272 opinions?
 

I may be in the market for a single engine boat in the spring between 25-28 feet. Lots of used 272's for sale for reasonable money.

Ok, who owns one and tell me your opinions on them.
What kind of top end with stock 502? Does it get up on plane quick enough for skiing? Trying to find a good all-around family boat for skiing, cruising and an occasional poker run. Windshield is a must! That's why I'm not looking too hard at the outlaw.

I'm down-sizing from my current ride (Formula 303SR1 with twin 502's)

Thanks in advance for the input.

Toolman :D

I had a 98, it is a good boat for the money. It planes plenty fast for skiing, will run 65 + with 502, k-planes will really improve rough water handling. Don't expect the quality and engineering of your Formula though.

My friend has one, and he loves it. He has the 496magho and it runs 67-68, so 65 is prob bout right for the 502. Rides nice also.

That's a big 10-4 tho on the Formula being better quality. My 232, my friends 232, and my other friends 272 are all 'production' boats.

But we luv em.....!:p

Formula isnt a production boat? :confused:

I know, I know Teambaja.....don't get me wrong, I really like my boat (and Baja's in general), they just pale in comparison quality-wise to Formula.... but I could buy 3 baja's for the price of 1 formula.....

not dissin the brand man.......i'm a lifer on them..!:D

bottom line, the 272 (and 275) is sweet. you won't regret it....

All these guys are telling you straight.

I had a 2000 model with 502 and it is a great all around boat. Good in the ruff, easy to trailer, lots of room and we could overnight on it.

We did use ours to ski and tube behind. It makes a hell of a wake. Drop the tabs all the way down and you can wake board behind it also.

The fastest I ever saw was 64 MPH. But I could run 64 in some really ruff stuff that a buddy of mine had to slow down in with a 29 Fountain!

Good luck

I also owned an '00 272 with 502 mag. Great boat! And fast. She would run 67+ with a 24 Bravo which gave much better mid range performance and 68+ (gps in salt) with a 23 Mirage. It is not a heavy boat so you best take one out for a serious test drive. There will be a marked difference in ride from your much heavier Formula.

Dock, have you ever posted pics of your 272? I cant remember. I also like the 272. It would be the perfect boat for me size and powerwise.

We love our !!!!! Had it since new in 1997. Time for bigger though.

Hey toolman.

Interested in a Mirage 257?

Its brand new, non current model. Not yet powered but complete and pre-rigged for Merc. They are a heck of a well built boat. Great in rough water. You can probably find a great deal on some power from one of the guys on the board.

Will do 70's with 502 or 496HO. Has full cuddy with V-birth sink, stove etc. 24 deg. dead rise and a delta pad.

Its' white with a black stripe and would be a perfect canvas for some awesome graphix. Here is a pic and also a pic of what I did with my 232.

If your interested or would like more info, email me at [email protected]

My 232

Exactly the same boat only 2.5' shorter.

Paul.

I have posted them before, but is has been a while. I lost most of the digital pictures when I had a hard drive crash a year or so back.

Mine was a 2000 Model, with the Boss graphics, black and red colors with red carpet.

We put alumium diamond plate and mirrors in the engine compartment. We also added a killer sound system.

I HAD A LOT OF FUN WITH THAT BOAT.

My friend had a 1994 Shooter I dont know if its the same bottom but it was a crappy rough water boat he was killed in it Laborday weekend 1995.

Little more info on that please

My buddy has a 96 272 with a 502. He loves it. The 502 is an awesome motor that sounds very healthy.Great looking boat. So far. best GPS speed is right arounf 65 mph. He is not happy with that as I am just a little faster. Maybe a pro-charger in his future??

Jim

My Procharged 502 272 was the bomb. Recent divorce has put this boat in other hands but I have absolutely no complaints with that package.

-Shoe

Was it the boats fault?

Doubtful

Sorry to hear about your friend.

All boats have their limitations. My Baja 212 would run 68 MPH in good water, but when it got rough I was cruising at 40 MPH.

My 272 would run 65 MPH and on the same lake I could cruise all day in the rough at 60. The extra 6 feet was like a mile and added 20 miles per hour of enjoyment.

Now with the 36, it will run 74 MPH and there is no need to slow down for anything on my lake. But I have been in some ocean conditions were only a fool would have pushed it over 50 MPH.

Length is everything with a boat.

Don't get in over your head.

I run with one nearly every weekend and I have to agree with everyone it is a very good all around boat. I do think a few of these speeds are a little high but it may be my friends boat is just a little slow. The boat jumps on plane with the 502. I would think the k-planes would help it in rougher water as it does bounce around a little and it tends to chine walk. Don't get me wrong I think it is a great boat for the money.

Well lets just say his widow wont ever need to work again!!That boat would get air on a wake fro a zodiac!

Are you saying he had a defective hull and that she won a large settlement from Baja?

Please give us more details.

I didnt mean it to sound like that.. I thought the shooter and the 272 had the same hull,,, and unless there was a defect,,,, the 272 is a very respectable rough water boat.

I always thought they were the same hull as well.

Never heard a complaint about the 272 not being able to handle rough water within its size limitations.

There is an older guy down in Jacksonville with a 1994 Shooter that he purchased new. He has some good power in the boat and it is running 80 MPH.

He was in the slip next to me at the FireFighters Poker Run and I just saw him running on the video we just received and he is flying. The boat is very loose but he looks like a pro and has it under control.

Once again, I am sorry to hear that anyone lost their life in any boat. But without more details and with the experience I have had with the 272, I just do not understand what happened.

Again it was the Shooter hull I believe its different than the 272 thats built today. Nobody knows what really happened he was alone in the boat it was flat as a pancake and was thrown from the boat and then hit as the boat made a big circle. He wasn't wearing a kill switchor a pfd bad move on his part. But I drove the boat on several occasions and it was always loose....the widow is not allowed to talk about the settlement but she's not working anymore and they dont build the shooter, You can draw your own conclusions. I wouldn't buy one nuff said....

Luv'd mine

Cockpit

yee haw!

The hull is the same as the 272, it's the same boat and don't beleive different. The only thing was the upper styling, I liked the "euro" look. I ran the piss out of this boat at a number of NYC poker runs - if you been on one you know the stomping your boat will take in the hudson and lower bay with 175+ boats around you.

This was on of the boats I can really say I tried to capsize and it just would not. One year I literally was running it on the "sidewalls" after a couple of hairy landings - it's on the Speedvision video. I will say that this boat lightened up over 70mph and you had to know how to drive like luke chinewalker.

I did, however, rip one of the original instatrim junk off the starboard side after an exceptionally robust landing off Sandy Hook point. Put K-planes in place. Luv the 454 blower motor, though.


Alas, my trusty Shooter has moved on to another loving owner...

Hmmm?

I hate to hear about boat related deaths, but this is kind of ridiculous in my opinion. Wonder why she cant talk about it.:o

272 INFO
 

I BOUGHT SHOE'S BOAT AND DID A LITTLE WORK ON IT. THE PROCHARGER ON A 502 IS AWESOME. THIS BOAT WILL RUN OVER 80 MPH AND RIDES GREAT. IT TOOK THE WORST THAT LOTO HAD TO OFFER. YOU HAVE TO "DRIVE IT AT 80 BUT IT'S NOTHING U CAN'T GET USED TO. THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A "LOWLY" BAJA UNDER $45K DUSTING A NORDIC OR FORMULAS ASS TO MAKE U FEEL GOOD.

Damn, I smiled when I read that!!!!! Good to hear shes doing good and in the right hands. Give her an ol' pat on the wheel for me.

-Shoe

I have 97 272 and love it upgraded from a 240 a couple of years ago. Mine has a 502 mag fuel injected with a procharger. The trip to Michagan to have the engine dynoed and tuned by Tyler Crocket was well worth it. Motor made 740 hp at 5300 rpms. Best speed so for is 83.2 on gps with a 31 pitch 4 blade bravo. The boat handles perfect til about 80 then you have to start really driving through the chine walk but that is to expected. I have trim tabs but has anyone installed the larger k-planes if so what kind and how big. What was the result good or bad I should say was it worth the money.

I totally agree with the Formula quality issue. We came from a 280SS to our 302. We did not have a single issue with the Formula. Our Baja is a different story. The punch list is about 10-12 and counting within the first year. I believe the big difference is in QC in the plant. We will have had her for a year in May. I am waiting to see what the factory rep I met at the A/C boat show is going to do to make things right.

Re: 272 opinions?
 

I have a 93 shooter with 625 hp 540 in it. I find it hard to believe that he ran 80mph in it. I can run 74 any day any load with the 4 blade, best speed is light with the 3 blade at 78 mph. Keep in mind that the Shooter and 272 are really 25' boats. You can run 70+ in 2-3 footers, but be careful in big water. I have to admit I have had this boat way out of shape a few times and it has always come back safe for me, but it is a small boat to go that fast in big water. To run in the 70's you have to get her up high and that means not much in the water. At speed, the boat has only about 2' of hull length in the water. All in all, these are good boats. The vynil is breaking up after 10 years on the salt and the wiring only lasted 5 or 6 but she rides like a lexus and handles like a porsche. The biggest complaint is the lack of support from Baja. I need some parts and they simply say "sorry, don't make them anymore". When I questioned some cracks in the gelcoat after 3 1/2 years... "sorry, out of warranty". That has been a dissapointment. I am parting with her shortly and looking at options includign another Baja. Has to say something.

Re: 272 opinions?
 

Never satisfied,I'd love to talk to you,i have a 2000 272 w/540,best run is 85.1 on gps 5600-30 pitch lab. I built replacement trim tabs for my bennets,put them on with out modifyeng hinge piece on transom. Tyler rushed me off the dyno,had to do more guessing on my tune to get boat into 80's,p.m me with a phone # and i'll call you on my dime. Have also added full hydraulic to helm,cut chinewalking in half. I'd love to hear about your dyno experience and how you got it setup,injectors etc. I have ALOT of fun wasting the big dollar boats on our local rivers and lakes,half the time they won't even race because they think it's just another 62 mph baja and are astonished when they look like they are going backwards! I have broken several drives,am currently running max machine worx with all upgrades.

Re: 272 opinions?
 

Lets get this straight...we talkin' 272 which is a twin engined hull with and overall length of 29' or a 271 that is a single engined boat with an overall of 27'1". Big difference between the two :p

Re: 272 opinions?
 

Baja 272 not Formula 272 :rolleyes:

Re: 272 opinions?
 

97 272 pics. Looks good, runs great! best bang for the buck.

Re: 272 opinions?
 

I had a 95 272 with a 502. To say I had fun with the boat was an understatment. Im sure I would have had fun with a sonic prowler or other comparable boat to though. I ran it in the chesapeake and can say that I got it out of shape alot of times and it always came out fine. There were some small issues but every boat ive been around has its problems. For the the money you really cant beat them.

As for speed, my boat would run a solid 63GPS everyday. With the normal couple extra MPH best for bar talk.