Is the 5.0 big enough on a 260?

[skolbe]

I had a 2000 - 260 with a 7.4 mpi - I also has an inverter with 4 golf cart batteries on top of the other 2 batteries. The inverter & battery weight was probably similar to a generator. The boat ran great and was a lot of fun to cruise in. Boat would get on plane quite well and would run fully loaded and with a crowd. I really enjoyed having a big block in the boat. The boat you are looking at looks very well maintained. I think I would want to try a sea trial and decide for myself. I think a 350 mag would also be a nice setup in this boat. I am sure the 5.0 will bring the boat on plane fine, but it might be some work with a crew on board.

 

[Nehalennia]

That's a very nice looking 260DA. I have the 5.7L and I love it. It's economical to run and has enough power to cruise around 23-26 knots nicely. The 5.0L is I believe adequate to move this cruiser as well, but neither my boat or the 5.0L will be a speed demon.

 

[garryowen]

Easy with the assumptions Garry.

The trailer is custom built for the boat, and the E range tires have plenty of capacity.

The boat came with the standard 20" pitch props, I had them reworked to 18" pitch. It planes easily loaded for the weekend. Its not any slower than other small block 260's with 20" props. (OK 2-3mph slower due to the change in pitch)

The tire warranty is by the tire retailer (Discount Tire) NOT by the manufacturer. Lifetime is the life of the tire not YOUR life. That means if it separates or blows out while it still has tread they will replace it.

I purchased the boat 2 seasons ago with 55 hours, it was not a dock queen, but a cove queen. The previous owner only ran about 5 miles to his favorite cove and anchored for the weekend. If you do the math you'll see I put almost 60 hours on it over the last 2 seasons. I've probably spent double that amount of time in cleaning and maintenance.

with a 6200 dry weight boat and trailer you gotta be at 8200# still empty. with 5000# 8 hole wheels, axles, the most that trailer is going to be good for is 10,000#.
as stated---- around town- short hauls- storage OK. long hauls in the Nevada summer??????? not so much. been there done that. in fact the tires, on my 7500# gross weight of trailer r& 230, came from discount tire in Henderson (the one by the lake mead dr. intersection) the extended warranty they offered was ???? when i pointed out the tires they were changing out were far from worn out, and one had blown out. would they warranty the ones i was now buying, under there extended warranty? a....well....maybe......
my boat is lighter than yours and i'm boarder line 3 axle territory.
i blew up your trailer pix up and couldn't tell if it had 5 hole or 8 hole wheels.
just did a lot of trailer shopping this spring and found out what custom trailer realy means is they fit there trailer to your boat. you can get what ever axles you want.
the fact is you cant get B III prop sets new pitched less than 19 pitch (just checked the mercruiser prop sight to be sure)the only way to prop this boat is, change to the 2.20 gear drive if its a 1.50 or custom props as you found out when you had it re propped.

this is a well cared for boat and shows well in the pix.
if you need a cove queen this is your boat. if you want to pull kids-grand kids on water toys, ski, wake board, idle back to 3000 rpm at 30 mph and cruise i have my doubts.:thumbsup:

 

[Dave S]

Wow ................is that ever a clean 260DA!

It sounds to me like the 5.0 is adequate with the prop pitch changes and I bet that is the nicest 2004 260 on the market.:thumbsup:

Dave

 

[1stSeaRay]

Thanks Garry,

The axles are 5200# torsion axles, the tires are E range with a load rating of 2830#

Even with 1000# of fluids and gear in the boat, I'm under 90% of the capacity of the axles, and only 80% of the tire capacity.

If I did extensive highway hauling, a triple would have some benefits, but since I don't having a tandem is ideal for me and makes getting in and out of my inside storage much easier.

with a 6200 dry weight boat and trailer you gotta be at 8200# still empty. with 5000# 8 hole wheels, axles, the most that trailer is going to be good for is 10,000#.

 

[Bridog]

That is one well maintained boat. Looks brand new. I had the same boat, no generator but I had the arch. I had the 350Mag and I would say it was just ok with that engine option. Load it up and do a sea trial. Good luck! Brian

 

[TrailsEnd]

Thank you all for your input.

 

[EricW]

That is a really nice clean boat. Also, that trailer looks fine for that boat. As a matter of fact, I think I would prefer a beefy tandem axle trailer for a 260.

 

[Daddubo]

You probably be OK with the 5.0 the newer are quicker than the older 5.7 plus it’s all what you want to do and what your budget is. You might be a few MPH slower than the guy with the Big Block but you will keep a lot more money in your pocket when it comes to gas. If I run mine at a good clip in the small area I run I will burn $100+ per weekend with a 7.4. As far as the trailer you should be OK. I bought mine in Michigan and towed it home 250mi at 60 mph with no problems, it has 9.50/16.5 10ply tires on the tandem trailer. I drive an hour to the water and back at 60 so you should be good. But like any tire with a load on them when it is hot out you got to slow down I have blown many a tire on semi’s that were rated for the weight. If you are going to travel a lot get a spare and a good jack. Go test it out and enjoy. Don't know if you checked the spec's out at the Sea Ray site but here it is any way. http://www.searay.com/boat_graphics/electronic_brochure/Company1729/1C1_23_74DEJAK0M33.pdf

 

[rbryn]

As a 260DA owner with a 5.0 let me weigh in.

We cruise at 28Mph averaging 1.7-1.8mpg around 3900rpms with 4 adults, full fuel and water load. It's not the quickest boat out there out of the hole. We spend most of our time either on the way to somewhere 5-10 miles away or putting around at 1000rpm. If we were in an area with a lot of no wake zones I would feel underpowered... but once we get on plane - we stay there and can do fairly well.

The only thing we don't have is a genset... if we added that weight to the mix I would probably be a little concerned. If your towing tubes or have a bunch of people on the boat all the time you want to consider a bigger engine.