Advice on buying 2008 Sea Ray Amberjack 270 needed (TY!)

I

IslandGirls1020

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Apr 15, 2024
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Hello - My husband and I have been searching for the perfect boat to troll for salmon on Lake Michigan and take our kids on family cruises. We had been mostly focused on Seaswirl Stripers and Wellcraft Coastals until this past week when we started learning more about Amberjacks.

We've located a 2008 Amberjack 270 - has the 6.2L Mercruiser with ~250 hours, mid-berth, camping enclosure, fishing package, no trailer

Onto the questions:
What is a reasonable offer/purchase price?
Will this boat fit our needs of a combo trolling/family boat?
What items are commonly in need of repair or replacement for this boat/age?
Is this 6.2L underpowered? How hard to get on plane? Can it pull my kids tubing or skiing?
Can the 6.2L get slow enough to troll for salmon (1.5-2 mph)? If so, what is the slowest? If not, can we add a trolling plate?
Has anyone used an Amberjack for salmon trolling? Does it work well?
General likes and dislikes?
 
Welcome! My thoughts below:

AJ's were pretty low volume and quite popular with the fishing crowd. I think you'll find their prices are going to be a bit higher than similar age Sundancers. I suggest you look up 270 Sundancers and AJ's to get an idea (boattrader, yachtworld).

For a family the interior arrangement of the Sundancer is going to be a lot more functional with the mid-cabin for sleeping/storage/kids.

This forum is a great source for all of the things to look out for. Get a good survey before you purchase, that will cover the big ticket items.

You could use a bag to slow you down as well (cheaper than a plate I'd imagine). I doubt that boat is going to idle at 2mph but I could be wrong.

Good luck with your purchase!
 
IslandGirls1020 said:
Thanks! Any idea on trailering a boat this big?
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I pulled my 270 AJ 3500 miles last year. It's in a venture triple axle trailer and I have a f350 srw deisel. Plenty of power to pull it. It does wiggle around a bit when getting passed by semis or box trucks. But nothing hateful. It's no wider than any other boat, however it will dwarf any standard truck visually.
20230729_172534.jpg
 
If said boat is currently moored at Belle Maer, I've been on it. Plenty of power for towing a tube. Plenty of dance floor for fishing and if I remember right it trolled down to 2 mph using "- troll" feature on the smart gauge.
 
Maky said:
If said boat is currently moored at Belle Maer, I've been on it. Plenty of power for towing a tube. Plenty of dance floor for fishing and if I remember right it trolled down to 2 mph using "- troll" feature on the smart gauge.
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They will go down to about 2mph without a bag. That being said the engine doesn't love 500rpm. I found it ran smoother to throw a bag and run 520 to 560 rpm.

Any idea if it has the 6.2 or the 496?
 
Maky said:
If said boat is currently moored at Belle Maer, I've been on it. Plenty of power for towing a tube. Plenty of dance floor for fishing and if I remember right it trolled down to 2 mph using "- troll" feature on the smart gauge.
Click to expand...
Yes, that's the one! You've been on it? We are in Wisconsin. Can you give me your impression of the boat?

It seems a bit higher than comparable 270s on the market, but appears to be in great shape from the pictures the owner and broker have sent. And we really love all the features that make it a good family cruiser with ability to fish (we salmon fish off Washington Island, WI in Door County).

We were hoping to take a trip to the area this weekend to see it, but haven't come together on price yet and it sounds like we may not be the only interested party.
 
07amber said:
I pulled my 270 AJ 3500 miles last year. It's in a venture triple axle trailer and I have a f350 srw deisel. Plenty of power to pull it. It does wiggle around a bit when getting passed by semis or box trucks. But nothing hateful. It's no wider than any other boat, however it will dwarf any standard truck visually.View attachment 162488
Click to expand...
Good looking set-up! We have an F450 and my husband has lots of experience with trailers, semis, and double towing our 5er plus UTV. But we'd have to trailer it ~8 hours home.

The boat we are looking at doesn't have a trailer currently. Any idea how hard it is to buy a used trailer and fit it to the AB270?
 
IslandGirls1020 said:
Yes, that's the one! You've been on it? We are in Wisconsin. Can you give me your impression of the boat?

It seems a bit higher than comparable 270s on the market, but appears to be in great shape from the pictures the owner and broker have sent. And we really love all the features that make it a good family cruiser with ability to fish (we salmon fish off Washington Island, WI in Door County).

We were hoping to take a trip to the area this weekend to see it, but haven't come together on price yet and it sounds like we may not be the only interested party.
Click to expand...

Yes I have. It's docked 3 slips from mine. He spends more time cleaning it than fishing on it and professionally maintained. He primarily uses it for Muskie fishing maybe once a week. Jumps out of the hole without tabs and has a very impressive ride even on Lake St Clair during Tuna Boat season.
 
IslandGirls1020 said:
Good looking set-up! We have an F450 and my husband has lots of experience with trailers, semis, and double towing our 5er plus UTV. But we'd have to trailer it ~8 hours home.

The boat we are looking at doesn't have a trailer currently. Any idea how hard it is to buy a used trailer and fit it to the AB270?
Click to expand...
I don't think it's hard. But it's expensive. If you're not planning on trailering it to and from the lake, just pay a boat moving company. They are big. 2 x 5k axles will handle, I've got 3 x 3500lb axles. And I have 4 out of 6 wheels with brakes. That matters. I mean 8 to 10k for a new trailer. I've seen used ones 3k and more. Best of luck.
 
As far as the 6.2l I have as well. Jumping even with tabs is a bit of a stretch. It goes. But not fast. Granted I had 9 people tabbed out and running 4100rpm for a cruise last summer. Way too many people but they had fun. It will fish 4 people well. And make sure you have glass. They do get a bit wet in swell. But really a good boat overall
 
b_arrington said:
Did you get the detailed email I sent Brandon last week?
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Yes, thank you! We just agreed on a price, so pending a marine survey, we should have a boat within a couple weeks. We may tap into your knowledge in the future. Grew up on boats and around them, but it's the first we have owned.
 
07amber said:
I don't think it's hard. But it's expensive. If you're not planning on trailering it to and from the lake, just pay a boat moving company. They are big. 2 x 5k axles will handle, I've got 3 x 3500lb axles. And I have 4 out of 6 wheels with brakes. That matters. I mean 8 to 10k for a new trailer. I've seen used ones 3k and more. Best of luck.
Click to expand...
We plan to keep it on Washington Island, WI. There aren't any big marinas up there, so can't dry dock. We will probably pay for a slip a few weeks a summer during big fishing tournaments, but then launch it ourselves any other time. So, we will need a trailer, but only to go about 5 miles. So, our big debate right now is how much and how nice of a trailer to get.
 
b_arrington said:
Did you get the detailed email I sent Brandon last week?
Click to expand...
Do you by chance know how hard it will be to get a used trailer to fit the AB 270? Or does the hull fit fairly well into universal trailers?

Any idea if a trailer built to fit a AB 290 would work? I know the beam is 10' on the 290 versus 8'6" on the 270. Will this impact fit?

Here is one of the trailers we are considering:

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Besides a trailer to correctly support the gross weight it is necessary the bulk of the load supported from the boat's stringers and/or keel (location of the bunks) and the bunks to extend fully to the transom and yet maintain the correct tongue weight. Loadmaster are excellent trailers but that looks to be carbon steel construction which will be problematic in salt water. Last, I'm a big fan of torsion axles which offer a host of benefits over leaf spring suspension.
 
ttmott said:
Besides a trailer to correctly support the gross weight it is necessary the bulk of the load supported from the boat's stringers and/or keel (location of the bunks) and the bunks to extend fully to the transom and yet maintain the correct tongue weight. Loadmaster are excellent trailers but that looks to be carbon steel construction which will be problematic in salt water. Last, I'm a big fan of torsion axles which offer a host of benefits over leaf spring suspension.
Click to expand...
Sounds like that one I linked might be sold already, so search continues. Thanks for the additional information.
 
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