My Bird
 

I know each and every one of us Formula owners love our Birds. Here is mine, nothing too fancy and not the fastest but certainly takes up a large volumn of my boating soul.

2002 yr
twin 350 mpis 185hrs
26" stock bravos
69mph in the fresh
Garmin 421s custom mount till dash redo
Kenwood tunes, remote on dash.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a2...D720/ry%3D480/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a2...D720/ry%3D480/


http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a2...D720/ry%3D480/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a2...D720/ry%3D480/

I like it:thankyouthankyou:

I see you learned how to post pictures.

Congrats! Love the paint scheme. Same colors as mine. I have a little more black in mine. Nice trailer too

Thanks,


Just need some 90* weather and lots of sun.

LC

Where do you run up there...Tennessee River?

My wife is from Sheffield and wants us to spend some time up there with the boat this summer.

Love that 292...perfect size...easy to handle. Don't ever sell it with out giving me a shot.

Smith Lake and orange beach.

going to hit the big river some this fall.

if your in the area give me a shout, i would liketo see the liberator.

LC

I'll do it...is that Big Bridge in your avatar?

Beautiful float! Bring her on up to Ohio to the islands! You will love it up here!

Sprink,

That is big bridge, weekend before Thanksgiving, sea trial day.

Rossman40-- Ohio sounds cold right now, but maybe one day. I do plan to travel and boat, well that what the wife and I said when we agreed to upgrade LOL.

Looseconnection.....Yea buddy it's cold...26 and snow. BOOOOOO. I got the spring fever BAD. Lot's to do up here boating wise... The Casino on Kelleys Island is the Go fast hang out...great people and great memories!!!

one day, one day. 29 yrs old now, God willing I will get that way one day.

LC

2002 yr
twin 350 mpis 185hrs
26" stock bravos
69mph in the fresh
Garmin 421s custom mount till dash redo
Kenwood tunes, remote on dash

I'll bet it breaks 70+ in salt water...more buoyant.

would be nice, just felt a little loose in the salt when I had her in orange beach over new years and didnt pour it on very long. Going to put a bandaide on the steering to see if that calms her down, sidewinders.

LC

Hey LC,

Nice lookin' 292. I see you are running 26" Bravos. Did you downsize to them or did the boat come that way? According to boat test that year and motor combo had the 28" bravos as stock. It seems alot of 292 owner drop one prop size...is this purposefully done or just chance? I see props all over the map for these boats regardless of engine size. Mine came with 28's but the factory said it was sold with stock 30's and later years labbed 32's!

I bought the boat with the 26"ers. I am well into the limiters at a light load, my slip numbers are good about 12% so either the previous owner dropped or the Nelems knew what worked best when they sold the boat.

beautiful looking boat.

So are they alpha drives with bravo props or bravo drives also? What HP did those make, 300 HP?

26" or 28" of pitch seems like a lot, are they 1.5 drives?

Those stepped bottoms must make a heck of a difference. I was looking for a set of 23p props for my old 272, wondering if I should look at 25's with the vortec motors now pushing close to 300hp?

Brian...we have a lot more viscous friction than the step hull guys do ...as you well know. My personal experience with a new 272 LS with twin 320 horse EFI's and Alpha SS drives had my best overall performance with 23" full blade SS props. I could hold 70 "speedo" at 5600 RPM and with cleavers in 23" I could see 75. I think with the Mirage Plus technology we have now we are going to see the same numbers from a 21" Mirage Plus. That will be my starting point on my 255 with Bravo I's.

Befu,

Bravo drives
1.65 GR
26" pitch
300 HP per 350 MPI

292 are 29'2" over all lenght and weigh about 8000lbs. I am willing to be your 272 is larger or same size to the newer 292 with steps. But yes the steps do really work, you can "feel" the lift above 4000 rpms.

Oh yeah...big difference. A 255 Lib/272LS from the '80's weighs about 5600 and 25'-5"/27'-2" overall. Same general performance with similar power BUT...2500 lbs lighter. I would be willing to bet your GPH is on par with ours even with you having 2500lbs more displacement.

Loose...I will say this. The old ones stay glued to the water and cut hard at just about any speed.

Step hulls are very much more efficient.

Nice Lookin boat.

I have to get the motors back in mine so I can weigh it, now I am curious. The old 272 LS were listed at 5,750 lbs. With all the water I removed from mine, maybe it will be back down there!

The newer 292's like your 2002 are listed as 7,000 lbs. That is quite a bit more weight between the "spec" listings. Have you weighed yours empty, or is the 8,000 lbs running with all the "needed" stuff. (Like oil for engines, gas, a driver! LOL)

What is the swim platform overhang length on the 292?

Yours is listed as 3" wider also. Doesn't sound like much, but +3" between the engines would be nice. Heck, many things in life are dramatically different with just an extra 3"! :cartman: I would have thought the newer boats with the composite reinforcement grid in them would have been lighter, not heavier. I thought the 272 was a heavy boat.

thanks for sharing the info.

Brian

Weight translates to ride quality. I love the heft of my 292. It was immediately obvious coming from my 26 Excalibur at 5,000 lbs. The difference in actual water line length is only about a foot and a half, but it feels like a much bigger boat due to the weight. What would send me flying before, I now just crush through. The 292 is an ice-breaker in comparison. But when the engines rev up and the fastech hull starts working I can air it out and make it as nimble and responsive as the Excalibur was. I love rock steady cruising at 3250 rpms @ 43 mph and running at speed @ 76 mph. I would say the weight estimate is right on at 7000 dry, 8000lbs loaded with fuel and two pax. The speed calculator numbers workout precisely...

8k loaded, dry weight is nothing but a specification, I will never use my boat at the dry weight that why I said 8k.

Like pond runner said these hull ride great. My folks have a 27 wellcraft coasta fishing boat, running down the ICW the wellcraft would need to slow down to cross a big cruisers wake. In the bird, my first jaunt down the ICW I slowed like I was acustom to in the wellcraft. My dad promtly call me a p*s*y. next one I just kept on at 45mph, hit the wake and waited for the bang to come during re entry with the water, I am still waiting on the bang. That promptly ended any doubt "Did I make the RIGHT choice". indeed I did.

LC