290 MotorYacht owners
 

Anyone here have one of these?

I had one for 2 years but sold it a few years ago. What can I tell you about it? I had one loaded with 350 mags, gen, etc. With painted bottom and typical load ran about 47 but 3500 rpm was 36 mph cruise with 4 blade 17's. Had to go to 4 blade 17's to get it's heavy azzz out of the water (the gen adds alot of transom weight).

Mine has the 350/Alpha's combo, but 3 bladed props. Don't know pitch. Haven't gotten a top speed yet. With more than 4 people it takes a while to get on plane. With 9 adults, it was pointed to the sky for a long time. Tabs and drives were tucked. Mine seems to porpoise quite abit too that I can't get rid of unless I bury the tabs.

A gen. would have been nice, but no such luck.
Mines a 95' and pulls water from the lake for the head. What yr was yours? I noticed the pre 95's don't have the walk thru W/S. Also, ice maker or fridge in the cockpit? I have a storage where the icemaker/fridge would go and don't see how those would fit unless the inside of the storage was cut out on the right side. Thinking of installing a fridge there this winter.

Thanks

Post some pics inside and out. That boat was long before I worked there, but I always liked them. XT-Innovator might know a few fun facts about them.

Yup I had 3 blade 19's Mirage's and on plane flat dragged like yours. As a quick fix I put Stingray brand fins on the drives and on plane in an instant. Just still too much pitch as top rpm was low and accel was slow. The best $50 each ever spent -i never thought I'd succumb to them but man I am a believer now. Just sucked getting on swim ladder because the banged you in the shin.
Then went to 4 blade 17's and no need for fins no more and motors wound up right. Mid range stayed and top end actually improved. Foks will tell you 50mph but that's no load & no bottom paint. You mine porpused too some. It came props spin in and I did alot of reasearch found many others did too. I switched to spin out for dock manuverability and honestly no real performance difference otherwise (had to switch drives with alpha's). Felt like had more bow lift out than in, and maybe some porpose went away but not much diff -no where near what I've felt in other true performacne boats swapping.
I had the ice maker and never used it -also planned frige swap but never got to it. Had a 91 -burgendy accents. I'd post a photo but don't have the membership. My head got water from tank-lucky me. Had the macerator had to disconnect. Also all drains went to waste tank -corrected that too by adding new external drains. Changed all cabin carpet too -took an afternoon but worth it. Got rid of all crazy colors in cabin (drapes, panels, etc). Loved the boat for what it was. But yup 29ft I think includes the pulpit so running surface is really about 25-26 ft. In the ruff (here on Lake Michigan) it felt short still.

hello all i have just recently purchased a 290 motor yacht. It was a bank repo i got her for a steal she need some cleaning and love. I will post some pics of what she looked like when i picked her up.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/2790501...945269/detail/

i would love to see some pics of the ones you guys own or owned. email me at [email protected]

i have alot of questions

1. where did the generator go ?( between the batteries?)

2. does anyone have a owners manual they could scan and
email me or sell me?

3. in the floor of the engine room there is a valve with a hose is this to wash the engine room down? or what?

4. i need both out drives are they suppose to be alpha 1 gen2's?

5. does the a/c unit take in water or use freon?

6. are the engines raw or closed cooling system?

here is the link to my thread at i boat forums
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=341997


thanks for any help and look forward to hearing from you guys

I'm looking at a 92' 290 yacht and I really like it. I'm not too thrilled with the porpoise stories you guys are telling though. This sounds like a concern. If the hull is right, you shouldn't be doing that in a calm sea. It just burns fuel and is annoying.
Is this a real problem with these?? Thanks.
Craig

Looks like you got you work cut out for you. :)
Don't have any pics of mine yet.

I have all the original manuals with mine, along with every peice of paper, manual on all the accessories. Didn't realize there were actually owners manuals for boats themselves.

I'd say between the batteries on the ledge is the only place a gen would fit.

The 'valve' with the hose in the engine compartment could be your A/C's inlet. That should be a thru hull fitting with a valve on top, then a short peice of hose going to a sea strainer, then onto the A/C's water pump.
Or it might be the water supply for your toilet. Depends on which one you are talking about. The one in the center is for your AC

it has a short piece of hose with a clamp on it but i cant see where it goes to. i will get some more pics and post them up. and if i could get copies of you manuals I would be greatly appriciated. and i would pay you if you want.

Guys,
Don't get hung up on porpose. It runs great and either slight trim in or slight tab flattens it out. With my 18p 4 blades had great acceleration and cruised at 35 all day long. Towed tubes even witn 8 people on board. Decent riding boat that can entertain awesome with the various rear seat configurations. And chagne the rear icemaker to a fridge and with the gen youve got it all for cheap.

Also I sent Jason a few photo's. A sea strainer with a pump hooked up would be the a/c. A plain sea strainer will be for the gen. Can't use either when on plane -idle only so can get suction. To prime either one, fill the sea strainer first, then close then run it.

Json -probalby Gen II's depending upon the year. Make sure you get counter rotating drives though, 1 right and 1 left. They don't flop easy like bravo's.
Engiens are standard raw water, but an aftermarket closed cooling could have been added. If no round horizontal tube front of engine (like photo's I sent) then are fresh water.
I suspect the gen was stolen if there is hose there, look for elect wire cut, fuel hose cut (that goes to fuel suction for 1 engine), or wirec connected to 120v power switch on panel for either gen or shore. IF no evidence found, then never had a gen and it's the a/c with the pump missing.

there is a pos and neg wire next to the port side battiery but it is no big enough gauge to support a generator.

Possibly was for a 3rd battery?

no i dont think so maybe an acc of some sort.


ohh i forgot on the back there is a conection for a hose what does it fill?
also on each side there is fill for fuel and a 2nd fill i know the one on the port side is for the water tank but what is the other one on the starbrd side. mine are to faded to read.


:bigbird::evilb::bigbird:

Well almost but glad you asked first. The Stbd side is the Waste tank evac fitting (that's not the fuel one). The wast tank sits behind the big side pocket panel above ther aft cabin stbd seat. I changed mine and it was an afternoon job to get apart and back together. Gotta dig in the carpet to find all the screws.
You should add a waste tank vent carbon filter -they were not standard.
And check that you don't have a macerator with overboard discharge. This is illegal for inland lakes and CG will ticket you for it being there even if it does not work. Had to remvoe mine completely.

Hose connection is for city water hookup. By using that, you aren't using the water in your fresh water tank.

Put your nose to that undetermined fill. You'll figure that one out real quick. :)
BTW, make sure you know what each of those 4 fill are for. You don't want to get them confused.

cool ill check that out

You said it didn't do well in Lake Michigan. I'm in CA delta now and it'll be fine there, but I'll be taking it back to Lake Ontario in a few years. What should I expect in a heavy chop?
The prop change got her ass out and solved the porpoise problem? The one I'm looking at has a gen...Is this boat a slob or what?? I really like the layout and would like this to work for us. I've never been a Baja guy so no experience here. Appreciate your input...
Craig

Is there an floor access panel that's under the carpet in the main part of the cabin?


The beast:

There is no access without tearing up the carpet. Just had mine surveyed today, and that's what surveyor told me. He said if we replace carpet, to put in snaps for access. Don't know why Baja wouldn't have thought of that....

So there is an access panel under the carpeting? Do you know what is under it?

I would have been surprised if there wasn't, but the fastened down carpeting kinda made me think there wasn't. I can feel what feels like a joint under the carpet. Just figured it was either a panel covered up or a joint in the flooring.
Thanks

The surveryor told me he thought there was an access panel. He was tapping around in there with a little hammer and thought he could feel/hear it through the carpet. He said the macerator pump was in there....
What size props do you have? I have 3 blade 19's and I'm thinking about 4 blade 18's like Paul said in a previous post.
Thanks
Craig

I know the area your suryeror is thinking. Mine has an edge that feels like a panel not sitting flush. But I can tap on the floor everywhere and it all sounds the same, a slight rattleing. My carpet is glued down, so not wanting to peel it back just yet. My boat doesn't have a mac. pump, just striaght into the holding tank. Also just pulls water from the freshwater, so not a thru hull there for supply. Guess I'll check into it this winter just for curiosity.

No idea on props other than 3 bladers. That's an area that I'm going to looking into also. The time to plane is a lot more than I feel it should. Maybe needs alot of weight stuffed under the front bed to keep the nose down. A buddy has a 32 Regal with 350's, but B3. His boat never points up and runs flat as can be, plus faster. But his has a 50 gal freshwater tank in the nose along with 200' of anchor chain. Sure that's the ticket!.

I changed my carpet, and I don't remember any access panel. It was plywood but with fiberglass skinned on top, so had a ruff surface, and the plywood joints were not smooth. The Macerator, if it has one, is in front of the waste tank, and would spit out on th stbd side. In the aft cabin, above the stbd bench in the storage cavity, the main back panel comes out (screwed in, gotta dig in the carpt along edges to find the screws), then remove the ends, then remove the bottom and you can get in there. In fact I changed my whole waste tank and it took an afternoon to do. I don't think there's anything under the floor. I found everyting I ever needed along the sides

Thanks Paul. Yeah, I have had my SB side storage compartment out to install a holding tank vent line odor filter. All is pretty accessible from there for the holding tank system. That must be a joint that I'm feeling then in the floor that might be coming apart. Wife want's new carpet, so I'll redo that floor joint then.
Were your 4 bladed props AL? Don't know if they make that. A dealer told me SS props create a corrosion situation with teh AL drive housing for boats that stay in water full time. So thinking I might need to be looking for AL props.

Thanks for your info!

If you pull your carpet, let me know what you find under there. According to Paul there's nothing, so maybe ours are the same. My carpet is in great shape and really don't want to tear it out.
When we surveyed her, the lower units were corroded beyond repair. Surveyor said the stainless props added to the problem, and that alum would be better since the boat is in the water year around here in CA. I have 3 blade 19 stainless on there now, and if I tab it down she planes fairly quickly even though I have a genny as well mounted in front of the 350 mags. 3400 was around 34 mph and she topped at 49 trimmed out. Cool boat.....

I bought some "no name" SS props from ebay. They were ony like $240 each new (and they had a bit of rust on them already too). But I am in fresh water here, has SS props on for 2 years and no extra corrosion problems.
I've never heard that SS props cause the drive to corrode more, not around here in fresh water. That's interesting because your prop shafts are SS in the drives. They wee 17P and will give you great hole shot for a big boat, and maintain that midrange. in fact 3400 for me was like 36-37.
And see just a little tab and she runs good. The slight porpose can be handled when you know the tricks.
Tip -If you have the old factory batt charger -double check the ground wire connection is clear of the hot ones. Mince was not warapped around the post tight, it moved somehow, and at the dock started the red lead to far battery on fire with a short! Talk about a scarry situation -when wiring starts buring up and you can't even see exactly where or why.

For the corrosion protection, ask around to see if shore power galvanic isolators help. Most newer boats have them. Do some reasearch as to what they do. Can be $400 to $600 but might save a pair of drives later. And make sure the MerCathode system is working to (presuming it has it). And of course make sure you hvae the correct anodes. Salt water uses different material ones than fresh water.

Thanks Paul for the reply. I'm freshwater also, Indiana. Mine has the galvanic isolator located inside the rear seat storage compartment. Yeah, I've thought about the propshaft, studs and other SS parts in comparison to the SS props. Just stating what a marina mechanic said.

thanks for the tips, Paul. I'm going to haul the boat in a couple of months and put those new lower units on and see what I can do about corrosion.
Scary situation with that battery wire.....thanks for the heads up.

Been working every spare minute on this boat for last 3 months. A little what I've been up to:

Just got around to eyeballing the props. Mine are 19" pitch. May try to drop down to the 17". Both drives shot from corrosion. I can see a lot of exposed threads on the prop shaft carrier housing, so only time before the prop falls out. Also one housing has a small crack at those threads. One of the housing is split right behind the prop on the trailing edge. I guess 15 yrs in water has taken it's toll on these drives. Nothing $$ can't replace, right?

Replaced the manual pump head to the new Jabsco electric quiet flush. No more pumping, just push the button. :) In that process, I removed the holding tank and flipped it around. For some reason, Baja felt it best to install it with the lower connection for the dock side pump out hose to be located to the front of the tank, which is on the high side since the boat sits nose high. The 'waste' line shows a good 2-3" difference of level from front to rear. No wonder I had trouble getting a good clean when pumping it out, it could never get it all out! At least that has been corrected now by turning around. Plus puts the inlet connect right next to the bathroom wall for a very short discharge hose. Honestly don't know what they were thinking here. Also removed the vented loop since it isn't needed here. That should eliminate the foul odor that was always present in the cabin. A vent from the holding tank in the cabin area? yuk! All new hoses for a fresh clean slate.

Also just finished up replacing the transom. This wasn't expected, just showed up when I removed the transom assemblies for rebuild. Pulled out 1 transom unit, water started trickling out the wood. All the holes that Baja drilled thru for draining were never sealed, so exposed wood. The 2 large middle stringers in the bilge are notched at the lower corners at the transom for bilge draining. Again, not a single ounce of sealing. Exposed stringer wood. Just a 1/2 gal of water in the bilge is enough to reach those exposed stringers. No comment on the 'quality' glass work I found behind the transom panel which led to 99% of my transom rot issues. At least now it is 20x stronger and 100% sealed. It can go to the bottom of the lake, but with a dry transom. Needing warm temps to repaint the bilge with a fresh coat of Bilgekote. Gotta look good with the new transom.

Added an AC outlet in storage compartment where the optional refridge would go in the cockpit for dockside use. No more running an extension cord from the cabin. This will be handy.

Made a clear cover for the A/C condensation sump pan last night. No idea why Baja didn't use a standard shower sump there, but at least now no more worries of water sloshing around and over the pans edge. Plus no more stagnant water smell if it hasn't reached a level to be pumped overboard. Why does the AC unit take the whole huge storage area under the kitchen sink? I installed an AC in my Fountain in an area 3x smaller. The storage space would be nice there. Oh well, gotta stay comfy.

Bottom has been stripped of the antifoul coat for a looky see. Barrier coat looks good. Transom had over 100 blister repair spots. At least the repairs looked good and no signs of more. Will roll on a new barrier coat and antifouling this spring before launch.

Found the holes drilled for the anchor rope drain, the hole on top where the rope goes thru the top side, and every else were not sealed either. Yep wet coring. Had to dig out as much as possible with long rods with bent ends to scoop it out, and use a shop vac with a small hose to get in between the inner and outer glass to suck the water out. Been running a dehumidifier and keeping a heater running non stop since hauled home to dry it out as much as possible. Want to install a windlass, but mounting it to a rotten base, I could see the 1st time the anchor got a good set, the whole thing would just rip right out and into the drink. Going to cut out the rotten wood backer block in the anchor rope locker and glass in a new one, and seal that one too!

Replaced all the plastic thru hulls with SS ones. I like bling.

Can't wait for spring. That means I'll be done with all my projects and can be enjoying my new boat for what it was bought for. ----> :ernaehrung004:

I have a 93. I thought I'd share my experience. Fully loaded with gen, ac and without dinghy and upto 4 people it comes out of the hole easy no matter where the tabs are. Once the dinghy and dinghy engine go on the swim platfrom I have to tuck the tabs. I am running with 2 SS 3 blade. I am not sure of the pitch. I have topped it at 42mph and was too scared to push more, I dont rememeber what RPM I reached but I rememebr that is what scared me, maybe 4200. I love the way the boat handles. I usually cruise at around 28 at around 3200 rpm.

Now here is the interetsting thing with the weight. When I first bought it I had to lift it with a crane. The crane operator said it topped at 11000 and that was without a genny and the gas tanks were a 1/3 full which is intertesting by itself since these boat are supposed to be 9000 dry. Water locked?? I dont know. I cant say i have seen signs of that anywhere.

Since then I have added the genny, a portable freezer at around 150 pounds when full and since I love my comfort and i want everything with me, imagine the worst pack rat you know, I would probably be double that. I am still happy with its performance. It could be the prop pitch that makes the difference or the fact that the engines have only 200 hours on them since new so they are not tired.

Since I have bought it I have put a thru hull to pump the grey water out the side instead of into the sewage tank. My toilet draws water from the fresh water tank which I hate, I plan to fix that hopfully next year. I am planning to make a hole at the bottom of the washroom closet to get to the hull to put the thru hull there for the toilet. Has anyone drilled uner there to see if there is room for a thru hull?

I had leaks galore when I first bought it. All fittings were letting in water, a lot of water, I opened all the cleats that I could get to, no sealant on any of them. It sounds like it is a common problem with these things, maybe Baja has a problem with using silicone. I also removed the side strip, it was leaking too, I cleaned it, resealed it. I opened the horn and resealed it as it was pouring in through there. This past seasons, my cabin stayed dry despite a misreable rainy summer.

My front winshield also leaks, I removed the windshield, put in a new seal between the windo frame and the fiberglass, no go. I think it is leaking from between the glass and the rubber seals so I used a crack filler, it is better but still leaks.

I do have a problem that I am not sure how to fix, the drain in the washreoom floor seems to be partially blocked. I have no idea how its hose is routed and, without ripping half the boat apart I have no idea how to get to this hose which runs to the sump pump in the aft cabin. I would really apprecaite it if you happen to figure this out as you are doing the work on your boat.

I think you are going to enjoy this boat. I love mine. The layout inside is very nice as you have seen. For the age of these boats they look very current even in todays standards, the dash, the seating and all around. I think these boats were ahead of their time in the early 90s.


Andre

The hose for the bathroom floor drain runs along the bottom inside of the side storage under the seat cushion on the right side in the aft cabin. I don't think you will be able to get to the drain fitting itself under the floor w/o cutting a hole in the floor. No access panel. But you should be able to unhook it from the shower sump box and clean the hose out of any blockage. Also check were it connects there, might be full of hair from taking showers. The toilet in mine is the only thing that goes to the holding tank. I think it's crazy that they want water from your sink to go into the holding tanks and filling it up. That's the 1st thing that usually gets changed over with many I know, dump it over. I do prefer the toilet to draw from the freshwater tank though. 1 less hole in the hull and it's clean water. If you do change yours over to pull from the lake, you'll have to install a vented loop in the supply hose, otherwise you'll risk sinking it since the toilet is below the waterline. Wish mine had a gen. Otherwise, love the layout and size of it. The 10' beam keeps it really stable. Bravo 3's would really make this boat plain out fast! I do like the fact that my '95 has a walk thru windshield and molded in steps in the dash. Don't have to walk around the side.

Thanks for the tip with the vented loop. and the info on the bathroom drain. The only reason why I dont like the toilet pulling from the fresh water tank is that I have been told that, even with check valves, cross contamination is possible.

Yeah, I've heard that to. My new toilet water supply has a solenoid with a vacum break on it (works like a vented loop), so no way for any back flow/contamination, plus it's 100% separate from any contact to the waste end of the workings. I can see it being possible on a manual pump head since the water and sewage are both common in the manual pump assembly. You can retro fit the solenoid valve from Jabsco to eliminate this possibilty if dessired.

:ohey guys post up some new pics i need some motavation!!!!!! i have been out of work and out of money to move forward with my project and have been seriously thinking of selling her i have listed her on craigs list but have not responded to the emails that i have gotten b/c i really want to finish her and take her out.

I'll get some new pics this weekend.
I replaced all the white plastic lights with brushed Nickle plated ones.
New SS sink, Nickle faucet.
The space that was for the TV is now a storage compartment. Made a pattern of the opening, then formed wood to match the arch, covered with laminate to match the rest of the doors. Also closed in the inside since it was open to the backside, and covered with the black shine laminate. That project turned out great. Looks factory, if I say so myself. :)

Bought 2 new transom assemblies. Priced out new seals, bellows and shift cables to rebuild mine and just wasn't worth my time to rebuild them, plus the small amount of slop in the steering pin/gimble ring would need to be fixed. Again, I can do that myself, but that was time better spent elsewhere. Plus was finding it hard to rebuild mine with all the existing corrosion. Not that they were bad, just a peice of mind. Will put on 2 new drives when it all goes back together. So the drives will be trouble free for as long as I own this boat.
Ordering material samples right now to make a bow cover this month while it's too cold to work on the boat itself. Gotta keep it shiney. :)

yeah please do i was considering doing the laminet in the cabin also i would love to see some pics.