The wait is over.

For a boat, that is. Haven't had a Formula since I sold my 242LS 16 years ago. A nice, '94 252SS is sitting on a trailer on my driveway, waiting to be launched tomorrow. I've been looking for a much larger boat, mainly a 400SS, but this one just "happened" (at least that's what I told my wife ) to be available. And 83hrs, 1 owner, fuel injected 502 mag and an amazingly low asking price left me wondering what's the catch. I've been going through the boat for three days now and I have yet to find a major problem with it. Additionally, it's small enough to keep as a second boat so no need to sell it when I find a nice 400 or 370.

Could it be that 252 isn't one of the more popular models? Admittedly it seems slightly smaller than the 242, I'm definitely not fond of the barbie boat Imron colors and having only 22deg of deadrise it most likely rides a bit rougher. But still, it's a Formula, probably a solid 60mph (+?) boat.

Is this model really so unwanted that some are very cheap? I've noticed that every now and then there's oversupply of some models second hand, but even that doesn't seem to be the case with 252.

In any case I'm very happy right now. After too many years without a decent boat or with slow flybridge boats this is definitely a change for the better.

when i was looking for a 242SS and I came across a 252SS I thought I had found a bigger better version of what I wanted. I quickly learned that was not the case at all. Not spacious like the 242 SS and not quite the hull of a sport boat either. weird

IMO 242 was pretty much as cramped as the 252 and the layout made the berth pretty much unusable for me as I'm fairly tall. When I had the 242 I was constantly looking for a 311 and eventually got so frustrated with the lack of space that I bought a Princess cruiser. You could fit more people on the flybridge alone than in 242 altogether, but <40mph top speed was even more frustrating.

The U-shaped seating and a real table is a big plus, we're no more limited to finger food on diving trips and 6-7 people can actually fit there comfortably. If we forget more or less artificial comparisons to other Formula models (and especially bias towards the two additional degrees of deadrise), it's hard to see what the problem with the 252 might be.

Well, it doesn't really matter. This one might just be a keeper, as a boat, not what it may or may not be compared to.

i should mention that my post was talking about the 242 SS. I have no experience with the LS version.

The SS version has a larger cockpit than the LS version in return for a smaller sunpad and a smaller cabin. Horrible access to the cabin for anyone near 6ft tall is shared between both versions unfortunately. The mid 90s boats are much much better with the sliding curved doorway.

I cant imagine why the 252 SS would be unpopular. Its not really a sport boat and its not really a cruiser. To me thats versatility but maybe a turn-off to others who'd prefer the real thing, whichever that would be.

Congrats. Two boats is a good way to go, a small and nimble boat to run around in, waterski / tube with, take over the road on a big camping trip somewhere, store in a large garage, etc. The 400 SS is a very comfortable boat you could overnight and partake in the yachting type trips/activities. BTW: My 400 SS is for sale, see it in the classifieds here.

Thanks. Two boats (or three, but 15' bass boat doesn't really count) is exactly what I did with the Formula/Princess combo in the 90's. A 400SS would be an ideal compromise for everything but skiing and "island hopping", and that's where the 252 comes in.

I had to take a look at your ad right away. An absolutely beautiful boat. Pretty much exactly what I've been looking for, but after €uro has been taking a major dive vs. US$ lately, unfortunately out of my budget at this point. Looking at pictures of boats like that makes me want to work harder...