deanstinger

Hello all, newcomer here. I'm kicking around purchasing a 29 outlaw with single HP 500 470? hp with bravo 1. I do not want twins. Dry weight is 5500. If anyone knows, will drive hold up. Looking for improved ride at LOTO over my 272. Not one for hole shots or excessive air. Thanks in advance

rumrunner29

Hello, Welcome to OSO!!

As an owner of a 29OL I really have to ask Why don't you want twins? I love my 29, but I wouldn't even think of owning one with a single engine. I would think that the drive would hold up, but you better not go wake jumping. It for sure will be the weakest link!! There are some older posts in the Baja forum about single 29's and I have heard that they ride pretty good, but they are NOT fast whatsoever. I think as long as you are happy with 55 to maybe 60MPH on a good day, you will like the single. The downside will be resale value, not many want a boat this big with a single engine. Good luck and If you have any questions about 29's feel free to PM me.
Also remember that 500s are due a top end refresh around 300-400 hours, don't know how many hours are on this one, but make sure you find out if this has been done, or will need to be done in the near future.

deanstinger

Thanks for the reply. I guess my reasoning for the single is for ease of maint. .50 the headaches I do my own work as many here probably do. When I think of all the work I've done on my singles thru the years I cant imagine the pita of dealing with twins. I currently have a 98 272 502 mag efi. nice boat and I really do still love it but I'm in LOTO twice every year and it just isn't enough hull/weight to handle that water comfortably. Also my tow vehicle is a 03 denali ---8200 towing cap. twins w 3/4 tank fuel and acc. and trailer is over the limit. The boat I'm considering has 300 hrs. Hp 500 has 17 on complete rebuild. Drive is orig. coupler is newer. One bud has already advised against this move due the limits of B1.

rumrunner29

A good friend of mine has a 2000 272 with a 502 mag and your right it is a nice ride, but you're right, his boat does not ride near as nice as mine in any water. Doing mtc on mine is not as hard as you might think, you just have to remove the rear seat back. Once you do that it is really not bad at all (took me 3 hours to change out a seapump impeller before I read on OSO how to remove the seat). Towing is another matter you will need to think about, even a single 29 will be a LOAD on your truck. I tow mine with a crew cab F-250 powerstroke and it's a pretty good load, I even pulled it this spring with the motors/drives removed and its still alot of weight. I read somewhere that my boat loaded with fuel/gear, etc weighs 8400 or so. I can assure you that the boat on the trailer weighs more than that, so even a single may be over, or very close to max weight on your truck. I pulled my boat home from the dealer with a 2003 Hummer H2 (my truck at the time), it was not a fun experience and I bought a diesel truck shortly after. If you don't have to pull it far, you might be ok, but I wouldn't want to pull it long distance. It's very hard on a small truck. Yes, the Bravo drive would be a concern for me as well, but I have been there before. My first boat was a 30 Scarab with twin 454s and Alpha drives, I trashed my fair share of them. Best advice I can give is to treat it like it's an egg and it will last. If the boat was factory with a 500HP, it's lasted this long anyway! The engine sounds like it has been taken care off, so I think it will be fine. The only real problem I can see is that you will get outrun by another 29 that had twin 330 motors in the back of it and whoever buys your 272! Remember it may be a 500HP, but it's only 470 horse. Mine has 660 (330 X 2) and runs 67 GPS.
Whatever you decide you WILL enjoy the boat!! I love mine and have just finished updating mine this week (motor rebuilds, new hatch vinyl, wetsand, buff and replaced all the hullside stickers).

articfriends

iTrader: (1)

I had a friend with a Baja 29 ft twin, that thing behind his std cab z-71 felt like it was about 15,000 lbs, (probably really 8000-9000) it would shove his truck right thru a intersection if the surge brakes didn't hit and it threw his truck around like a rag doll,(he ended up getting a one ton truck), I know the single is lighter but its not that much lighter, I think if you tow much you will need more truck, Smitty

eddie

iTrader: (7)

I had a single with a 454 Mag and it ran around 54. The ride is better than a twin 29 on LOTO. Boat bow steered a bit, but not a huge deal. You will always be the last one to the dock if you are running around with other performance boats. It towed like it wasn't even behind my F250 V10. Just make sure the trailer brakes work.

A.O. Razor

Forget the single, get a twin. The maint. on two 454's or 502's is not worse than on a blue merc. Prolly get better milage too.

JasonSmith

I'd find a different lake before I'd go buying a new boat for 2 trips a year.
I guess if I wanted to run 55 mph WOT and go through a bunch of gas doing it, a single 29 would be a good fit.

pacalim1965@yaho

If you are dead set on a single, I would find a boat with same power but a stepped hull, way faster and more efficient. 29' fountain comes to mind. Nothing worse than a slow heavy boat plowing through the water...

JasonSmith

A 29 Fountain is a 27' boat.