New to Formulas
 

I am in the Army stationed in upstate New York and have 17 1/2 years in. I am looking at getting a boat in the next couple years and I know I want a Formula. I drove my buddy's 1994 272 SR1 that has a 502 EFI and man that thing was awesome to drive. I am between a Fas Tech 30'-35' or a 330/350 SS for the family, I been on a couple 312s and 353s and loved them. I have seen a couple 280's and 330's Sun Sports here on the St Lawrence river. I have 2 kids and when they come and visit I would like something I can take them out on the river in upstate NY or the the big lakes in North Carolina when I move back there. I would also like something I can take friends out on and have a good time. I would also like something I can do 70mph-80mph in as well. The boat will have to be something that I can tow to and from the water.

Any help would be great for a good all around boat.

Welcome to the world of Formula . . .

I am in the final stages of a boat search, having sold my 242SS a month or 2 ago. I looked at the 311 SR1, the PC's and the Sun Sports. Your desire to have a go-fast as well as an entertaining boat is going to be a problem. They are 2 different boats.

The Fastech's are only going to be good for about 4-5 people. It will feel like you are sitting in a car, as you will not have much space to move around. So, when family and friends come to visit, that will not be a good boat. The restroom facilities will be challenging for guests on longer outings, etc. Most of those boats will do the go-fast part just fine, and they will handle rougher conditions well.

The Sun Sports, either the 280 or the 330, are going to be awesome entertaining and all-round fun boats. They will go low-mid 50 mph, and be a bit more bumpy in the rougher conditions. The big thing is that you will have a boat that is far more nimble than a cruiser.

So, you will have to decide on what will work best for you. I have looked at a bunch of Sun Sports in the New Jersey, MA, CT, NY and St. Lawrence area, so PM me it you want. I may have looked at a particular boat that you are interested in.

Sounds like you need a 34' scarab III.

I love that layout, side by side bolsters with a rear facing bench, then the rear seat bench facing forward all in a typical go fast hull.

I am tired of seeing new boats with two bolsters and a rear bench. Wow, very creative guys. Big boat that seats 5 people. then again, maybe I am just a "bit" tainted hauling around 9 kids.......:lolhit:

Brian

Welcome! From one of the many Formula owners worldwide we truely appreciate and thank you for your dedication and commitment to your country.

You'll find that no matter what model the Fastech or SS, both will have the creature comforts to entertain both family and friends.

If your looking for a 70-80 mph boat then the 353 is the route to go, the SS's are a honest 50-60 mph boat. I have a 292 now, but the 353 is a dream boat. Having 2 kids as well, the 353 gives you a seperate head along with the front v-berth and the lounges which can be broken down and made into a sleeping area with the filler cushions. You can also find some older years with reverse cycle AC and heat. As I believe they stopped offering AC as an option in the newer models.

The 353 is still towable, but your going to need something with at least a 10K tow capacity although you'd be better off with something more around 12K.

Thank you for all the info guys. I guess I am looking for something I can take the kids out on to swim off and also be able to take adult friends and clients out on. I am an AMSOIL dealer and I will run my product in my boat. That way I can show them how it works. But to be honest I do like speed so in a way I am leaning toward the Fas Tech. Even looking at the older 311 SR1s. I have no problem getting an older boat and dropping in some 500HP+ MPFI engines :D.

befu I will look at the 34' scarab III and see if I like it.

splitdecision I was looking at the 353 for the Fas Tech so I got a laugh when you mentioned it lol. I am getting ready to buy a Dodge 2500 4x4 crew cab diesel. So the towing will not be a problem.

How many times will you have more than 6 on board?
At 6 the 382 is the best of both worlds but you need to go dually for the tow. Dually is best for tow stability anyway.
The 350SS is in this same range but slower.
Good luck. I have been researching for a few years too.

It will mostly be 2-4 (including me) that is on the boat. I am a avid scuba diver so I need to take that into account as well. An more suggestions would be great.

Does anyone else have any input?

As a bonus, the 330SS has storage for scuba tanks under the port side lounge seat.

We'd be all over that if we hadn't decided to be wimps and stick with tropical water diving. No cold water for us!

With our 496 mags, we get an easy 60mph indicated on the speedo. I just got the props tuned and hoped to run it for top speed last weekend but had outdrive problems. On a brief run, in 2-4 footers, I think I saw 65 but can't swear to it; I was too busy holding on...

This is my 311. We love it lots of room we us the head for storage. it has 2 525hp 496's so she's a runner.
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...ker/photo1.jpg
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...oatpics015.jpg
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...troker/104.jpg
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...lsphone327.jpg
http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/...lsphone330.jpg

pgolder,

I thought I recognized that break-wall at TC. Hopefully next year will yield many good boat weekends between there and Elk Rapids. This year was a boating wash-out. Between selling our 236 Baja and buying the Formula 330SS we ended up getting very few hours on the water.

Your boat looks great. Especially for a 1986. It's great to see how well a good boat holds up with some TLC

Cheers

glboatdriver do you have some pics of your boat and the storage area you are talking about? Also is your engines stock in your 330SS? Do you trailer your boat at all?

pgolder great looking boat. Did you originally have 454s that you stroked out to 496s?

Yes they were the 420hp 454s.

Hi EMSDiver

Here's ours tied up to the same break-wall that 'Tramp' was tied up to...

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/d594f0b6.jpg


...and one of the stern with Kai peering out at me...

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/a996aae7.jpg


...and the whole enchilada; boat, trailer and borrowed truck to tow it all with...

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/00655ce5.jpg


I don't have any pics of the scuba storage but in the 2002 SunSport brochure, there is a smallish photo at the top of page 6. You can download the brochure from the Formula Boats website.

Engines are stock 496 Mags, not the HOs, either.

We have trailered it, using the borrowed F-350 diesel in the picture, single rear axle. No problems at all.

I tried to find that brochure on Formula website and could not find it. I will google it and see what comes up.

I was wondering if the 496s have a lot of performance mods available for them?

The brochures are buried in the Vintage Formula section of the Owner's Resources link, right here... http://www.formulaboats.com/vintage-brochures

As far as mods for the 496s I'll have to let others pipe up on that topic, I'm good with stock right now. Anyway, 60-65 is about where I think this hull should top out. If I wanted/needed mrore apeed I think I would go for a straight Fastech.

Thank you for the link to the brochures link.

I was wondering incase I find a boat and need to rebuild the motors. 60-65 mph in a 330 or a 350 is fast enough for me as well. Now I just need to take care of some bills and save a lot of money and start looking. If you dont mind I will pick your brain more. Also are you on the Formula forums as well?

Also looking at the 400 SS as well since most of my boating will be on the ST Lawrence River and lake Ontario and the inter coastal ways in North Carolina.

After talking to the wife she really likes the 330 over the 370. So I think that is what we are going to go with.

The biggest things I would like to know is how well does the 330 handle 2-4 foot chop and is there any years I need to stay away from and anything else you guys can tell me about the 330?

Also I was researching more on the 330SS and found that 1997-1999 they has a two lever throttle controls and from 2000-2007 it was a two lever for the transmission and 2 levers for the throttle. Is there any real advantages and disadvantages between the two types?

glboatdriver any idea what your trailer weights?

It should be about 3,000. I was looking ta a Loadmaster 330SS trailer that was, I think, right about 2550 with one spare tire/wheel. The Eagle trailer under this boat has two spares and is full box frame rather than "C" frame like the loadmaster, so it is probably a bit more.

We figure we towed right around 14K.

Thanks that helps a lot. That gives me a couple different options to go with. We are looking at either the Dodge mega cab 4x4 with the Cummings or the Dodge mega cab dually 4x4 with the Cummings. Either vehicle we go with I will be putting air bad in the rear to help with squat and stability. We are looking at towing from 20 min away up to 4 - 6 hours away. Even talking about if we move back to California going to Arizona and lake Havasu. I would prefer the single rear wheel truck over the dually. They are more forgiving in town driving.

We had no problem with the single rear wheel F350 turbo-diesel we borrowed. It towed really well, didn't squat much and didn't try to wag the truck. Much of the success or failure of towing is in having a high quality trailer that was set up properly, i.e. with the bow stop adjusted to give the right % of tongue weight. Our trip 'home' after the purchase was about 6-7 hours from Illinois to northern Michigan and it was uneventful. True, towing a large trailer through Gary Indiana on the I-94/I-80 stretch sucked, but I think traveling there would suck no matter what!

I plan on getting a load master trailer since most of the boats I am finding do not have trailers. I will also look at Eagle trailers that you mentioned on the other forum as well. Knowing the above I am going to look at getting a Dodge Mega cab 4x4 diesel.

Thanks for all your help.

Get a quote from Performance Trailers in Lake George area also if you are building new. Was happy with mine

First off, thank you for your service to our country.

I have a 336 SR1 and good friends have a 330 SS and others have the 40 SS. I will say there is a huge difference in ride between the 336 and the SS because of the deadrise. Mine is 24* and theirs is 21 degrees. The cabin and cockpit layouts are much larger, but the ride is very different. I've noticed it and so have they.

The SR1 can be trailered "legally" because the beam is only 8' 6". The SS should technically have a permit pulled (at least in Michigan) because the 330 beam is 10'.

Congrats on choosing Formula. Once you do, it's difficult to look at anything else.

~Christine

Christine I was thinking about getting a Fas Tech but we wanted something more family friendly. My kids are 10yo boy and 7yo girl and they love the water. I am also a scuba dive master so we wanted something we could spend the day on the water with the family and friends. Also be able to go to the ocean and spend the day out and then have the kids at the sitter and just the adults go out in the evening. I know in NC and if we move back to CA I will need a permit to tow the boat. Thats not really a big deal since NC and CA you can get extended permits.

Danny

I just sold my 2006 330 ss. It had 18 degree at the stern . People claim they pound , and I guess it did , especially compared to my friends 41 Stinger, but we both came home from Cape May to Manasquan last year and took the ocean, it was 2 to 4 foot chop the whole time and I averaged 32 mph no problem. I had 496's and before bottom paint it hit 60 on the GPS during my survey/purchase run. After bottom paint it only managed 53. No big deal as I only did that for a minute or few at a the. The key was the great cruise speed and nice ride. Boat is huge in the cockpit. I did get spider cracks in the cockpit floor just in front of the steps to the cabin. That seems to have happened on that 3 hour ocean pounding. Nice boat.

DITTO Awesome trailers, wish my new boat had one, it came with a Myco, and while it is well built I still liked my Performance better

Been gone from the boating forums a while. Might be due to the cold Michigan winter... didn't want to see the boat pics and start sobbing uncontraollably.

Anyway, EMS, did you pull the trigger on a boat?