Got a chance to ride in a 336 SR this weekend. Really liked it! It was a 95 or 96 I believe, 502 EFI's. I'm not yet and have never been a performance boat owner, so bare with me.

I really liked how planted and predictable it was it! This being my first performance boat I don't need to go 80...just want to be able to run 45-50 on a Saturday at LOTO without scaring the crap out of my passengers or myself. I have been looking at boats newer than the SR but I have to say the quality of the boat really made it age well! Very eye opening actually as I hadn't really considered anything that old.

My question is how different is the ride with the Fastech hull vs. the straight? Say a 336sr vs 353? Cockpit room similar between the two?

How about the same comparison between the 353 and 382...cockpit room any different. Any notable difference in speed and ride quality.

Not sure I really want to deal with the extra length of the 382, but there seems to me more of them around than the 353. Not to mention I'm not sure if my 10,000 lb Poly with will lift a 382?

Thank you for any opinions and insight!! Truly appreciated!

All Formulas are solid predictable performers. The fastech hull will be about 5 mph faster if everything else is the same. Never been on a 336 but it is likely a hair bigger than the 353 (just looks taller/fatter). I had a 382 and loved it. The 353 is more like a mustang where the 382 would be the Excursion. Big heavy wave crusher in comparison but both will ride well (we overnighted often with kids and needed the much bigger cabin of the 382). As for your lift, the 382 is 10,500 empty plus fuel/gear you could be lifting over 12,000 easily.

Thanks, exactly the sort of info I was after! Really don't want a new lift...or to have to extend my slips if I don't have to. I've got a 34' slip now and I think it would work. So you have a 353 now??

No....current ride is a 21ft center console (kids love it)

We had a 312 and I always thought the 353 would be the next boat for family/trips. Was at a boat show and got in the 353.....I was quite disappointed that it didn't seem much bigger than my 312. The 382 on the other hand seemed huge. 6 months later I wasn't even looking but one fell into my lap. Bought it less than 2 hours later!!!

If your looking for a nice day boat, the 353 will be great. It's 8,500 dry vs 10,500 dry for the 382. We overnighted for 2-5 days at a time and cabin space was crucial. The 382 was the obviouslchoice.....aside from something like a Donzi 38ZX (not ZR) or a Black Thunder

Ha! Obviously! That's cool, glad to know.

Ya, we have a house AT the lake so I don't need another apartment on the water! Just a SOLID boat to battle the LOTO washing machine! I do like the cockpit size on a Baja's and was pretty hung up on getting a boat with 4 bolsters...and I still may. But the more rides I take in traditional 2 bolster boats, I'm getting off that now. But I do have a ride lined up now in a 353 so really looking forward to it even more now!

the 336 is a better ride then the 353,,more room in the cockpic also,just a few inches...open the hatches on both boats,,you can literly fall asleep in the bilge of the 336,the 336 will also plane faster then the 353 in the rough..i would savew the dough and go for the336 if your not looking for speed but if you ass a set of -2 shortys it reallt wakes the boat up..

Right on. You lost me at "shortys" though...headers??

Shorty's are a lower unit that are more suitable for speed.. look up imco -2 shorty and you will see what i mean..on a stock 502 mpi header wont make it any faster,now if you add a set of prochargers and the -2 shortys the 336 will do 85+ all day long..

btw try to stand up in the cabin in a fast tec hull,im 5 10 and can almost staand straight up in a 336..

A straight hull will ride more solid then a stepped hull, but the speeds with stepped hull are way better...

I am in LAke Erie... a TRUE wave nightmare...lol you need a 382 or bigger stepped hull to get a real solid ride, my buddy has a 353 that rides great, but I still feel his 311 was better in rougher water, also was a TRS boat, I think the 353 is all around a great boat in general, he weekends on it with 2 kids, wife and dog... works fine... takes a ton of power to move a 382.

if I was on any inland lake I would use a stepped hull since the waves don't kick up enough to NEED a straight hull boat, I know inland lakes kick up, but not like a great lake does...we average 2-5 footers regularly and they are 5 ft apart... thats why I bought a slow Mistress, but she likes the big stuff!

Good luck!!

I'm not sure what I would do if I lived somewhere that actually had consistent wind driven waves from ONE direction. Problem at LOTO is they come from EVERY direction. So you're riding along in the regular big crappy boat chop of 1-3' then you'll get a huge roller from a 60' sea ray combine with something else and have a 4 or 5' pyramid form in front of you. It's a little hairy to say the least. So for this being my first "powerboat" I'm definitely more interested in boat quality and ride quality vs. top speed. That said, I know a couple of 454's are going to be straining to move a boat like this so the right power is important too.

Great to hear the feedback on the older boats though. The SR I rode in was really eye opening, made me feel a lot more comfortable shopping for something from the 90's! But man, the black/gray dash I can deal with and it actually kind of cool looking, but those pink and teal colors and rainbow on some of the interiors and paint schemes...wow. I mean, that stuff was OUT by 1992 yet some of the boat mfg's kept putting that stuff in clear up to 2000! Not sure what it would cost to get an interior redone in straight white, but if I made the right buy on one I would sure consider it.