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

Presentation said:
Nehalennia II said:
....Is it a Single 5.0L?
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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.
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Yeah the 4.3L are ideal I would think
smanier said:
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.
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Yeah I thought he was saying it was a 5L single which I'm sure is underpowered and most likely not available
 
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.
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Update: Offer #2 rejected.

Offer #3 – yesterday - Verbal offer on a 2003 280DA w/twin 4.3L, gen, a/c, trailer, windless, spotlight. The boat is in Indiana and I had not seen the boat so the offer was contingent on a visual inspection, sea trial and marine survey. The cost of going this far would only be justifiable if it was a great value. We went back and forth. In the end my final offer was $82,700 and the sellers final was $84,000. The boat has a brief salt water history for ‘sea-trials’ by the original dealer and this was a bit over 30 hours. Seller said the boat was not slipped in salt water. Its not a 100% fresh water boat nonetheless. In the end, we were $1,300 apart and I would go no further, neither would he. It did not have a camper top. Great lakes quoted me just under $1,600 and I install.

My local marina is offering a heck of a deal on a 2003 280DA w/twin 4.3L BUT it has no Gen, Trailer, Spotlight, Windless, Camper top. The problem is by the time I add all those things the price gets prohibitive. I could find a used trailer but all the rest would need to be new and I would need them installed by a pro except the camper top. I have not made a offer, but was surprised how low you can get a 2003 280DA with twin 4.3L’s + Alpha’s.

I have a call back into the guy from offer #1. We spoke briefly. He was at a rally (not on this boat) and we agreed to talk again on Monday.

My wife is getting sick of all this. She said something like “We have the money in the bank, just buy one!†I may need to step back from this shopping thing for a breather. I’ve spent a lot of hours on this lately and with this shopping plus my work have not spent much time with her or our kids lately.

We have a very good income relative to the area we live, however this is not how I grew up. I still remember wearing a paper hat and busting my butt after school until midnight for $2.90/hour then getting up early the next morning to get going for school the next day. The state law only allowed employers to let minor kids work so many hours in one week during the school year so I worked at two places to get around the law. I will not forget where I came from. I don’t want to “Just buy it†I want it to be the best value out there that meats our wants (it is wants, not needs after all)
 
I’m beginning to think of this message string as a diary of my boat shopping experience with friends adding to the content.

I hope someone out there is reading all this and maybe learns from it or at least gets a chuckle out of it.
 
Hmmm, sounds a lot like my admiral... :smt017
 
Presentation said:
I’m beginning to think of this message string as a diary of my boat shopping experience with friends adding to the content.

I hope someone out there is reading all this and maybe learns from it or at least gets a chuckle out of it.
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Oh I'm reading and enjoying every bit especially since I have the 280 in mind for our next step up. Keep us posted on your dealings.

H.O.
 
It's bringing back nightmares of boat shopping for me. It took me a long time to find my boat.
 
Doug, #3 sounds like a great boat and only 30 hours...most of them fresh water. $1300.00 is not a very wide gap, maybe you could split the difference and move on to enjoy your boating season? The camper top option is not that critical, and it should not be a deal breaker, especially when you can add it next season or whenever it becomes affordable for you. Just a thought.
 
jg300da said:
......only 30 hours...most of them fresh water..... .
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Sorry, I'm still learning how to talk, umm, type. Its 30 hours of salt use. The first 30 hours were in salt. Then this person purchased the boat new from the dealer that used the boat for sea trials. The first 30 hours were put on by the dealer. 165 total hours. 7.5 on the generator.
 
Well I’m dead tired but late yesterday we purchased a 2003 280 Sundancer. It has the twin 5.0L Bravo III drives, AC/Heat, Windless, Spotlight, Full camper top and Radar (ok, I have no idea how to use it yet but I got the manual) and a fancy stereo CD player with three locations to make adjustments.

No generator, no trailer. I will be adding a trailer. I did want a generator but when I found this boat with 272 hours and in very good condition for a very good price from a private party and after me and my mechanic went for a sea trail and checked it out I went for it.

Its in the same body of water as us, but different location.

I was at the boat until 1:30 am this morning loading and putting on the canvas, for its first ever use. Man, did I underestimate how long that would take. It’s tight like a drum. The previous owner used the cockpit cover. We never used the cockpit cover on the last boat so I brought this home last night. After taking everything off the last boat and it sitting in my garage for 2 weeks I’m on a strong “if it not used and not onboard for safety, take it home†kick.

This boat has many systems onboard that I don’t yet know how they work. I may post a few dumb question as I try to learn. Last night I wasted about 20 minutes thinking I had some issue since no water would work. Every faucet, no water flow. I checked all three panels, like 10 times to verify every switch was on (except the water heater) and looked and looked for a switch marked “water†like our last boat had. Discouraged I gave up. Hours later I was at the helm playing with the buttons one at a time trying to figure out what all those buttons do and one had a very odd picture of a rectangle with a squiggly line. When I turned it on I heard water running in the cabin. I had left the sink on. What a dumb symbol. Why not label it “water†like they use to? Well, I now have running water onboard.

Later today we are off for our first journey. We will be going about 40 miles, to our marina. We will not be stopping but passing them then on to Fremont where we will be spending the night onboard.

I have not learned how to use the water heater yet, don’t know what the button on the cabins electrical panel labeled “A/C inverter†does and I have a black bag that is embossed “Sea Ray†with a bunch of manuals for me to read. Based on the size of the manuals I should have them all read by, umm, say, the year 2020.

Pictures will come in time.
 
Congrates on you purchase. :thumbsup:

underneath the box with the squigly line, is acc 2 button, that is the water heater button, at least it is on mine. Took me a month to find it. make sure the water heater switch is turned on at the panel. The symbols on the pads are really stupid. When I ask someone to turn something on for me, it takes 10 min to explain where it is and what the pic looks like.
 
Very, very cool.

I must admit, between TurtleTone and Presentation talking about these 28DAs. . . I started looking up internet prices. Fortunatley, I can't afford one right now. :)

Might not stop me visiting one, however. . . :grin:
 
Thank you both! :thumbsup:

We should be heading out in about an hour.


I’m a bit nervous because I have not gone thru everything yet. On the last boat I had a spare for every light bulb, etc. I have my tool kit onboard but its unlikely all items will be the correct items for this boat.

Oh, then there is learning how to dock with this larger boat.

Well, we will learn as we go.
 
Presentation..............Congratulations and enjoy the new boat!

And when you get back, you need to do the most important thing yet...........change the picture in your signature. :wink: :smt043
 
Congrats on the new ride!!! I'm just starting the journey you just completed... best of luck, and hope the learning curve is a small one! :smt038 :thumbsup:
 
WOOOOWHOOOO! Presntation finally pulled the trigger and bought a new boat! Congrats! Twin 5.0L's linked to Bravo 3s will probably make that a 50mph boat! :grin:

Have a great trip to Fremont!
 
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