260 vs 280 DA

I'm looking around at Sea Ray 260s...I have a 1995 270 and I want to get something newer. (05-10?) In looking it seems 280s can be found for less or the same as 260s...it isn't that I wouldn't mind the space, but what about gas mileage?...Is it that much more?...the last couple years I went through 4-5 100 gallon tanks with the Searay 270 (7.4 wB2) ...what else am I not thinking of?....would the gas usage on a 280 be much different than my carb'd 7.4 in my 1995 270?

I'm in the Hudson River, about 80 miles north of NYC, we don't venture that far, maybe an occasional trip 15 miles up or down, but mostly just sit out on the water. When the kids visit maybe go tubing a bit.

Trailering - I do like to bring the boat home for the off season, I have a trailer and a truck that can handle it...I'm thinking for the 10 miles back roads I'm going I wouldn't get a permit for a wider 280

Thoughts...should I forget looking at 280s and focus on 260's?...

280. One of SR most popular boats. Single 496 with generator would be my recommendation. Good utility and decent space to overnight.

Bigger is better

We love our 280!

We had a 2005 260.... I always regretted not going to the 280. To make it worst I had a dock neighbor who had a 280 and he always asked me to come over and help him fix something... it just tightened the screws just a little bit more each time being on that boat

A 260 is going to be considerably smaller then the 280, and your current 270.

I had a 270 AJ which is very similar to the 260 DA. My in-laws have a ‘98 270 DA. Their beam is wider and they have much more rom below. They have full standing height in the head which isn’t possible in the 260 DA.

Fuel burn - I don’t think it’s going to make that much difference for you. I had the 350 MAG Horizon. I burned about 16 gph at 26-27 mph. Tubing burns a lot more. WOT with a clean bottom was 34 mph, burning 26-27 gph?

b_arrington said:

A 260 is going to be considerably smaller then the 280, and your current 270.

I had a 270 AJ which is very similar to the 260 DA. My in-laws have a ‘98 270 DA. Their beam is wider and they have much more rom below. They have full standing height in the head which isn’t possible in the 260 DA.

Fuel burn - I don’t think it’s going to make that much difference for you. I had the 350 MAG Horizon. I burned about 16 gph at 26-27 mph. Tubing burns a lot more. WOT with a clean bottom was 34 mph, burning 26-27 gph?

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We had looked at a 270 Amberjack before buying our 280. There was a big difference in interior space. As you said the head was very cramped - I couldn't stand up in it and I'm only 5'11. It also felt a bit less stable in the water. Not sure what the displacement difference is - but it was enough to be noticeable. We passed on the 270 even though it was super clean and well maintained.

Captn TJ said:

We had looked at a 270 Amberjack before buying our 280. There was a big difference in interior space. As you said the head was very cramped - I couldn't stand up in it and I'm only 5'11. It also felt a bit less stable in the water. Not sure what the displacement difference is - but it was enough to be noticeable. We passed on the 270 even though it was super clean and well maintained.

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The difference is about 1300 pounds and 1 foot of beam. The 270 AJ was 7300 lbs and 8.5"; the 280 DA in the 2005-2009 range was 8600 lbs and 9.5" beam. The overall length is about the same - 30' vs. 31'.

That 1 foot of beam can make all the difference. As I mentioned, my inlaws have a 98 270 DA with a single BIII drive. It's displacement is listed at 7500 lbs also but it has a 9'2" beam. It has the same 21 degree deadrise as my AJ. Those 8" really make a difference on the interior space and it does feel a little more stable at anchor. Plus it has more headroom below. The 260 DA / 270 AJ hull was notorious for being twitchy until you figured out how to trim it out with the drive and tabs. That said, I never felt unsafe in the AJ and it was a fantastic boat with a very flexible layout.