New to me 290 Sundancer

[Stephen Vanderstelt Jr.]

We are currently in the process of purchasing a low hour 1996 290 Sundancer with the 7.4l and Bravo III w/ dual props.

Just curious curios what people opinions are on the 290 with a single motor.

 

[Stephen Vanderstelt Jr.]

Here’s a picture of the new boat.

 

[thirt8spl]

Nice - Welcome aboard. I have no input on your choice - bow rider kind of guy here. As long as you enjoy it is all that matters right?

 

[Ezsteps]

I would definitely sea trial it first. That's a lot of boat for a single. Handling may be tough. Bravo 3's should help though. I haven't operated one, I'm just comparing to a 270 that I helped a friend move (not Bravo 3's though). Hope it works out for you. Good Luck

 

[Strecker25]

That vintage 290 is ok with a 7.4 and b3 as long as the motor is tuned up and running right. You’ll use a lot of tab to get her on plane and stay there, and expect to turn mid 3k rpm for comfortable cruise.

Of course it will all depend on the kind of boating you do and how many people (and gear) onboard. Much of the reading about 290s being underpowered will reference the 97.5 and up model which is significantly heavier.

Handling might be a chore though, like ez steps said above. It’s a lot of boat to swing around with a single at slow speeds.

 

[BillK2632]

A dockmate had that exact boat - only complaint I ever heard was it could be a bit unruly around the docks with the single engine. I had a 2000 290da at the time with twin BIII's, he would just watch and shake his head when I would come down the fairway and back into my slip with no drama.

 

[Little Ducky]

We are currently in the process of purchasing a low hour 1996 290 Sundancer with the 7.4l and Bravo III w/ dual props.

Just curious curios what people opinions are on the 290 with a single motor.

Do you have a boat now so you can compare the handling?

I moved up from a 11 260 w/BIII to a 98 290 w/AI x2 and I really enjoy the twin 5.0's

The get up and go of the twins are fantastic.

Where are you located? If you're around Chattanooga come over for a cruise to compare.

 

[Stephen Vanderstelt Jr.]

We are sea trialing it as soon as it’s able to hit the water.

I currently have a 87 Chaparral 235xlc with Merc 260 w/alpha 1 drive. So I am used to docking a single engin boat.

The 290 will be used to tooling around a few in land lakes/rivers along with some trips to various ports on Lake MI.