Hi , Welcome to the site. I have the 2004 with twins. I bought it for that reason. I didnt want to deal with the Bravo 3 corrosion issues #1. There is a ton of info on here about this exact debate, performance and maintenance costs. I have no experience with the 496 so I cant really comment. I have replaiced one IAC so far, I did it myself and it cost a hundred bucks. I love mine, but have been getting the 2 foot itis lately. I guess it boils down to personal preferance.

 

This is what I know:
Top end speed is less with twins (I had about 43 MPH with the Bravo3, and probably around 39-40MPH with twin 4.3's). Handling - the twins are a little more stable at idling speed - the single screw tends to "hunt" left & right - causing you to need to correct by turning the steering wheel in the opposite direction. Kind of a pain if you are doing a lot of idling i.e. through channels or inner waterways. However - I found docking to be an absolute dream with the Bravo3. I've never docked a boat with more ease than the Bravo3 with the digital throttle. The counter-rotating props really bite into the water.
Pros of twins - one engine goes down, you have another to get back to port
Cons of twins - twice the maintenance on 2 engines/drives

I had a 2004 Sea Ray Sundancer with Bravo3 and Smartcraft gauges; this is how I know the above - and I'm guessing at top speed on the twins. I was faced with the same question you are now considering. I originally wanted twins but was talked out of it because of the increased maintenance cost, the fact that I would mostly be boating fairly close to port, and the lower top-end speed of the twins. I was glad I got the single Bravo3 because of the extreme ease of docking without two throttles to deal with. With the MPI the engine never died or gave me trouble starting.

Hope this helps.

 

once you do twins....well...thats a whole different conversation. :lol:

the handling difference will make it worth the extra mainainence IMO

 

Only "advantage" to a single engine IMHO is cost...Lower up-front, easier/less maintenance, less fuel usage

From an operational standpoint, twins will win hands down.

 

The ONE and ONLY reason I do not/ will not have a single with Bravo 3 is the Bahamas. If crossing the stream was not in my boating plans I would almost always choose a single. Of course, for you crossing Lake Michigan isn't a no-brainer if that is something that you want to do and if so, that must be a part of your decision.

 

10' 6" beam is fine for twins....9' beam is not. Love our single....room to work!

 

There is nothing easy below deck period in my 280. It will cut you.

 

Look up the official 280DA thread. Over 3,500 posts and 5 years of more info you'll ever need about this wonderful boat. (Can you tell I'm biased?).
I hope you find a nice 280 soon!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

My 280ss was 9'6" wide with twin 350s. I'm a big guy and I could get in there fine.

It just depends on how determined you are to save a few $$ on maintenance costs.

 

I searched high and low for a single 496 280, and it was especially hard considering the majority of 280s were sold with twins. For me, the single screw was a no-brainer. I boat on a lake and at only 11 miles long it's not a very large one. I do all the maintenance myself, so the extra room in the engine compartment is a real plus. The 496 is plenty of power and gets on plane in a reasonable amount of time, even with a large load on the boat. As a matter of fact it planes faster than my prior boat, a 220DA, which was half the weight. And I agree with a previous post, docking is not all that difficult with the Bravo III. As mentioned it really "bites" and maneuvering as not as tough as I initially thought it would be. For now, the bow thruster is on hold.

 

Hi all, not sure why I am not getting email updates on the thread. Decided to check on the post and was pleasantly surprised to see many posts. After reading all, I am probably leaning toward single engine, but if I come across twins and the boat is clean, I would not hesitate to jump on it .

 

I wish they would offer a HP 502 in the 280 or 290 I would seriously consider it over twins.

 

I highly recommend twins. I have the 4.3's. love the maneuverability and reliability, since i have come in on 1 engine twice in 5 years. Only time i wish i had more power was with a dirty bottom and 8 pob, other than that, it is fine. Although a little tight in the bilge, at least i can actually get in there, not like a 300 I just looked at tonight.

 

I've come out of my bilge bleeding many times, wish there was more room. I see the OP is in the Chicago area. If the boat is going out very far on Lake MI I recommend the twin 5.0 for some of the reasons already stated. In addition to those, the V8 twins w/bravo3 will give you the better power/control to handle the rougher seas you could run into.

Just this last Sunday I got a reminder of that. Wind and waves kicked up, forced me off plane for about 20 miles. Quartering waves would sometimes swing my boat 30 degrees, had a difficult time staying on course, at one point had to take a pee and put my wife at the helm. She could not stay on course and in 30 seconds she was swung around heading the opposite directions. The single engine version of 280DA would have been much worse in that scenario...something to think about.

 

......

Just this last Sunday I got a reminder of that. Wind and waves kicked up, forced me off plane for about 20 miles. Quartering waves would sometimes swing my boat 30 degrees, had a difficult time staying on course, at one point had to take a pee and put my wife at the helm. She could not stay on course and in 30 seconds she was swung around heading the opposite directions. The single engine version of 280DA would have been much worse in that scenario...something to think about.

How does that follow? We've been in five foot plus seas several times. It's not fun, but we've been able to maintain course.

Henry


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

Wind speed and vessel speed are big players here, not wave height as much. As 280 owners, I think we can all admit that this boat is not the one to be on in rough conditions. The tall bow acts like a sail and can make for an unstable ride in a cross wind, the slower you go the more the direction of travel is effected. How could 2 legs not be more stable than 1?























H

 

Wind speed and vessel speed are big players here, not wave height as much. As 280 owners, I think we can all admit that this boat is not the one to be on in rough conditions. The tall bow acts like a sail and can make for an unstable ride in a cross wind, the slower you go the more the direction of travel is effected. How could 2 legs not be more stable than 1?

H

Understood. The point I was making is that a single engine boat in rough seas is not inherently unsafe, or uncontrollable. Here in New England, most lobster boats and small commercial fishing boats are single engines, yet they go out in all kinds of weather.

Whether there is one, or two, legs is somewhat irrelevant. As long as the power train is putting out enough to make controllable forward motion, it is enough. Maintaining course under adverse conditions resides with the person at the helm. Going around in circles is the result of the driver being controlled by the helm, rather than the driver controlling the helm. The first case is very common with inexperienced sailboat helmsmen who when sailing up wind will veer off in the direction of the wind rather than hold the nose into the wind.

Henry

 

Henry I agree with you. I've had my boat (4.3l twins) out in some pretty snotty weather including 40+mph winds. It wasn't fun but the twins helped out a lot. Also, someone mentioned top speeds in the low 40's. with twins. What are they pulling behind their boat, a concrete block? I've hit 49.9mph SOG on the GPS with very little weight but can hit 46+ with it loaded. Since Lake Michigan can and does get pretty nasty at times I would opt for the twins.

 

There have been a few times that I’ve felt the single engine version would have been lacking. One like I already described and sometimes when the waves are just right that you can stay on plane but you’re always cutting real hard when entering the next wave. This isn’t situation where you’re pounding or riding up and down well spaced waves. The whole bow height is cutting water, every wave pulls the boat speed down and you can hear the engines grunt/groan to recover.

I’ve been in the heavier seas often enough and Sundays experience is not the norm but it does occasionally happen. Too make my situation more stressful was a fuel concern. The run was 120mi…90 of it across the west end of the lake. I was supposed to be running with SE winds and 2’or less which would have been ideal. Things changed over nite and we bucked N-NE wind/waves the whole time. If I go by the instant mpg readout it showed fuel usage tripled when I was forced off plane, I’m not sure if I believe that but maybe. I was going 10-13mph in order to keep reasonably on track and tolerable ride. Faster was too rough, slower and we were thrown around by the wind/waves, the return trip was 6mi longer. Once my little Garmin GPS was launched off the dash(not on plane) into the air over my left shoulder and my wife did a fantastic snatch. Her 40+ yrs of softball paid off.:smt038 I considered turning around but the distance to safe harbor was a couple miles farther away, 24mi, so I decided to trudge ahead to the north entry of the Keweenaw Waterway, once in it would only be an inconvenience to run out of fuel. These waves were not huge…5-6 footers with some larger sprinkled in. I think the main factor was the tight and steep wave face combo that we sometimes encounter on the lake. My description is probably lacking but those waves get real ‘hard’.

Yes my wife got rattled and lost it, she was hollering for me to ’get up here’. I question comparing the capabilities of single engine commercial fishing vessels to our SR’s…apples to oranges I think. I’m by no means saying that a single engine 280DA in rough seas is inherently unsafe, or uncontrollable. Exactly how much better the boat performed having two B3 drives hanging off the stern vs. one I don’t know…but I feel there is no doubt that it adds something worth having…sometimes. Depending on how/where the OP boats it might not make a difference, it wouldn’t for me either 98% of the time. I’ve shared my experience, given my HO. It can all be ignored and written off as poor helmsmanship if one wants, after all this is the internet full of free advice and opinions and we all know what they’re worth.

 

I've been in the type of water/waves Woody described and although not the best of rides I knew that I was safe unless I lost power. With twins that means something bad has to happen to lose both. I wouldn't feel safe in rough seas with a single.

 

@bucit, that must be a big diif with bravos, because about 33mph is my tops.

 

Twins for sure. Also the IAC is an easy fix. Just carry a spare. They even have them at NAPA for half the price of a marine store.