Jayl13

Oh and one more thing
How can you have cracks in the engine hatch cover????????/
If you know this particular boat you will know that it is a piece of ply wood wrapped in fabric and foam and has a fiberglass piece lining the underside where the screw jack mounts to open it

Budman

Jay, I would take that to mean that the vinyl has some cracks in it from getting brittle with age. Pretty common on the older Baja's.

Damn - If we didn't have another little expense that arrived 4 weeks before her due date, I might think about it. That, and the fact that it is a day's drive for me one way. I would have to buy a bigger truck to tow it with anyway.

Budman

BTW - Jay, I was wondering how tall the Baja 280's sit on the trailer. Would one fit under a 9'6" door? Just planning for the future! I am in the process of building a 30X40 pole barn to store the current Baja. Always want to plan for future expansions!

Has anyone ever thought about building an enclosed head where the sink is currently? How much headroom do these boats have in the cabin?

Jayl13

F250 diesel or F350 no question
Mine is 10 thou pounds with trailer, add fuel and gear and you are at an EASY 10 K
if you have food, tons of junk and tools and spare props and porta potti ect onboard, dude your going to need an F350 no question.
That is what I use to pull my 280 with
Jason

Jayl13

Head room is about 5 feet, that is just at sink/fridge area
further forward gets less
but even someone 6'3" can sit with out bumping their heads in the cabin.
Not bad for the 30 overall length boat that it is
I have an arch on mine (no BS comments please)
so mine sits about 10' 6" off ground
without arch I would say about just about 8 to top of windshield on normal trailer, 9'6" should be fine
But let me tell you this is by far the largest (tallest) 30 footer you will ever see
No company EVER made boats with this much freeboard on them.
they are about a little more than 2 foot of freeboard in the water sitting still
you can take a 2 ft wave on the side and be like huh no prob
where if you had a 29 fountain in same scenario, Dude your going DOWN!!!

I love my boat and honestly, for the buck you spend, you wont find a bigger 28-30 footer around
It is NOT the most flawless hull design around BUT whatever you do, DONT take the hook out of the hull or your going to porpouise all day and toss your cookies all over the helm
It is NOT the best hull for the monster waves out in the open ocean, but if you run on a lake or river or bay, your fine,
I would not try to beat out a 100 MPH outerlimits in this thing
I am putting 2 500 HP engines in mine and that is really pushing it for this hull design but im not one of these I HAVE TO GET 1 MORE MPH OUT OF IT OR IM GOING TO DIE types
im happy cruising around in it and hangin around 55 with the occasional punch to 75-80 ish
If I prop mine right I should see mid 80's but Im not sure I want to go that fast in this thing.
We will see once i get engines in and everything back together.

The boat is dated just like mine, no question.
Take it for what it is and you will be happy,
look for outerlimits, or skater attention to detail and hull design and you will be disappointed.
Example
Bilge is NOT painted
everything is bare fiberglass
dirt/oil ect just seaps into the fiberglass and scrubbing it is tough
I just painted mine while engines were out
Engine area is the smallest you will ever see.
Tight is not even the word
If you want to change belts, your better off taking back seats out to get to front of the engines.
It is what it is, dont expect the best hull design in the world and your going to be happy
and let me tell you this
she is BIG
You walk up to it your first words are going to be GOD DAMN!
She is REALLY BIG
back in the day, the 280/300 (mid 1990) and 320 ES/Sports were the boat to have. Any marina that had one floating around, that was the talk of the marina
I love mine , no question, I love the look (dont LOVE the windshield) but over all it is a mother of a boat for the money
just accept it for what it is and you will be happier than a pig in mud
Sorry dont mean to cut up the boat but dont have expectations of winning an APBA race with it cause your not going to.
But for a river/bay boat with the family your not going to beat it with any boat out there in same size and engine HP
Good luck
Jason