Priobe

I have been giving some thought to upgrading from my current 252 to a 303. I understand the maintenance will be more as far as the motors and drives but I am capable of doing the servicing myself.
I wanted to know from those of you that have upgraded from a 252 to another model (Formula) what was your experience. I do and don't like the idea of the twins, so I am kinda on the fence with that. Also, not sure how things would be trailering a larger boat. What style truck is needed to trailer this boat or will a F-150 (5.4) handle it with out a issue.

I have not seen the 303, but have heard the cockpit size is about the same so I am guessing all your room is in the cabin. So I am asking myself is it work the upgrade?

Then, if the 303 is not for me, is there anything to gain by going 27 or 29 from a 252?

Thanks for any feedback you can provide.

twin242ls

Just upgraded from a 242 sr1 to a 292 fastech. Basically exactly what you are talking about. Love it . More room everywhere better performance and ride. Absolutely no regrets.

looseconnection

Not to derail but how bout some pics

RT930turbo

You can't go wrong with a 303. I truly enjoyed mine, and as twin242 said, you will notice the difference all over. Don't let twins scare you off, it's not as bad as you might expect. The 303 is no lightweight, but I did tow mine with a 1/2 ton a few times, and it handled it well. I did have electric brakes, and with a 1/2 ton, that's a must, IMHO.

If you are boating offshore the twins help the ride tremendously, and if you make a trip out to the Bahamas, that extra engine is nice piece of mind. We took our 303 from Naples to Key West some years back, it's a very capable boat.

tpenfield

Not exactly the same scenario as you are looking at, but I upgraded from a 242SS to a 330SS. (single to twins)

A bigger boat does better traversing the chop/waves and the twins make a world of difference in terms of planing and overall control.

The only drawback that I see with the bigger boats in the FasTech/SR1 lines is that the cockpit is not really any bigger until you get to the 380 series. So, most of the space increase is in the cabin and the sunpad. That is why I went with the Sun Sport to get the cockpit space.

redwhite

I have not upgraded form a 252 to my current 303 so I can't make a real comment on space. Athough, I would assume the cabin has to be larger even if the cockpit is very close. I can tell you that I tow my 303 with a 2008 Dodge 1/2 ton with a Hemi. It's decent for around down and the occassional highway trip across town. If you plan to tow for long distances I would suggest a 3/4 or more for easy, worry free, towing.

Priobe

Thanks guys for all the feedback. Most of the trailering I will be doing is local driving, so it sounds like this should not be a problem for me.

RT930turbo- thanks for mentioning "Not letting the twins scare you off" they do look like it might be a little overwelming only because some people mentioned having twins is 3-times the maintainance instead of 2 times. Not sure what they mean by this ?

Also, my 252 has a Bravo 3 drive and a comment was made that the 303 (or twins) will have a bravo 1 or something other than a bravo 3. They stated the bravo 3 was a way better drive. Is this true? By all means, they were not steering me away from the 303 just commenting my 252 is very clean and why get rid of it.

RT930turbo

Sounds like a comment by people who don't have twins

As for the Bravo 3 vs 1 they are essentially the same drive, except the bravo 1 is only a single prop, and offers better performance over about 50MPH.

The SS models almost always have a bravo 3, where as the sr1 boats will have bravo 1's.

I'm oversimplifying, but I wouldn't argue a bravo 3 is better or worse than a 1, just a different application.

88242LS

Well I went from a 242 to a 271 to a 303, we definitely should have skipped the 271, but funds and economy at the time, the 303 is awesome, plenty o room, comes on plane with no issues, easy to maneuver, and trailer, even with my half ton, a bit heavy but not overwhelming, engine compartment isnt horrible, but not great either, my 271 had a carbed 502, 303 has twin 502 EFI's, fuel is about 1.5 times more, unless its a poker run, but u can cruise around 2400 rpm's on plane, and my average cruise speeds are way up, the fridge is sweet too,

88VILLAINiii

I have Rt's old 303 and love it. The 303 in my opinion is the best balance of size and performance. I have talked with formula and the stated that in that model line the 303 had the best performance over all. They made limited Blackhawk additions which was a 303 and was the only hull that responded to them well. You won't regret getting one.