Info on amberjack 290

ImpulseIII said:
How does one arange a sea trial or test ride in 4-6 foot seas?
Click to expand...

That was a rather dumb statement of mine, wasn't it?

Heck.. .I was a serious buyer and I could not arrange a *single* seatrial *under any case* without a deposit and sales agreement. That's why I didn't buy new :)

But unfortunately, I think you really won't know the true differences in handling of these boats until you see them in dodgy weather.
 
I looked at the Wellcraft, Pro-Lines even the GW. Wife does not like the cabins. She does like the 290AJ interior. GW comes with a nice price tag too. Really well built boats but not a compromise for the family. I think if my primary function was off shore fishing I would look for something different. I am looking for a family boat that we can fish and cruise with. The pure express cruisers do not lay the cockpit out for fishing at all. They are more as their title says R&R cursing. I am not saying that the AJ is a pure fishing machine but it appears to be well suited for a little of both.

The major thing that I am looking for is comfort, reliability, functionally and good performance. Like I say I spend at least three minutes trying to get my current boat on plane with more that 2 people on board. My next boat is going to eliminate that problem. I would also like to do some trips in the boat like through the locks into Lake Champlain. So comfort is also important also.

It appears from the good feedback that I have received that a 5.7 with BIII may be the best combination for this boat.
 
Well. . . in my view 5.7's would be a MINIMUM for this boat. . but I like power. My 7000lb boat (I think. . it is nominally 6400lbs with single engine I suspect) will get on plane in a time a touch longer than it takes me to move the throttles -> I only when I get to nine people on the boat did I ever see a performance hit. I often have four people on board.

It also sounds like you have your head on straight. One must have priorities when buying a boat :)
 
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The two links that Birdog sent were worth really worth looking at.

Boattest.com tested the 290AJ with 5.7s. I am guessing that Sea Ray provides a boat that would perform well. Many dealers will sell boats with a minimum power configuration. I would suspect that this is to keep the price down.

The article to V or not to V really provides a great comparison of I/O vs. V. Since the price of gas has been rising I think it may be less expensive to have someone service the drive than pay for the extra fuel for the V drives.

Too bad they cannot over come the corrosion problem with the BIIIs.
I appreciate all the input from everyone that replied.
 
I didn't realize corrosion and Bravo 3 drives was such an issue until reading on this forum. I feel for those that have problems. I'll count myself lucky, I keep the boat on Lake Superior and after 2 seasons the zincs show very little and the drive itself has absolutely no corrosion.
 
I think the main problem with corrosion on BIII's is caused by worn down zincs, and mercathode systems that are not putting out the proper voltage or are not connected properly. These items are the main culprits when it comes to corrosion. I have been running an Alpha one in saltwater since 1996 and havnt had the corrosion problems I see other stern drive owners have. I pull mine every season, and store the drive inside. I talked to the folks at Mercurys booth at the boat show at Javits center and they told me the same thing about stern drives in salt water. If you are planning on pulling your boat periodically anyway, I think the BIII's make more sense. Especially in light of the way gas prices are making efficiency priority one!
 
Another problem is with the dealers. Mercury ships out the Bravo 3's with aluminum anodes meant for saltwater use. If the dealer's in fresh water area's dont switch them to magnesium then more problems occur. I couldn't imagine my boat with single props even if they were larger. The bravo 3's twin counter rotating props make the boat perform and handle great. Keep up on the proper maintenence and most of the problems you hear about can be eliminated. (I hope :grin:)
 
My dad has a 290 Amberjack with 5.0's with Bravo III's it is plenty of power for the boat.
 
I have a 2006 Amberjack 290 with the twin Mag350 MPI Horizon V-drives. The beam on her is 10.5 feet which is much wider than the 290 Sundancer. When/if you somehow manage to bury the bow in a huge wave, the other guys are right, the water will run right out over the stern.

When I was learning how to drive, while cruising in the Potomac, I went from WOT to idle in a couple of seconds, and I was surprised that the backwash didn't soak us in the cockpit. Just a little water washed in, under the 2-inch space between the transom door and the cockpit, and it was gone within a couple of seconds.

She rides nice, gets up on plane without issue and my first year's maintenance, including winterizing and shrinkwrapping was about $1000. Seeing as how we have A/C, a live-baitwell and Generator, that was very reasonable.

We are looking forward to an early Spring launch next month!!
 
Wow... I just found this thread. A bunch of guessing and "I suppose" for buying advice.

The facts are:

The 5.0's are plenty of power. At WOT the 5.7's do have a little more push but how many times are you WOT? I made it a habbit of laying down on my AJ on the final leg home from fishing while running into our lagoon. I suprised more than a few Sundancers and a few Center Console's with a top end just over 40mph. By the time I was trimmed out and running WOT reaching full speed I was ready to slow down, 40-43 is plenty fast in a 10.5 foot wide boat. If you want a "Go Fast", buy one. As far as getting on plane, my boat with 4 people and half full on gas (around 125 gal) jumped up in a few seconds WITHOUT touching the trim tabs. If you are making a long cruise for 10-11 hours fill her up, otherwise you are just hauling around 900 extra pounds (another 125 gal). My results were around 20 gph.
Someone commented that the larger motor (5.7) was bigger and weighed more?? They are the same block just bored differently. They are the same "Size" engine.
With that being said, if I could have the 5.7's for the same price, sure take them but "MINIMUM" power, I don't think so.

I put many hours on my AJ before letting her go for a Center Console. I stayed as long as 10 days at a time and made a 750 mile trip in her. If this is the kind of info you are looking for, ask away.
 
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DavidS
I am looking for as much feedback as I can get on the boat. I want to fish and also would like the comforts of a cruiser.

As i have been looking I see V drives BIII drives one with 300HP diesels, 5.0, 5.7 and the list goes on.

So your feedback is more than welcome.
 
Harry,

The AJ was great to entertain guests and friends for cruising or fishing. There are several things that pushed me to selling. Notice I said entertaining. The layout of the boat didn't allow me to fish while operating her but my friends had a blast. It depends on what style of fishing you plan on doing but the hight sides around the helm and the distance to the fishing area from the captains chair had me watching most of the time. I think you will find this to be the case with boats with similar design. Trolling or drifting was about the only time I could get in the game. Anchoring up may be a choice for you but if your area is more than 50 ft deep, the windless is a pain to opperate and almost useless in deeper water. For island hopping, one drop and one pull up in a day is no big deal. For fishing, the Progress1 jams waaay to much to be considered useful. There are many posts here about the Progress1 winches that describe these ill's. If you can't find enough, ask about it.

The BIII's were fast enough to get me to the spot but in retrospect that was the only good thing about them. I know I will step on some toes here but over time they are expensive and I would not reccomend them for salt water if you plan on putting many hours on the boat. Mine was always dry stored but still required alot of money and down time keeping them right. You should not keep BIII's in the water. The V-drives were far to slow for my taste. I wouldn't have anything but V's for cruising but if you are going fishing, you want to get there and back in a timely manner.

I have never fished in NY so I don't know what the seas are like. Here in NW Fl. if the seas are over 3 feet they start breaking due to wind etc... . We don't have rollers that just take you up and down. I have "Pushed it" way to many times to go fishing and if your seas are sloppy like ours, anything over 3ft will take the fun out of running the AJ.

I looked back over some of the earlier post to make sure I was shooting you straight. If you are planning on taking 9 people on your boat (no thanks on a 290) you will want more hp. The only time my AJ ever felt sluggish was when she was full of gas and provisions. With 250 gal. of gas, full bait tank and fresh water, 100lbs of ice, gear and crew + a 12,000 lb boat you can see why. There was a big difference in the way she handled with all of the above and ond 3/4 tank(s) of fuel. The only time you need to fill that boat up if if you think there is a chance you are going to need that much fuel and still have reserve in case of emergency. The 5.0's still pushed her but that much weight on a 29 foot boat makes handling bad until you burn some fuel off. The only time you would have that much weight though is if you were taking a serious fishing trip or have way to many friends for me.

If you are not a real serious fisherman the 290AJ is one of the only combo's that you and your wife will both like. The Sundancer look downstairs will make your wife happy but will serve as a gaint tackle box if you get serious about fishing. Look hard at the other models you mentioned before buying. Their height (also a potential storage issue) puts the captain high above the water which exaggerates the wave action on his/her body. I get dizzy watching them sitting in their slip when somebody sends a wake their way.

Does this help?
 
There are many posts here about the Progress1 winches that describe these ill's. If you can't find enough, ask about it.

Can this windlass be replace or is it in the design of how they laid out the anchoring system?
 
Everyone has an opinion and an idea to make them work better but the bottom line is, they will jam and leave you dragging anchor over and into what ever you were anchored up current/wind from in 70ft plus ft. of water. Some say that new or smaller line helped them but the scope you need to get into deeper water would require having 4 to 500 feet of rode in your locker (wouldn't fit) . The more it is coiled up and kinking up on top of itself the more it jams. I usually ended up "Backing down" on a spot to hold our position instead of anchoring. The vents spraying water up from the swim platform makes that a wet activity and the hour meter is clicking all day.
Once again the Captain can not fish and has to keep a keen eye out for less experienced fishermen getting their line tangled in the BIII's. They will suck it in, heat it up from friction and melt it to the seal that then becomes brittle and will $tart leaking & taking water into the $y$tem.

I haven't heard of anyone who replaced one (with a better design) or had luck replacing the standard 180-200ft of rope with enough to fish with. There have been a few people who reported using more or all chain which will allow for less anchor scope. Again, dropping once a day in isn't that hard to manage but if you are moving around and trying different spots you will have a jam that requires taking it apart and/or replacing parts.

Maybe a fisherman will speak up with a new combination that is consistant for deep water.
 
Dave,

I'm curious. How fast were you cruising when you were burning 20 GPH? I have been looking at the AJ290 myself. I am up here in Harrys neck of the woods in Staten Island, or at least close. I am looking for something from 2004 and up. I read your comments on the 5.0. Thats what most of them have with BIII's. What are your thoughts on FWC versus RWC? Most 5.0's are all Raw water cooled. Are you familiar with the flush kit? One of the advantages of the 5.7 is that you'll find them FWC and BIII's, although I'd say that 90% of them out there used with FWC have V-drives. I am in saltwater and in a slip here in the Great Kills Yacht Club. Most of the time I dont go very far out to fish, but I would like to cruise up the LI sound, the Hudson river, and North NJ coast. I am not going out to the canyons for tuna. If I were in FLA like you I'd love to go to the Bahamas or the Keys on this boat. I envy you for the boating paradise you're in!

I guess what I am leading up to is something I posted earlier in this thread that I thought the cost savings in fuel would pay for a couple of drives in a year or two, or at least the repairs. I read your comments about V-drives vs BIII's. Did you really have that much trouble with the BIII's? Did you think the improvement in handling and economy are worth more than the troubles you had with the BIII's? When you look at the fuel consumption difference and the increased performance on the charts I saw posted, it makes a strong case for the IO's. Especially with gas hitting $4/gallon.
I saw the new 2008 at the Javitts boat show. They have a different dash, a hard top, a wooden bait table, but otherwise remarkably unchanged for quite a while. The Hardtop looks nice. I would like that but I'd rather buy used and install it after. It gives the boat a totally different look. Nice headroom and good protection in the winter.

Thanks for your input. Nothing like hearing from an actual owner. Good luck with your new boat. I hope I make it down your way one of these days when retirement comes.

Mike

DavidS said:
Wow... I just found this thread. A bunch of guessing and "I suppose" for buying advice.

The facts are:

The 5.0's are plenty of power. At WOT the 5.7's do have a little more push but how many times are you WOT? I made it a habbit of laying down on my AJ on the final leg home from fishing while running into our lagoon. I suprised more than a few Sundancers and a few Center Console's with a top end just over 40mph. By the time I was trimmed out and running WOT reaching full speed I was ready to slow down, 40-43 is plenty fast in a 10.5 foot wide boat. If you want a "Go Fast", buy one. As far as getting on plane, my boat with 4 people and half full on gas (around 125 gal) jumped up in a few seconds WITHOUT touching the trim tabs. If you are making a long cruise for 10-11 hours fill her up, otherwise you are just hauling around 900 extra pounds (another 125 gal). My results were around 20 gph.
Someone commented that the larger motor (5.7) was bigger and weighed more?? They are the same block just bored differently. They are the same "Size" engine.
With that being said, if I could have the 5.7's for the same price, sure take them but "MINIMUM" power, I don't think so.

I put many hours on my AJ before letting her go for a Center Console. I stayed as long as 10 days at a time and made a 750 mile trip in her. If this is the kind of info you are looking for, ask away.
Click to expand...
 
Mike,

I remember it being 23 mph. I am pretty sure that someone with a flowscan mentioned that he didn't see much extra burn a few mph faster than that, maybe he will speak up. That seemed to be the sweet spot.
The boat was a dream for playing around the islands and hanging out. I had a blast fishing her with the exception of things I mentioned earlier. She handled great and was plenty fast. I had an extended warranty that helped my situation. One marina said they could handle a claim and didn't so I ended up paying a chunk on one occasion before the warranty ran out. I wish I could tell you exactly what my costs were to help your calculations but I wrote if off to - better off not keeping up, I'm boating anyway!

I can't stress enough how important it is to buy from a dealer you can get service from. Mine was a brokered boat from South Florida. I saved a bunch of money traveling to pick her up but lost it back in time spent being put on the bottom of the repair list because I didn't buy from my local dealer. I can understand their position but 2 weeks can turn into 2 months if you keep getting bumped to the bottom of the list. They will tell you that they are happy to work on your Sea Ray but their customers are going to come first. By the time I was tired of playing that game, Mmax moved 40 miles away. They worked on it since I bought it from them originally but by then, the fun had worn thin.

I would also insist on having a warranty for as long as I could buy for the BIII's.

You make a good point about the cost savings over time. I personally wouldn't want the V-drives unless I found one with diesel. If I'm gonna go slow, I want to get good gas mileage.

I don't like to comment on issues that I have only read about, I wish others would stick to this rule too. My AJ was RWC so I don't have experience to speak from, the FWC sounds great.

Unfortunately the perfect combination for fishing and cruising is two boats. One Center Console and one nice Cruiser. So far I have held off the temptation to Cruise. As far as fishing, Honda outboards have been tough to beat.

I guess Sea Ray figures why mess with something that works. Not to many changes, the new hard top looks great.
 
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A little late in the post but...
Our 290 AJ w/twin 5.0 L and Bravo III drives that we keep on a lift is great for Clearwater FL.
A friend has the same 290 AJ in Boston with 5.7 L and V drives, said ours gets on plane faster, even with his 5.7 L engines. If I ordered the boat originally, I would have gotten the 5.7 L to make it a screamin' machine (but glad I didn't with the cost of marine fuel).
Cap10Joe
 
I have an 06 AJ290 w/ the 350 MPI engines, BIII (5.7L 300 hp raw water cooled)
I've had the boat since 3/07 and now have about 110 hours on it. (Just broken in.)
We took a short cruise from Kent Island down to Solomans last weekend. (2 adults, 3 kids age 10,13,15).

The boat came with the "System View" which shows Flow GPH for each engine and combined as well as MPG (MPG only goes to 1 decimal)
With a lite load (1/4 tanks and a few people) I have seen the GPH as high as 1.4.
Typically it is arround 1.1 cruising. Slow cruise (just on plane is about 3,300 -3,400 rpm)
With the tabs down and drives in it will plane a little slower, 3,200-3,300. Any slower and you will constantly battle the tendancy to sink back in the water. This is at about 25mph. (This is too fast for most people on a wake board and scarry for little kids on a tube. Slolom sking is just about right.) So, it's a real compromise for water sports.
This I assume has to do with the hull shape. (Deep V).

Something intresting is that i think these engines may have too much power. If I press more than about 3/4 throttle when trying to plane I can get cavitation. (Props spinning faster than the water flow and not pushing efficiently) If that starts I have to back off a bit untill they hook back up. This happens less with lighter loads. When cruising, the throttle controls are very sensitive. (Probably because of the power.) Getting them synced by hand requires a light touch. (Tapping with your fingers.)

My boat seems to want to cruise at higher rpm where it flattens itself out with no tabs and arround 3,600 - 3,700 rpms (About 30 mph). Even up there and maybe higher the mpg never goes below 1.1 You have to push it pretty hard to get it to less than 0.9mpg maybe even WOT.

The boat is great and I have very few complaints except for the widlass which seems to be a known problem. (I had a bad jamb this weekend where I had to take the top part off to clear.) Maybe we'll find a solution to that!

This is sort of a late post, did you end up buying one?

BTW, Your reaserch may show that some of the corrosion problems on the BIII were in earlier models and may have been solved by now. I keep our boat on a lift at a private dock so I have no real experience with that. I'm not there every day to babysit so its the only way I'd do it. Lifts are a huge maintenance saver if your able to do it. Maybe the fuel savings will pay for it compaired to the V-drive. Our place has a shallow inlet so outdrives were the only option. I am able to push the boat slowly thru the inlet at idle with he drives in the full up/trailer position and the hull is actully lower than the props.
The only thing at risk is the thru-hull fairing for the sonar that for some dumb reason is the lowest point on the boat. Luckily the inlet has a soft bottom!
 
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