1990-1993 Weekender 250/270

J

Joe Zumpf

Member
Jan 8, 2022
51
Elwood, Illinois
Boat Info
1990 250 Weekender
Engines
454 Mercruiser, Bravo 1
Hoping to find a little bit more detail around these boats from someone who may own one. Little back ground, not new to boating or fishing, but am new to Sea Ray. I sold my previous Grady White Seafarer 226 last year in order to move up to something bigger. I had my eye initially on a mid 00's 270 Amberjack until I stumbled across the 250/270 Weekender recently.

Looks like it will fit the bill for what I am looking for almost exactly, but this is a tough boat to find much info on. The 1990-91 250 Weekender doesn't even seem to exist on Sea Ray's website, and the 1992-93 270 (same boat) has slightly conflicting information. For one, there's a 600 pound difference in dry weight between the two years, with what sure appears to be the exact same standard equipment.

I know its a long shot, but does anyone here have one of these with the 7.4/Bravo 2 combo that can comment on performance? Or have one and run it across the scale to see what it actually weighs as its being towed? I managed to find some mentions of the same generation 250/270 Sundancer, performance seemed very low for the boat's dimensions and power, but if it is 600+ pounds heavier than the weekender while standing a little taller maybe the weekender would be a better performer.

Not looking for maximum top speed, but I often run 30+ miles to chase the fish on Lake Michigan, the difference between a cruise of 22mph and 30mph adds up.
 
After re reading your post I will say this is not the best fishing boat, it’s a cruiser meant for overnights and weekends at tiki bars, gunkholing, and scenic travels.
If you want to run 30 miles at 30mph to fish these are really the wrong boats for that purpose. Might want to rethink your plan.
 
Pirate Lady said:
Well you came to the right place.
I have a 91 250 dancer. The weekender has no aft cabin, the dancer does. Around that time the weekender fell out of favor, came and went then finally died.
The model changes in those years if i told you would overheat CSR servers.
I have the 7.4 Bravo 1. the B2 was only around a couple years before they went to the B3. B2 basically same as B1. Great outdrive, bulletproof.
Unless you want to suck fuel like drunk sailor sucks beer, 22-25mph is cruising speed. Over that you’re burning 20gph and on a 75 gal tank you aren’t fishing far offshore.
I could go on but feel free to ask questions.
PS the 93 270 is the exact same boat as the 91 92 250. Exact. SeaRay figured they could charge more by upping the size number. True. Same boat.
Click to expand...

Appreciate the response, there seem to be a boatload (pun intended) of changes and tweaks in that era of Sea Ray, enough to make your head spin.

The lack of the aft cabin and larger deck space is exactly what drew me to the weekender. It seems to be a nice blend of something I can fish from in spring, spend the summer cruising to the beach and city with the family, and close the season out with fall King's. Weekender also gets a bigger tank at 100 gallons which is a plus, except when you have to fill it up.

Looking through all of the literature I can find, which is limited on the weekender, and comparing with the Sundancer it looks like the weekender from 90-92 tips the scales at 5K pounds dry weight, which is 100lbs less than the Sundancer. But, then in 93 it increases to 5600 pounds dry, same with the 270DA. 90-91 are both the 250 designation, 92-93 they get renamed the 270 with all else the same, but somehow gain a bunch of weight for 93. Or, they all are that heavy and Sea Ray changed their dry weight calculations after they changed their numbering designations.

My hardcore salmon fishing days are behind me at this point, they faded into the sunset when I sold my last Grady. That boat was bought before I was married, and had a family. Needs have changed, and while that boat was perfect for a group of guys trolling all day, it was severely lacking in the comfort department. The small cuddy was only used for storage or for my daughter and dogs to take a nap in the marina, and that was it. What I would love though, is to have similar performance for when we do go chase some early summer salmon out deep. That boat was underpowered with a 175hp 2 stroke, but loaded with three people, 100+ gallons of fuel, and 300 lbs worth of gear and equipment would cruise all day between 27-30mph, and when pushed to the max would top out between 37-40. It was on the light end for a Seafarer, but still a very heavy 22' boat.

If you dont mind me asking, do you know what your 250 Sundancer weighs on its trailer? And the specs of the prop you run? Appreciate all the insight!
 
Joe Zumpf said:
Appreciate the response, there seem to be a boatload (pun intended) of changes and tweaks in that era of Sea Ray, enough to make your head spin.

The lack of the aft cabin and larger deck space is exactly what drew me to the weekender. It seems to be a nice blend of something I can fish from in spring, spend the summer cruising to the beach and city with the family, and close the season out with fall King's. Weekender also gets a bigger tank at 100 gallons which is a plus, except when you have to fill it up.

Looking through all of the literature I can find, which is limited on the weekender, and comparing with the Sundancer it looks like the weekender from 90-92 tips the scales at 5K pounds dry weight, which is 100lbs less than the Sundancer. But, then in 93 it increases to 5600 pounds dry, same with the 270DA. 90-91 are both the 250 designation, 92-93 they get renamed the 270 with all else the same, but somehow gain a bunch of weight for 93. Or, they all are that heavy and Sea Ray changed their dry weight calculations after they changed their numbering designations.

My hardcore salmon fishing days are behind me at this point, they faded into the sunset when I sold my last Grady. That boat was bought before I was married, and had a family. Needs have changed, and while that boat was perfect for a group of guys trolling all day, it was severely lacking in the comfort department. The small cuddy was only used for storage or for my daughter and dogs to take a nap in the marina, and that was it. What I would love though, is to have similar performance for when we do go chase some early summer salmon out deep. That boat was underpowered with a 175hp 2 stroke, but loaded with three people, 100+ gallons of fuel, and 300 lbs worth of gear and equipment would cruise all day between 27-30mph, and when pushed to the max would top out between 37-40. It was on the light end for a Seafarer, but still a very heavy 22' boat.

If you dont mind me asking, do you know what your 250 Sundancer weighs on its trailer? And the specs of the prop you run? Appreciate all the insight!
Click to expand...
I can assure you that the 7.4 rocks a 250. The 5.7 was standard. And was more than sufficient. This 7.4 sucks serious fuel and sometimes I wish it had the 5.7 but it is what is available at the time I bought it.
 
I tow to the marina, but leave in the water for the season. It's an hour tow, but the main reason I'm trying to figure it out is that the boats I am looking at are all in the 300-500 mile range from where I'm at. I have seen the boats on both 5 and 6 lug trailers, while there are 4k pound 5 lug axles, they are rare, and even if they were 4k pound, it seems like it might be awful close to being overloaded. Especially if the dry weight truly is 5600, with the standard small block. I'd like to avoid tow issues on the way home or in the future if it can be avoided.
 
That's what ill be doing. It does wipe one boat off my list, but I'd like to avoid trailer issues. Thanks again
 
For those years you will need to fix stuff. Plan ahead. There are no perfect 30yo boats. Going in we knew it.
Things we knew need fixed/replaced…
Canvas top
Water heater
Manifolds/risers
Bellows gimbal shift cable
Toilet
Things we chose to replace…
Stereo speakers
Faucets
Dash gauges
Antenna
Anchor (Fortress, wont have any other)
Things we found after buying…
Battery charger
Horn
Macerator
Overheating problem that took June to September to find fix last summer. ( that sucked)
Things I will still have to fix didnt plan on….
Pull engine to replace coupler.

just don’t spend last dime on the purchase. That’s over 3 years so it was spread out. No complaints, it’s a great boat.
 
Last edited:
Definitely planning for that. My most recent Grady was a 93, before that was a 79. Both with orriginal power, they always needed some form of maintenance.
 
My biased opinion on this on is I would go back to your original plan to buy a Amberjack, based on what you've been writing about wanting deck space for fishing.
As you probably already know, the amberjack is wider than the weekenders. This creates a much roomier deck area as well as a roomier cabin. Not to mention stability and a better ability to handle rough seas. Basically the Amberjack is a weekender that is 16 inches wider. The draw back is, of course, the wider boat burns more fuel to push it through the water and is a bit slower.
I originally was looking to get a 260 or 270 weekender but ended up with the 255 Amberjack because it basically offers everything the weekender has with extra width and is the exact same weight as a 270 weekender.
As far as trailering is concerned, you should always leave at least 5-600 pounds lee way on your trailer rating AND you MUST account for fuel and water in the tanks. My Amberjack has a 120 gallon fuel tank so at 3/4 full that's about an extra 700 pounds. My trailer is rated to 7300 , the boat with gear is about 6000, fuel and water add about 6-700, leaving about 600 LBS lee way on the trailer. When my boat is on the trailer the trailer suspension is on the stops, basically maxed out. I trailered her back from MN to SC and it was sketchy, 1200 miles of white knuckle highway and up and down two sets of mountains. I never exceeded 55 MPH. I NEVER want to do a trip like that again, LOL. I was worried about the axle spindles the entire time.
My advice on the trailer is always go the next level up if you're not sure.
Best of luck and safe travels.
Steve.
 
I have always had a soft spot for the original Amberjacks, both the 255's and the 270's. In many ways they remind me of the old Bertram 25's, but with that massive flush deck cockpit. Twin's would be nice for peace of mind, even with the increased maintenance cost of doing every thing twice. The added beam the same thing, it has its benefits, and drawbacks.

I have a pair of what look to be super clean weekenders I will be checking out this weekend, both pretty similarly optioned, similar hours, and not far apart on asking price. See how they look and will go from there. Appreciate the comments!
 
Went and checked a couple of these boats out over the weekend, and think its the route we are going to go. There is more than enough deck space for what I am looking to do with it. The layout makes the boat feel like a big runabout, and seems like it will be plenty spacious and comfortable enough for 4 adults and 3 kids to to out and cruise to the beach one day, and for 4 guys to go troll for salmon the next. And, the massive storage in the floor where there would have been an aft cabin is a nice touch, it looks like I could build some rod racks down there to store my equipment when its not being used very easily.

The one I liked the most I do have concerns over the corrosion on the outdrive, either this boat or one nearby in the marina was definitely leaking out some electricity. Its not past the point of saving yet, but a clean up and repaint would be in order along with some time with a multimeter just to be sure. I would be looking to put a new failsafe galvanic isolator on any older boat I bought anyway, its low buck insurance in the grand scheme of things.

Being an older boat I am sure there will be other things that will need addressing, but the bones sure look solid.
 
1990, 454 with a bravo 1. Overall it's super clean, seller and I worked out a deal, now we just need weather on my side for a weekend so I can give the mechanicals another look, and drag it 6 hours home.
 
Quick pic. If weather holds out, It will be home in the driveway in 2 weeks.
 

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Current owner states that he typically cruises at 30-32mph, with a top speed of 40-42mph on the GPS. Doing the math, it seems accurate with the prop that is on it with the bravo 1.
 
On its way to its new home. Excited to get it ready to fish and play this summer.
 

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