Getting the boat

be careful when you do trailer that boat. you will need a permit most likely. that year 290 is a lot wider than the newer ones. usually anything over 8'6" needs a permit to trailer. obviously your's is over that 8'6" by 2'.

I love that model and have the first version that came out in '97. they only made minor changes between those years. the one in my sig is your boats older brother. My wife and I were looking for a smaller boat actually and when she climbed up the ladder to look at it she fell in love imediately.

I would have someone look at that steering imediately, there is almost no play in my wheel and my drives move perfectly together with no slop between them. You are absolutely correct with the wake that she throws though. it is a heavy boat for just over 30' total and when she drops back into the water there is a big push.

I see you have Bravo III's. that must really pop out of the water. I have Alpha's and mine lifts up pretty quick for it's size.
what layout for the interior? that is the biggest change from year to year with this model. My wife loves the port side lounger and that is what sold her so fast on this boat, and the fact that there is an actual door for the aft cabin. most boats today have an open aft "seating area" we wanted to be able to toss the kids in there for a nap and actually close a door.

we need lots of pictures, post them up soon.
 
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I am 1 year almost in on my 94 290 DA and love it. You will be very happy with your new purchase, congrats


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The rules about trailers in NC are up to 120 inches without a permit. However, the boat sticks out over each side. I will have to look into that and the steering.

Yeah the B3's are nice, they get the boat up quick. With smooth, slow throttle movement, it took about 9 seconds, give or take, to get on plane with 5 people and half a tank of gas yesterday.

Our cockpit layout is the same, the lounger is great. The interior has the front V berth that converts to a bed. The eating area is on the port side with the sink and stove across from it on the starboard side. Head is immediately on the starboard side when you walk down into the cabin. Aft room is just to the left and has its own door. I think the interior layout is almost identical to mine. I will post interior shots on Wednesday after my trip.
 
pilot2fly said:
I'm driving it home through the Intracoastal Waterway. It's a 4 hour trip but it will be fun. Plan to set out Wednesday morning.
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Gotch'a, what was the minor steering issue? my BIII has a loos steering pin I am not looking forward to fixing.
 
There is a chance your gimbal rings are worn at the top causing the slop in your steering. It is an expensive fix, I have personally done it. Have someone hold the steering wheel while you attempt to move the outdrives side to side. There should be little to no play.
 
The original issue was too much play in the outdrives themselves. I believe the previous owner said the pins holding in the outdrive were worn, but that issue was fixed. I know the gimbal bearings were replaced last April, but I will have to dig and find out the issue with the wheel play.
 
congrats on the new boat, we need more pictures of it
 
This has nothing to do with gimbal bearing.

It is a "rounding out" of the top of the gimbal ring that causes the swivel shaft (steering pin) slippage. Here is a pic of the one I replaced. There is a slight chance the "slop" you feel is cable related, but I doubt it.

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I see. Excellent information. I will hopefully be on the boat tomorrow and I'll call a mechanic. I don't think I'll be doing a repair myself if this is the case. I also need to ask the previous owner what he did exactly when they took the outdrives off. I know for sure the outdrive play issue has been fixed. They would move a few inches left and right with no wheel movement. That has been fixed, but you would think they would have noticed a worn gimbal ring when they took the outdrives off. We shall see.
 
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it is not something that usually comes off when they say they took the drives off. usually it's just the 6 bolts and the lower unit comes out. the bell housing and gimble ring are generally left on unless there is more work to do. they may not have noticed the wearing if there is any.
 
Quint4 said:
This has nothing to do with gimbal bearing.

It is a "rounding out" of the top of the gimbal ring that causes the swivel shaft (steering pin) slippage. Here is a pic of the one I replaced. There is a slight chance the "slop" you feel is cable related, but I doubt it.

View attachment 34598
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Quint - Did you have the ring repaired or replaced? I spoke with JR Marine about fixing it and it was about $220.00 or so if I remember right. Did you cut the access hole to access the pin?
 
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