292 vs. 311 dimensions
 

1990.....anyone have a ballpark figure on dimensional changes going from a 292 to 311? i.e. where the length increases....cockpit, sunpad, cabin, all three? Thanks for any input.

I think its in the engine compartment. 311 came with trs which had transmissions. When they went to bravos it left a lot of room in front of the engines. 292 never came with trs.

I see the sunpad/engine compartment is a bit larger and the v berth is also slightly longer on a 311. Everything else is the same. I noticed the rear of a 311 has two vents per side as opposed to one on the 292 and the v berth in the 311 has three cushions as opposed to the 292 only having two.

Correct, TomZ and I just compared our new ones over the last two weeks. Engine bay for sure and a smidge in the cuddy.

I've been on both boats and used to own a 311 and I would agree that the 311 has a little more room in the engine compartment and the bow is a little longer... The overall length is about (2) feet longer on the 311... Including the swim platform, the 311 is 33 ft and the 292 is 30 ft 11"

Just before I purchased my 292 several years ago I wondered the same thing. IIRC, there was approx 6" in the engine compartment, and another 1'+ in the cabin area. This is apparent when looking in the 292 cabin. The U part of the "U-berth" is not really a seat in the 292 if one were try to sit facing (looking out) the cabin door. In the 311, its a full U seat area. Also, the engine compartment has noticeably more area in front of the engines. There may be a few inches extra in the cockpit, but I didn't measure and it wasn''t noticeable if
any.

To me, that is a disappointing aspect of the series of boats (both then and now). . . none of the extra space is in the cockpit. They are virtually the same going from 27 feet all the way up into the 35 foot range,

I owned a 1990 292 sr1 and my buddy had a 1990 311 sr1. I think the 311 is the best designed and running sr1 that Formula ever made. My 292 was a little bow light at top speed, the 311 seemed to run a lot flatter and was much more stable in rough seas. I know 2' shouldn't mean that much, but IMHO it does in moving to the 311. Also, full hydraulic external steering is a must on either model. Completely different boat with hydraulic steering.

I've only had my 292 since August and I'm still playing with different props, but I didn't want to think I was crazy when I thought the boat really feels loose and squirrely above 55-60. It would be scary sometimes when trimming out. It has some gimbal play in one drive but I didn't think it could cause that much fish tale through the boat. I still have managed a few 70-72 mph runs with close to a full tank of gas, but I keep thinking about hydraulic steering. P.S. I love the cockpit space in my boat!

[QUOTE=LouieM;4533123]I've only had my 292 since August and I'm still playing with different props, but I didn't want to think I was crazy when I thought the boat really feels loose and squirrely above 55

Mine had the 454 mags with Stainless Marine exhaust.. I ran 24 bravo 4 blades after the exhaust and loved how it performed! I can't recall top speed with the 4 blades (got like 74 speedo out of the 3 bladed Mirages).