I’m shopping for a 280DA with twin 4.3L / Alpha’s + gen

I use Kruse Marine Transport. He's a small local guy that does a lot of Marine Max's (SS3) work out of Copaigue Long Island.
 
single vs twins

other than boating offshore, why is there such a desire for the twins over the single 496 Mag. :huh:
 
close quarter manuvering...docking, etc.
 
One word: Stability. Step on the back corner of a single engine deep v cruiser to board it, major side to side movement with all the weight in the center. Step on the back of the same boat with twins? minimal movement. Same is true under way. Like night and day. Anyone who has experienced this knows. That alone makes the twins a better choice regardless of the price difference. Little boat feel compared to big boat feel.
As for the dual prop, it does work well when compared to a single prop I/O, but when compared to twin I/O's? no contest. I'm not saying the single big block 280DA is not a nice boat, it is, just saying the twin 280DA is in a different league.
 
Oh yeah, the stability thing sold me. when I was shopping I initially wanted one engine cause I thought it would cost less to operate. I took a single big block out for a spin, then a twin out for a spin and it felt like two different boats. The side to side is very different on the two boats. The gas burn between the two is about the same but parts is where it adds up. The stability alone sold me, the limp home on one engine was the gravy.
 
All the above then add

“redundancy†aka if one engine fails you can limp home. I’d do this at a speed below plain however I would get home.

“resale†the duals are in demand far more then the singles.
 
Update: my offer on the 2004 280DA was rejected.

I made an offer on a different 2004 280DA with factory tri-axel generator late yesterday for $85,000. It has the 5.0 Bravo III, gen, A/C, winless, spotlight, camper top, dark blue hull. If rejected I may bump it up a bit. The boat also has a SS. Bow ladder and Raymarine C80 GPS & 24 Raydome.
 
Pres, that 05 with 10 hrs. is still sitting in texas, and only 5K more... :grin: :wink:
 
I posted it earlier in this thread... Page3 I believe. It's on boat boatcrazy.com I posted the link there also. You should be able to find it. It's the last one on the list. :wink:
 
I think you will be VERY happy with T-5Ls :grin:

On the single/twin question: There is NO DOUBT in my mind that twins are more expensive to run than a single.

For those that do not do their own mainenance. . the maintenance costs are very, very nearly double. Also. . .. you have two engines to break, rather than one. If you have 5% odds of having a problem on a given weekend . . :smt013 . . then the odds of ONE of the TWO engines having a problem is 10%.

And while the resale value is higher for a twin. .so is the initial value. :smt024. When I was shopping. . twins were definately NOT the low cost option.

Now. . .I don't have huge amounts of single engine experience. But I have been REALLY, REALLY happy with how twins perform. Docking maneuvers are sweet. The boat will also get on plane faster than my jetski. I have to warn passengers when I push the throttles :cool:
 
Presentation said:
Update: my offer on the 2004 280DA was rejected.

I made an offer on a different 2004 280DA with factory tri-axel generator late yesterday for $85,000. It has the 5.0 Bravo III, gen, A/C, winless, spotlight, camper top, dark blue hull. If rejected I may bump it up a bit. The boat also has a SS. Bow ladder and Raymarine C80 GPS & 24 Raydome.
Click to expand...
Is it a Single 5.0L? That sounds a little underpowered for a 280Da doesn't it? The 260 I'm looking at has a 350Mag which think is ideal, but the 280 you're eyeing adds another 2300lbs.
 
Nehalennia II said:
....Is it a Single 5.0L?
Click to expand...

5.0L + Bravo III x 2. Twin's.
260 HP each x 2 = 520 HP.

In my opinion, twin 5.0L Bravo III’s on a 280DA is overkill.

On the other hand, I did have a canboat follow me for a good 15 miles along the Wolf River. I kept pushing the throttle down further yet I could not shake him.

Eventually I got to about 39 MPH, WOT for my old 240DA with single 5.0L engine loaded down fuel, water, gear and with 5 people onboard. Still he stayed right there in my wake.

It was not until we got to Lake Poygon and took different headings that he was not directly behind me.

I was afraid he had a bit left in the throttle and was going to pass me. WOT and getting passed by a canboat? How embarrassing.
 
The single is definitely not underpowered. I believe the stability issue and the ability to limp home on one engine are the bigger issues. I boat in the Puget Sound, no plans on the offshore adventuring. So far....I am very happy with the 280DA single 496 Mag. It would be hard to imagine even more power.
 
Our 250 is a single of course, but a 7.4L. It gets up and goes. I cannot imagine that a single 5L in a 280 would be adequate power. Can't let those canbotes out run us.

Twin 5L's would be great power, but make for a crowded engine room, or so I hear. That 280 on our lake, with twin 5L's, didn't have room for a genset.
 
oooohhhhh. . . .FOOOOD FIIIGGGHTTT! :smt038

When I was shopping, I was looking at a Crownline 275 cuddy, debating between the 350 or 496 mag engine. Sweet looking boat. The 350 seemed like adequate power considering that most 22' bow riders were being sold with 5.0L carbed engines.

BUT. . .on the used market and the new boat option sheets it became apparent that 350mags with BIII drives were also available for 22' bowriders. . . . :smt089

Call me "shallow", or "uninformed", but I suspected that with a 350 BIII; either the 22' was going to be SERIOUSLY overpowered, or the 27' cuddy was going to be SERIOUSLY underpowered.

So when I saw my first 280SS with twin drives. . . .yowza! That HAD to be fast, right?. Without needing the complex BIII drive for low end torque. My need for "medium" speed was one of my reasons for getting a cuddy instead of a cruiser.

I took out a friend on my boat early on. He asked "How long to get up on plane". I pushed the throttles (from 800 to 3200), and the boat was on plane before I was finished moving the levers. :thumbsup: Now. . .. I am twin snob :wink:

But. . .don't get me wrong. A big single will get the job done. Yes, there will be more room in the engine room. That is important. In my view, twins are flat out more expensive. That is non-trivial. There is more to go wrong with twin engines (twice the moving parts).

And a twin won't always get you home. The power steering pump is on the starboard engine. Without the starboard engine. . . .life is just no fun (been there. . .done that!)

I really wish there was reliable quantification of performance for boat/engine combinations. Not like there are even 10 engine / outdrive combinations. Not like SeaRay changes the hull forms more than once a decade. I mean. . .how long does it take to collect data like TeamGomez charted for his prospective 240DA's?. . .20 minutes per boat? When I was shopping . . it was all a guessing game, and everyone was reluctant to test drive boats, unless it was a formal sea-trial, even if you offer to buy fuel. :smt013

I am sure SeaRay has this info in a vault somewhere. . . .

But in closing. . . .I think the 5L BIII's will be awesome on a 280DA. :smt038. Buy it and don't look back!
 
I just have to chime in here, can't leave my friend "smanier" all alone on this subject. Unless you are on big water I can’t imagine a single legitimate reason why a person would go with twins on a 280DA. Everything I have read on this string as an argument for twins, to me, is invalid (save the big water redundancy argument).

Now I know that many of you are on small water with twins and love them but, it is a personal choice and not a defensible case. Additionally, I can’t necessarily make a case for the single either that would utterly overwhelm the case for twins, but I can do better than the twins-side argument.

If you really feel you can’t dock the boat then buy the $4833 (retail, -25% for real) optional bow thruster or go after market. With that you save $1584 off total base cost and have a FAR SUPERIOR package ($134318 (base twin) - $127901 (single) = $6417 - $4833 = +$1584 (then you can dock anywhere with no whining)). This savings of course does not even count the TCO savings over the life of the boat which is significant.

Too many positives to name and no negatives I can find and all those presented in this post I don’t buy having owned one myself for two years. Now that I own twins (350’s) I miss my single very much for lots of reasons. If Mercruiser only made a 1500HP single with a Bravo 4 (quad counter rotating screws) … : )

The only error Sea Ray has made is not putting the 496MAG HO as an option on this boat but for me and my money-value-smarts, I would ALWAYS buy the single 280 as is. Your extra money is better spent on other things; don’t you think?

Cheers, just stirring the pot, all in fun, sort of…

Marqus :wink:
 
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