Ahhh...Congratulations if you buy it. We were new boaters at this size and 18 months ago bought a 1984 270 with twin 350s and have been fixing it up ever since. This boat in my opinion has great bones. I could give lots of ideas but I am not sure were I would start. Take a look at my photobucket link to start then I would be happy to answer any questions. This vintage of 270 has a wider beam which makes the boat function larger than some of the new ones. The engine set up with regard to power etc I am not qualified to comment on. But, I can say this I wish every day I had room to work on my engines....the twins in this boat are a **********(although I love them when we are going someplace). It strikes me that if you are handy and the hull is sound it would be hard to go wrong at that price. How is bimini? Consider a survey. Good Luck if you have specific questions let me know. I should update my picture book but you will get the idea.

 

Sounds like a twin to my boat, that's exactly what I have. She is a great boat and there is just enough room to work on the motor. As far as issues goes, I've had mine for 2 years and done regular maintenance. Do a compression test on the motor and check the condition of the transmission...they are hard to come by where I am. I spoke with my mechanic today as I'm doing lots of work on mine right now and he said these motors are bullet proof and they don't fail often. She handles rough weather well and can get me home quickly when needed. If you buy it have fun and I'd love to see a pic. Geoff

 

Just out of curiousity, if it started right up and the marina owner said, why does it need new batteries?

 

That's an easy one! He used batteries he has at the marina!

 

Any common issues with this boat that I should be looking for?

Sounds nice. I would check for water/wood rot issues from top-side leaks that may not have been fixed over the years.
Scanning the hull with a moisture meter would be a good idea and look for soft spots in the cabin structure and flooring.
Tapping areas lightly with a hard object gives away soft spots too with the sound.
The way they were built creates alot of areas for potential damage over time.

Here is a link to a thread we have been sharing info on: http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/52504-Official-(1982-1988)-270DA-Thread

 

So I drove 2 1/2 hrs today to go look at this boat. As I approached it, it looked decent. That all I can say good about it. All the canvas needs replaced. It really needs a complete restoration! Aft cabin had about 1 inch of water on the floor. I could tell that the windows were leaking in the cabin. The cabin interior needed to be completely redone. All the cockpit cushions needed redone. I asked the marina if they would pay me to take it! I'll keep looking!

 

You did learn the hard lesson of never taking the advice of someone else to describe the boat they are selling. They will over sell it and make it sound like the steal of the century with just a couple minutes of tlc.

It's a shame it was not what you expected.

Always try to get pics of the boat before wasting the gas. If the seller comes up with a BS answer indicating he can't take/send pics it's normally cause the boat looks like hell.

Good luck!