questions about a 1990 320
 

What are the pros and cons?

Is the floor wood or fiberglass?
I have read that some Bajas have some handeling issues,Is this one of those?
what speeds will it see with 454's
Whats the weight of the boat
What do i need to look for Transom ect.
Do the hatches leak
feel free to add to the list if i missed anything

I boat in galveston bay and it can get rough at sometimes 3's to 5's white caps(bay is shallow)

We would like to overnight on the boat and do some PR's but mostly just sunday boating.

What does the 320 offer that the 29OL does not and vise versa

The boat that i am considering but have not looked at yet shows very good and clean in the pics and can be had for cheap.
thanks for the help.

Is it the red one in NH? I have seen it around on the net, I think it would be a good boat for what you want, I have a 86 320 so it is different but as far as hull goes, get a survey, all the older Bajas had issues rotting, actually any older boat does, my transom was rotted, i knew it but still have a survey.

I would assume around 8000lbs dry, not sure on that.

is it 330hp boat? if so prob around 62-64 mph, if it is 420's maybe 68 ish.

If it is a 320es I had one. It was heavy and deep with a really nice cabin. They have full liners, no wood. I never liked the way the boat handled. It seemed like the pad wasn't big enough to support the high center of gravity and it would ride up onto the pad and fall off. Mine was fast for the weight/horsepower but it didn't ride that well for a 30+' boat. The engine access sucks unless you remove the rear seat.

Thanks guys I'm not sure if its an es or what. It is all red with an intergrated swim platform.

I had a friend who had several of them. One with 454 Mags,365hp. It was a high 60's boat. One with 502 Mags, 390hp. It was a low 70 mph boat. The last had HP465's in it. It ran close to 80.
I always liked the style of the boat, but wouldn't want one today now that I have the 29. Not that there is anything wrong with them, I just like my 29 better.

I agree Jason. The 320 is much more roomy but the 29 ol is a better riding more stable boat.

I just bought the boat in my profile pic. 1993 320es 330's w/5psi prochargers estimated 460 hp each. Math says 72 mph? Who knows I've never had it in the water. Sombody explain what falling off he pad feels like. My previous boat was a formula 272 no pad. Am I going to be dissapointed with the ride.

72 would be pretty much right with that HP, I have a 86 320, if the hull bottom is the smae design it should run good, I have a friend with a 32 Outlaw using the same hull as mine I am pretty sure he runs 82 ish, he said it rides great.

I totally agree.

A friend of mine had a 93' with 502MPI's, it didn't
have external steering, which it should have.

When he got it , it had inside rotating props.

The first time I drove it WOT, I noticed it was a bit squirrely,
and as I throttled back and trimmed in, it "fell off the pad"
and rolled on to it's port side running surface......not
a good feeling when you're going 70:eek:


We switched prop rotation to outside, and it was
a much better behaved boat.

I liked the looks of the boat, and the Mcleod bolsters.


The 32 Magnum/ Caliber/ Outlaw is a much better
handling boat.

thanks for the advice mine are turning in now I think I'll swap them before I get it wet.

Definately turn them out. I tried mine turning in and it was horrible! Porpoised with any amount of trim and was all over the place at speed.

I know this is a old post, but i currently have a 1990 Baja 320es with the 454's in them. How do you know how your props are running in or out? This boat does not like the rough water at all. I just bring my drives out a tinsy tad bit and put my tabs all the way down for the nose to ride in the water to cut the waves...BAd idea???? If i trim the boat out running around 3200 rpm's it just wants to bouce out of the water, even without bringin the drives out at all.....

Sounds like they are spinning in, the 320ES and 320 Force like mine are 2 different animals in ruff stuff, I almost never need the tabs at all, I use the drives to trim boat that a friend tought me to do, handles great but you need to learn the sweet spot at speeds for the hull, Any 32ft boat should do at least "OK" in ruff stuff, usually all in the driving of the boat, running too much tab and burying the n ose is not going to be a good ride either, you will be slamming the bow into the next wave, where do you boat at? I am on Lake Erie, one of the worst lakes for rough water, our waves are 4 ft high and 4 feet apart, kinda like square waves! makes for a rough ride in certain conditions..

If your RH prop is on the left drive you are spinning in.

Inside rotation: starboard prop prop turns CCW,
port turn CW

Outside, reverse of that.

I boat at LOTO (lake of the ozarks)

How do you tell which prop is RH?

Thanks for the tips....I will try playin with the trim a little more and leave my tabs up....

The RH prop is the one that turns clockwise.

At LOTO, tabs ( set properly) are your friend

Tabs are definently your frined on e Erie but you are more efficient if you can get the boat to ride right with drives..less drag...

If I remember correctly the serial #'s on the props are even # is right, odd is left. Or imagine it like a fan blades pushing air clockwise is right counter clockwise is left