Power Early 80's 270DA?

JC3

JC3

Well-Known Member
Oct 6, 2006
1,336
Kentucky
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May be looking for a day boat as a companion for our 450DA. I have always loved the 270 early 80's model. I notice some have twin 170hp/etc.. and others a single 330hp. What does the boat handle like with that single 330hp power plant? It seems to me thats a lot of boat for a single 330hp. Would love to hear about the 270da overall and thoughts on power. Thanks, JC
 
I have an 83 270 with a single 330.....I like it, it does labor to plane but once up it cruises pretty good and goes. ive got it to about 35 36 mph wot but usually cruise nicely in the mid 20's
 
PRO, How does it handle with the single power? Does it roll a little or anything like that? I have never had a single so these might be stupid questions. Thanks, JC
 
I got a 10 ft beam so its a liitle wide but it does roll a little bit but it depends on how rough the water is but overall I'm happy with it. on the Detroit river going through downtown can be messy, its the narrowest part of the river and both sides are seawalls so any wake just bounces back. lot of traffic with those conditions sometimes kicks up 8 to 10 footers and that's where a get a lot of roll coming straight side to side. not sure if the twins would eliminate some of the roll in those conditions but its a good boat and they are roomy for its size.
 
buy the way my uncle used to have a similar sized carver with a single 350 and it had a flybridge. took it to Put-In-Bay in lake erie on a trip and it performed well- didn't seem underpowered at all and not too much roll either.
 
JC3 said:
May be looking for a day boat as a companion for our 450DA. I have always loved the 270 early 80's model. I notice some have twin 170hp/etc.. and others a single 330hp. What does the boat handle like with that single 330hp power plant? It seems to me thats a lot of boat for a single 330hp. Would love to hear about the 270da overall and thoughts on power. Thanks, JC
Click to expand...

We are running a pair of 185h.p. V6's on our 85. Planes without a problem even heavily loaded down with passengers and gear. Fairly decent on fuel. Best overall performance/economy for us is at 3,800 rpm and approx. 26 to 28 mph.
 
No, email is good. Got your email this morning. Frank you are the best. Will email you back after church this afternoon. Thanks, JC
 
KC & PRO I really appreciate your help. KC, I have watched you and your post re your beautiful 270 for awhile now. I am glad you chimed in. Thanks Guys, JC
 
I would have to agree with probie 24, I have the single 330 in mine and cant say I have to many complaints at all, having the single gives you plenty of room around the engine for any needed repairs, searay put the tanks on either side so you can use the fuel as a ballast should you need to compensate for any kind of loading on one side of the boat or another, it is very stable in all types of seas as it is wide and heavy for its length, as far as running mine gets on plane with no issues with normal load, cruises around 25-27mph at about 3400 (which is before the 4 barrels open) once you pull in the 4 barrel it runs 30-35 no problem, and I go through 12-15 gallons a hr depending on load and conditions of coarse. Only complaints I would have would be the fact that the single with the tr-2 drive gives the boat a lot more draft than the twin setup (even with the dive trimed up the prop pushes enough water to ush , props can be harder to find due to the large hub size (a lot easier once you know it is the same as the bravo 2)
 
Darren, Thanks for a great write up post. I will have more questions, Thanks again, JC
 
cherokeeguy said:
searay put the tanks on either side so you can use the fuel as a ballast should you need to compensate for any kind of loading on one side of the boat or another
Click to expand...

In 1985 they made the change to a single 120 gallon tank located in front of the engine/engines.
 
I had a 84 270DA w twin 260 (350 v8 chevy)....nice get up and go. My friend had the same boat with T175 and he complained about getting up on plane with a full load. This guy also didn't clean his hull or ODs too often. Loved my 260's and it was a great, solid boat. New owner lost it in Sandy...so sad.
 
What was in front before 1985. Which one would handle better? Hey Ed, How is that 400 doing?
 
My 84 had a single fuel tank in the front of the engines. Gen on the port side. Major upgrade was installing a real head and running the waste pipe thru the aft cabin. The Porta Potty had to go....put the waste tank on the starboard side rear and moved the batteries around. Also had a 3 way to select pump out and up from the tank, or go from the head to the tank.

A few $$ in a new interior made the boat look great...what a solid boat. New owner used to bounce off all sorts of thing and hardly a scratch.
400 is running great....
 
JC3 said:
What was in front before 1985?
Click to expand...

Sorry but I may stand corrected on my single tank comment, the three I recall seeing over the years with dual tanks were 83's and 84's having single big block 330's in them. The dual tanks could have just been with the single engine layout. :huh:
 
Not sure on the tanks either, I have seen the single tanks on the twin setups and the smaller boats with singles (260-268) but haven't had the chance to see newer single engine boats to compare, as far as what is in front of the engine on mine it is just the bulk head with the fuel lines running from each tank to a central point, then originally it had manual valves for tank selection and a single feed line to the fuel pump from there, I have changed mine over to a electric valve setup just for ease of use why under way but other than that it is all stock, also not sure it matters but you do have separate fuel gauges as the take offs on the tanks are at the top they will not regulate between each other as some dual tanks will. I will say a bit of a added bonus to this setup is should you ever have a bad gas situation or a plugged screen in the fuel pickups it is not only very easy to diagnose but by simply switching to the other tank just might get you back ome instead of stranded.
 
Guys/Gals, How big is the head? We are a short people and would probably like to shower in the head on occasion. Is that possible? Thanks for all your help, JC
BTW, My purpose is to use it as a day boat on the bay side of the Keys and ?maybe an overnighter to Bimini if the weather is perfect. What do you guys think about that? JC
 
JC3 said:
Guys/Gals, How big is the head? We are a short people and would probably like to shower in the head on occasion. Is that possible? Thanks for all your help, JC
BTW, My purpose is to use it as a day boat on the bay side of the Keys and ?maybe an overnighter to Bimini if the weather is perfect. What do you guys think about that? JC
Click to expand...

We may want to move this over to the 1982-1988 270DA Thread so others can review the questions and answers in one place later.
Just a thought.


As far as the head size, we spend many nights on the hook with ours and without issues.
Two things I changed in the head to make use and showering easier:
1/ Added a sump box so water was not collecting in and pumped out of the forward bilge area.
2/ Added a sub floor so you have a flat surface to stand on.


You may have already seen this floor mod. in my resto thread or the 270DA thread but here it is again:

For starters I made an addition to that slippery angled floor on the head using some of the extra 1/2 inch "starboard".

bth_1.jpg


This is a photo of the angled floor that was very annoying - especially if using the shower and it's wet.

bth_3.jpg


This is the sub-floor made out of 1/2 inch "starboard".
I used a heavy piece of cardboard to make a template to get started.
The corner was cut on an angle to allow the shower water to flow down to the drain.
It took a bit of fitting as the floor had a slight curve.
The "starboard" is great to work with - cuts and sands just like wood.

bth_2.jpg


The completed project, much easier on the feet with the larger flat surface.
The floor rests there snuggly and is easily lifted out for cleaning.
 
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