2008 290 Amberjack

D

DBV

New Member
Jul 5, 2008
6
Hello - considering purchasing a 2008 290 Amberjack with the Merc inboard motors. Uses will be for fishing, cruising and some overnights. Would appreciate any feedback on this model and also how it handles 3 to 4 foot waves.

Other boats have been looking at are Carolina Classic 28 and Rampage 30 Express. Thanks!
 
Anyone have any opinions of the above? Maybe it is not that popular Sea Ray model? Thanks!
 
What is the size and make-up of your crew? specfically for over nighting? What comforts are needed by you and more improtantly the lady of the house(assumption)? Where are you going to be boating? Is this your first boat, first searay? the Amberjack is far more suited for fishing than the SD or the DA but your needs and expectations will drive the decision
 
Size could range from 3 to 11. If 11, 5 would be kids. For overnighting it could be from 3 to 5. This is our first boat and would use it for fishing, cruising and some overnighting.

The 28 Carolina Classic we have looked at is even more geared towards fishing with a small cabin, but is a battlewagon and seems like it maybe a little better made than the Sea Ray (just an assumption and could be wrong).

Rampage has a nice cabin, but not as much cabin space. Also seems nosier and may not handle the waves as well as the other two.

dpvandy01 said:
What is the size and make-up of your crew? specfically for over nighting? What comforts are needed by you and more improtantly the lady of the house(assumption)? Where are you going to be boating? Is this your first boat, first searay? the Amberjack is far more suited for fishing than the SD or the DA but your needs and expectations will drive the decision
Click to expand...
 
I have a 2000 290 AJ. The hull and layout is the same as the 2008. Perhaps i can offer some perspective. Last weekend for the July 4 holiday, I took my family to Fernandina beach fl for an overnight. Our family of 4 was comfortable. It works fine. Just cant fully extend laying down in the main bed (and I am only 5'9). It was my wife and two daughters ages 4 and 1. I feel the boat is a good compromise without spending BIG bucks on a sportfisher. Fish and dive with the fellas and overnight and sandbar with the family. Just pick your fishing days carefully. Boat pounds in moderate seas.
 
Thanks for the feedback papertrail. Don't like to hear it pounds in moderate seas, because we get moderate seas quite often, especially this year. Surprised there are not more Amberjack owners on this board.
 
For a 29' boat - I think you will find the boat takes rough water incredibly well. My parents have a 290 Amberjack, which I captain from time to time.
 
DBV,

You are going to have a hard time finding a 29' boat that does not pound in a moderate chop. It takes length and especially weight to smooth out the pounding, and if I remember correctly the 29AJ displaces 12-14K lbs.

The other big issue with the 2008 model is the price. I just cannot see $200,000 for this boat, since the major change over last year is the hardtop, and I personally don't think that it adds $50,000 worth of value. My opinion only, though. Yours may be different.

All boat designs are a compromise. I like the AJ, and if I were in the market for a new boat it is probably the one that I would get. It has a decent beam for its size, and lots of room for a 29 foot boat. I especially like the range - it is one of the few sport cruisers made by Sea Ray that has a real gas tank! The only downside (besides the price) that I have heard for it is that the hull design is somewhat wet riding. If that is an issue, check with one of the guys that have one, since I do not have first hand experience with that issue.

You may want to take a look at the Tiara 3000 open. It is designed for similar use to the 290AJ and is a very well built boat.

I don't know what you budget is, but for the the number of people that you are talking about in your earlier posts, you may want to look at the 340 with the sportsman's package. I think that it is a very nice all around boat, although you don't see too many of them on the water. I suspect that at that level people are either wanting a fishing boat or a cruising boat rather than a compromise boat.

If you are willing to look at used, I would also suggest that you look at the 370EC. Frank has some good comments on that model here:

http://www.clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6369

You might get some better feedback if you can tell us some more about what you think you will do with the boat. For instance, you stated that you would have between 3-11 people on board. Is this including a wife, or is it just kids? If there is an admiral on board, is she an avid fisherman? Are the kids young or are they teenagers? Kids tend to become big boaters and fishermen if they are young, but if they are already teens when you get the first boat they are probably not going to be as interested in spending time on the boat.

How you will use it should be a big question in deciding on a boat. If it is not, or if you choose wrong, you will be wanting a new boat in less than 2 years. If you buy new, you will get the crap kicked out of you on depreciation for those first few years. Even if money is not a big issue to you, I would think that you would not want to just throw it away!

I guess my real question is "what is making you think that a 2008 290AJ is the right first boat for you"? Don't misunderstand - I am not criticizing your choice at all. But, I suspect that most of us here have bought a boat that we decided was not right for our usage, and that is where the folks here can really help you.

When we bought the 260, we knew that we wanted to cruise up and down Florida's west coast, and that we enjoyed anchoring out a lot. We also wanted a boat that could run down to the Keys. We bought a Sea Ray because of the dealer and the marina that they own - slips were hard to find at the time. We looked at the 260, 290AJ, and the 280DA. The 280 had short legs, believe it or not the 260 has a longer range, so we knocked it off the list. We chose the 260 primarily so that we could keep funding the retirement accounts.

While I am satisfied with the choice we made, if I knew then what I know now I would have gone with a diesel boat, probably a 370EC.

So, if you don't mind giving us a little more info on your expectations, you can get some great advice and probably some ideas that you may not have thought about.

Sorry for the rambling message; hopefully some of it will make sense to you!
 
I have a 2008 290 Amberjack, purchased about 4 months ago, and I think I can give you some thoughts about this boat. By way of background, I have previously owned a 250, 270, 330 and 380, all Sea Ray Sundancers. Although my family is relatively large (4 kids, 3 at home) I was looking to downsize into a boat that would serve more functions than just primarily cruising (such as fishing, diving, wakeboarding, etc.), with lower fuel and maintainence costs. I think the 290 Amberjack is ideal, especially if you would also like a high level of creature comforts and would like to stay in the Sea Ray family.

The boat has Mercruiser 350 magnum Bravo 3 I\Os. Fuel tankage is an impressive 250 gallons, which gives great range, especially at 1.4-1.6 mpg (my 2003 380, by comparison, was .6 mpg--I still feel sorry for the guy who bought it when gas was $3.00 at the marina). My turf is Lake Powell and coastal cruising on the West Coast, and the boat is trailered, so I avoid slip costs. Unless full-time operation was in salt water and you had a slip, I would recommend the I\Os. There was a relatively recent article, I believe in Boating magazine, comparing this boat with I\Os and V-drives, and the I\Os came out ahead on performance and mileage. It is available on-line.

The 290 AJ is very well-built, heavier than comparable Sundancers in my experience. It actually weighs about a 1000 pounds more than my 1998 330. It may have a heavier fiberglass layup schedule, I am not sure. It certainly feels substantial. The hardtop is a nice change from the canvas of previous boats, and the aluminum support structure is a work of art. We have mounted wakeboard holders on the port side, which means that access to the bow is on the starboard side.

Performance is equally impressive. Top speed (at 3500 feet altitude) is 44.5 mph. Planning speed, depending on fuel load, is around 16-19 mph. The boat need full trim tabs to plane quickly, and interestingly, retracting the tabs after cruising speed is reached adds around 2-4 mph at a constant throttle setting, which is more than I have seen with my other boats. Outdrive angle does not seem to have that much effect. I haven't had the boat in the ocean yet, but I have run over 2-3 foot wakes and the 290 handles them very well. I don't think the ride can be described as "wet," but again I haven't had it in inclement weather yet.

The new Kohler fuel-injected low CO generator is light years ahead of previous generators I have had on Sea Ray boats. The standard A|C works well, and the 12" flat panel Raymarine multi display is very nice.
I would say that the only con on the boat is that it can get cramped with 5-6 adults and teenagers, and their stuff, on board. Part of our solution is that I and one of my sons sleep outside, under the stars, in the large cockpit area (the perfect size for an inflatable double mattress. But the reality is that this is simply the trade-off of a smaller boat. In return, you get lower purchase price, operating costs, insurance, etc.

So the bottom line in my opinion is this: If you are looking for a hard-core fishing machine (which I did not shop) there are probably better choices. If you are looking solely to cruise, I would go with one of the Sundancer models. If, however, you are looking for a do-it-all (or at least do-most-of-it) mid-sized, well-built boat, with reasonably low operating costs and a high level of comfort and amenities, I think the 290 AJ would be a great choice
 
Thanks for the informative reply Charlie. Sounds like you are using the Amberjack the way our family would too. The boat we are looking at has V-Drives - the last Amberjack the dealership has in stock. Is definitely a nice compromise of crusing/fishing.
 
IMO the Amberjack is a much better crusing boat because it has a real gas tank. The Amberjack has enough range to actually go someplace. My biggest complaint about mine is not enough range to do some trips. If I only had 50 gallons more that would be a good start. BTW the B3 drives are much better on fuel. Do a web search for the test on the 290 AJ with B3 vs inbd setup. I think you will be suprised at the differance. Good luck.
 
Is it true that last year the 290 Amberjack sold for around 150k and this year a hard top was added and now retail is around 210k or were there other changes done to it?
 
DBV,

Here is a listing for a 2007 for 149,000. I am pasting in the info since the link will go away once the boat is sold. It is a used boat, and probably will not sell for full list price. But I suspect that the owner has not discounted it much from what he paid for it, since I saw these boats selling for 145-155 at the shows last year.

You can look at the pictures on the link and decide for yourself if it has changed much. I went on one and besides the cosmetic changes, the only real change I sae was replacing the aluminum arch with a hardtop. The 2008 that I looked at at Marinemax had a "value price" of $199 on it. I imagine that in this market Marinemax may drop the price, but as recently as December they were still trying for the no negotiating thing on their new boats.

Charlie gives a good review above, and since he owns one his opinion will be a good one.

At 200K, this boat will looks like it will take a big first year hit. My guess is about 20%, or 40K. The lower your purchase price up front, the better you will be on the boat's first birthday.

http://www.marinemax.com/Page.aspx/.../view/Details/2007-Sea-Ray-290-AMBERJACK.aspx

Back to Search Results2007 Sea Ray 290 AMBERJACK
Price: $149,500 Listing Agent: Contact Greg.Reidinger@MarineMax.com or (850) 225-6150 Stock Number: 77135

Overview Features Payment Calculator

Specifications
Displacement : 11300
Water Capacity : 30
Beam : 10'6"
Draft : 2'8"
Fuel Capacity : 230
Length overall (LOA) : 29'0"/8.84 m

Key Features
Brokers Comments
Less than 100 hours on engines, less than 20 hours on genset, V-drives, dry stored since new camper canvas, bull hull, blue canvas. Fish package, Genset, underwater lights, premium stereo uograde, spotlight, cockpit cover.
Electronics
RayMarine C80 GPS/Radar


Description
Number of engines: 2
Hull Material: Fiberglass
Stock #: 77135
Search Type: B
Hours: Contact Dealer

Engine
2007 MERCRUISER 5.7 MPI
Horse Power: 300
Number of Engines: 2
Hours: 75
Fuel Type: Gasoline
Engine Type: V Drive

Here is a link to another thread on the 290. It is an older model but the hull has not changed.

http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2143&highlight=amberjack
 
I am also digging up some old links with some purchasing tips, since you stated that this was your first boat. There is a tendency to assume that a boat purchase is like a car purchase, but that is not really true. Frank W. gives a good compare and contrast in this thread:

http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1347&highlight=offer

More good advice from Frank and Skip here:

http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4918&highlight=offer

And yet more good advice from Frank, although this thread is geared more toward larger boats:

http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=904&highlight=offer

They key is knowing what the boat is worth, which may not be what a dealer like Marinemax wants to sell it for. It is difficult right now to see if buyers are going to value the changes made in 2008 as much as Sea Ray thinks they will.
 
My wife and I got our 290AJ at the end of last year and Love it. One thing that we have noticed is that we also love to overnight and found ourselves without water on the 3rd day, had to pull away from the raft-up for a water run.

We do a lot of fishing also.... take a look at our blog if you like. http://www.reelitinpanaroy.blogspot.com/ some of the photo our on my friends 36 Luhrs.

We bought it used with 40hrs on the motors and .5hrs on the gen….. Great boat!

I have had a couple of issues with it but all normal stuff. I see a few of the 290AJ guys are trailing this boat. Did not think that was an option, would like to see photos of your setup if you have some all.

We also think that the boat does quite well in 3ft waves.

Good luck,
 
Realize this was a 2008 post, but love the blog. I am in the process (Survey phase) of a 290 Amberjack. All goes well, it will be loaded on the flatbed in Long Island and shipped to So. Cal mid January, weather permitting!
 
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