Right size for family of 5?

Serious though, camper canvas great investment. Doubles size of boat, many days last summer when not bad, just a mild rainy day that kept boats in slips and we were able to cruise down the river to the local water front bar for afternoon. Consider it, I swear I have had A/C and CC, and on a daily, more use opinion. I would take camper canvas every time.
 
I think it all depends on what the wife and kids will tolerate. I thought our first SR 215 was cozy for a family of 5, but the wife quickly nixed that. The 320 was a step up but my daughter (the middle child) wanted her own bed. Now that we are in a 42 she wants her own room. The wife's only requirement was to have a room with a door. All the time i just wanted to be out camping on the water. So it really comes down to how cozy your crew are willing to get.
 
Boating ain’t no different than camping. Some can cram a family of 5 in a pup tent. Some require a RV. Some require the Hilton. All said and done, only you can decide what fits you.
 
Lazy Daze said:
Uh-oh... now there's going to be a debate on "Smilies or Frownies"... thanks, Brad! ;)

However, I have the same size mattress that I keep aboard our Grady. It only sleeps two down below, and I don't have full "camper" canvas (no rear bimini). But, the cockpit is big enough that I have a 2-man tent where the double air mattress fits right in!
Click to expand...
Ah, sorry Dennis. It is the winter though!

I went with the "frowny" for 3 reasons:
  1. The shape of the window;
  2. When rolled the window was below my sight line, and perhaps most important;
  3. When raining or in heavy spray I could unzip just the top couple inches and have better vision without getting soaked. Only the starboard window had a wiper, so visibly would be pretty marginal in spray or rain.
 
Emshultz said:
Wow! Thanks for all the replies already. Our kids are 3, 7, and 14. The 290 doesn’t have a dinette that converts like many of the bigger boats do. The mid berth fits all 3 lying down... for now. But it’s not what I would call roomy! Although we do plan to weekend only occasionally (6 or so times a year), I’m already wondering if it will feel tight right away.
I do agree that only we will know what that comfort level is. But the insight here is helpful nonetheless!
We had been looking at 320s and 340s but when this 290 popped up we decided to look and just enjoyed the layout. Especially the walkthrough windshield that doesn’t seem to be available on the 320s and 340s.
As a follow up... are we the only ones that hold the walkthrough windshield in such high esteem? It seems like that easy access to the bow (especially with littles) would open up the outside of the boat so much.
Thanks again!!!!
Click to expand...

You are not the only one that has a passion for the walk through windshield. i believe SR put them on boats up to the 290 and stopped. We have friends with a Cruisers Yacht 400 Express with a walk through windshield and I so wish we had one. Here in North Ga, I will remove the camper canvas after the pollen is gone and cover the boat with a cockpit cover when we are away to keep it clean. Summertime is biminis up only....

You would do yourself a favor to look hard at a 340. Likely in the top 3 best selling boats SR ever made. Would fit you much better.

Bennett
 
Last edited:
b_arrington said:
A 290 will likely feel pretty tight with those ages. One thing that will make the boat feel bigger: a dinghy. We have a RIB and our kids (11 and 14) regularly take it out on exploring / adventure trips. My son has had his boater's license since he was 10. Having him be able to take the dinghy out with his sister has been a great way to get a little "breathing room". To keep tabs, I got a DSC enabled handheld VHF and set it to automatically send it's location when pinged. I can do a position request from the main VHF and get their position on my GPS.
Click to expand...

I could not agree with a post more than this. Buying our first dinghy was more life changing than any other boat upgrade I've ever made. There were years of high winds every weekend where I'm pretty sure I put more hours on our 3.5hp Tohatsu than the big boat.

I may not have said this yet....but this is likely the most expensive free forum on the internet. Look at all the money we're spending for the OP now! Bigger boat, dinghy, davit, DSC enabled radios...:)
 
Lazy Daze said:
Emshultz... look into the '01-'08 280DA's. They ONLY came with a dinnette, as opposed to it being an option in that era 290DA. It's a different cockpit layout, though... but they were in the Sea Ray lineup for as long as they were because they were (are) great boats and very popular. If you're looking to "get your feet wet" for a couple years, this might be a good option.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip. I will check these out!
 
b_arrington said:
Some other suggestions. Camper back canvas makes a HUGE difference in the cockpit usability. Adding camper canvas to our 270 AJ massively increased the space for overnighting and using the boat in inclement weather. With the standard fastback canvas the aft bench was unusable.

A couple pics:
View attachment 98548
View attachment 98549

View attachment 98553

View attachment 98552

Front windows with customized zips and snaps.
View attachment 98550

Our cockpit sleeping arrangement. A double size air mattress. Kids were below.
View attachment 98551
Click to expand...
I do LOVE a camper canvas. And this particular 290 comes with one. Great pictures. Thanks for the reply :)
 
Stee6043 said:
I could not agree with a post more than this. Buying our first dinghy was more life changing than any other boat upgrade I've ever made. There were years of high winds every weekend where I'm pretty sure I put more hours on our 3.5hp Tohatsu than the big boat.

I may not have said this yet....but this is likely the most expensive free forum on the internet. Look at all the money we're spending for the OP now! Bigger boat, dinghy, davit, DSC enabled radios...:)
Click to expand...
Haha
 
mdolesh said:
First-year owner of a 2006 290DA here with little kids (6 and 9). I can confidently tell you that the mid-berth will fit 3 people. I lay between them and read books...however, it's tight. 2 is perfect and they love their little "nook" but 3 might be a crowd. The sofa does NOT convert to a sleeping area and a camper canvas, which we have, is awesome but you wont be able to fit an air mattress like shown above. I think you need to look at a larger boat if you really plan to do a lot of overnights. We spent 50+ nights on the boat last season and loved every minute of it! I cant really imagine where we would put a third child though.

Matt
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply! I do think if our oldest was a few years younger we could make it work for a while. But since she’s a teen and already adult sized, I am worried that we would outgrow the boat too fast. With the exception of the one missing sleeping spot, we love the boat! It’s a 2007 so I believe it’s the same layout. It it just so smart in the use of space. Sounds like you love it as well!
 
Walk through/walk around... My 270 had a walk around, my 310 has the walk through... I would rather have the walk around. As mentioned, when raining I have to open the center and let all the wet in to anchor or raft up.
 
We had a 1990 280 Sundancer the past three seasons with three kids and one dog. Their ages are 13, 11, and 9. We are there every weekend from late April to late October. The AC wasn't strong enough for us when it was hot at night and we were stepping over each other. We bought a 1997 330 last fall and difference is amazing. I would say that the smallest should be the 320.
 
Not sure if anyone mentioned it....But it isn't just sleeping room. Keep in mind there will be baggage and extra food and drinks. I used to limit my kids to one bag but as they get older that is tough to do....Once it gets out of the backpack it seems to mulitply then get messy.
 
I got a 1995 290 DA and me and wife spend a lot of time on the hook and its comfortable for the two of us and we go out a lot for the day with 4 adults and 3 under 9 year old kids and it get a little tight but still bearable, would not even try to spend night with 5. Get a bigger boat for your sanity!
 
I started out with an older 260 Sundancer as a young, single man. Marriage & 3 children later I found we had outgrown that boat the first time I took my party of five to Fire Island for a weekend. Ultimately we ended up with a 1997 330 sundancer which was fantastic until recently. My oldest is now 17, 6'2" & 175 lbs. Middle guy is about 5' 10" but thin & my 13 year old daughter is 5'6" & ? We can manage a weekend but longer trips are really not comfortable like they used to be. This has us most likely back in the market for a larger vessel. I'd love a 480 Sedan but, do not think my wife will approve that budget. Most likely we are going with a 400 Sedan. I'd seriously consider the space, sleeping areas & stowage for all the other incidentals needed. Just try & figure out where you can even store the dirty laundry for 5 people over a long weekend. Best of luck on the hunt!
 
JimG said:
Walk through/walk around... My 270 had a walk around, my 310 has the walk through... I would rather have the walk around. As mentioned, when raining I have to open the center and let all the wet in to anchor or raft up.
Click to expand...


Agree...I had about 15 years total with the walk thru. Pain in the butt to button it back up when your finished too. Too hard to do from the inside, so I would do it on the deck then slither down the hatch to the V-berth to get back inside...Getting too old for that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,193
Messages
1,428,287
Members
61,104
Latest member
Three Amigos
Back
Top