engine to give you the torque. We want bigger charging systems and integrated steering systems. The weight is the weight.” Instead of shying away from any weight questions the media might...

Continuous Vee The Yamaha XTO makes a lot of sense on this Grady-White because it complements the manufacturer’s proven hull design, the exclusive SeaV2. The SeaV2 is a “continuously variable vee” hull that delivers a soft and stable ride and unlike other brands, a SeaV2 hull design has no two places on the keel where the deadrise is the same. The vee continuously sharpens from the transom to the bow stem. A SeaV2 hull with 20 degrees of deadrise at the transom will have around 30 degrees amidships—more than even the most radical older deep vee designs. The deeper vee forward means a softer ride when...

StayPoint or FishPoint mode that allows on-the-fly precision adjustments with no need to exit the mode, just adjust and return. Besides piloting the Canyon 456 at full throttle, the other thrill we received was playing around with the joystick steering system. We were able to change the heading in five degree increments by simply twisting the joystick each time. We were also able to position the entire boat in increments of 10 feet at a time without revving the engines and with very little effort at all. Talk n Torque It’s not possible to truly appreciate the amount of torque the new Yamaha outboard...

The increased blade surface area is designed for moving big boats and in fact, if you really wanted to, I honestly believe you could swamp the back end of the boat if you gave it enough throttle while in reverse. That’s just how powerful this new engine really is. Tubaugh had a similar experience, “I was thrilled to have the opportunity to ride our boat at the Yamaha test event with the quad Yamaha XTO 425hp engines. I thought to myself, ‘These engines were made for this boat!’ The boat accelerated quietly and quickly, and rose on plane without the slightest bow rise.” SPECIFICATIONS Yamaha 425...