ThirdBird

I totally agree!!! I did the same thing with my 311, only wanted Bravos. The more I learned later though is that basically, you can't kill a TRS. Plus, once you experience the butter-smooth shifting of TRS, you'll be unhappy with the less than buttery Bravos. And, as we said previously, the 311 was actually designed for the TRS setup. The engines forward setup of the TRS balances the 311 much better.

If I were shopping all over again for a 311, I'd be looking for a nice TRS boat.

So, if you're nervous about a TRS 311, you go find a nice one and I'll trade you my nice Bravo 311 for it!!

formula242ss

i guess you all agree on the 311 with trs drives?

any other suggestions as to what i should be looking for before pulling the trigger...i would hate to be making a mistake

the hull was in great shap except for some small cracks in he gellcoat near the transom ...there was water under the step in the cuddy
is that a concern..i had the same thing on my 242 and could never figure the source out

any one know a good ma or nh mechanic with knowledge about these older formulas

any idea on how much the gimball will cost to replace

Audiofn

If the boat is local to easern MA or on my way up to Maine I would be more then happy to go with you to take a look. I AM NOT a serveyor but do know a few of the places to look. Does the Gimball need to be replaced or repaired?

offthefront

iTrader: (1)

Almost all the windshields leak allowing the water under the step .... there is a plug under there ..leave it out ....
Check the Stringers in the engine room for rot ...and the bulkhead between the engine room and the fuel tank ......I had to replace mine ........m

Audiofn

Off the front My wife and I looked around in there. Well I sent the wife in first to pull out all the nasties then I checked it out No plug in mine and I know a few others that did not have them either. That is on my list of things to work on after I fix the drive and tab cable.

Full Force

iTrader: (5)

The TRS 311 will for sure ride better, parts are easy to get still and if you shop hard and know what you are doing "used" TRS stuff is no issue, upgrading to Conrads can be an option but not one I would spend on a older boat unless it was a high powered Cig or Scarab, you would never recoupe it out of a 311, we ran 550hp easily through TRS on my buddys 311 and ran 79-80 with it, never hurt a drive...

offthefront

iTrader: (1)

I dont know for a "fact" that there are drains in mine ....The guy I bought the boat from told me the drain plugs lying in the sink when I picked up the boat were for the drain under the sink ....I have never had a problem with water in the cabin .....I'll check it ......m

Full Force

iTrader: (5)

There is no drain for the under step issue...

ThirdBird

Mike,
I think you're the only one who's ever said there's a drain hole under the step in a 311. Now, you may have one, but I'm thinking someone before you "put" it there, and it wasn't Formula.

As far as I know, there is no drain communication from the engine bay to the front under-step area. I think a drain hole under the step would just drain into the tank foam. Maybe that's what happened to your bulkhead between the tank and engine bay, tank foam sucked all the drainage up and rotted the rear bulkhead form inside out. Just a theory.

Dave

handfulz28

Somebody give me an email address and I'll send you pics to post of my 311 under step drain.

handfulz28
gmail
com