Smoke eater

So I want to have a discussion and I want others inputs. In the next year give or take I want to seriously upgrade from my 272 sr1 to something newer and bigger. After my thoughts I think I've decided my dream is the Fastech 382. However no I'm second guessing myself, should I also be considering the Fastech 353? As far as towing goes I currently have a 2013 Ford F350 Dually. Don't plan on going smaller in truck so I'm hoping it would handle towing either. As much as I thought I wanted to go with something along the lines of a top gun, I don't wanna leave the formula family. Just seems like the few options they have over the cig might make it more family practical. So I've mostly decided to stay with the brand I know and currently love. But I want to know as far as my future choice I've made the correct one. So I've thought about it and some things I've decided that I want to achieve in the newer purchase are, AC and a generator. I understand that things break and go wrong and this is one of the things that potentially can I still want that option to have, If I ever decided I would want or need to use them. I know this is a big investment and purchase so I want to make sure when I do it I get what I want and still make a smart decision. Another thing I want to consider it having is blue motors. I would like something reliable and yet still have the ability to go crazy with upgrades if I wanna try and make it go faster. Which brings me to my next point, I like the idea of the go fast feel but lets face it anything over 60mph on a boat in whatever water condition feels fast and is good enough for me. My biggest thing over speed is the ability to handle what ever I get my self into. I will mainly be boating Lake Michigan, how ever I would like to some day venture off and do a few trips here and there one of which would be going from Miami to Bimini. I am currently a family of four.(Myself,wife,son and daughter) might have kids on the boat or friends or all of the above. Would like the ability to try and overnight on the boat if the opportunity ever presented itself. Mostly wanting to use the boat as the getaway.I don't want it to be more stressful then what boating can be at times. What is a fair price to pay for these boats with a trailer and some of the options. I want to do the research ahead of time so when I'm ready to pull the trigger I can do it and know that I made a good choice. What have people done or wished they had done to these boats. What are some pros and cons over each of these boats. Has anyone owned each and if so which one did the like better and why? Do they wish things were different between the two. Does one have options the other does not? Lets hear everyone's feedback. Or am I crazy for wanting to go this route? Any certain things I should be looking for or staying away from when making my choices. Sorry that I went on and on just want everyone to voice their opinion. Thanks again guys for sharing your thoughts and comments. Feel free to share pics of your boats what ever it may be. Or tell me about the little changes you did that you really noticed made a difference. I should also add that I'm trying hard to stay below the 75k mark. Ideally well below but lets face it, it costs money to have fun.

Franks292

An F350 dually is plenty of truck to pull a 353 or 382. Now my honest opinion, if you want bang for your buck with speed, get a 353 with blue motors. A few on the market for less that 75k. 353's respond really well to power. As for comfort and overnights and crushing big waves on lake Michigan, 382 would be your best bet. I personally like the 353 more, I wish I was able to buy my slip neighbor's 353 but my current finances wouldn't allow. I wouldn't waste my time on any fastech with black merc motors, I strongly regret not getting a 292 fastech with blue motors. My boat is a turd compared to the scorpion powered ones. A 353 with 500HP efi's will run 80 vs one with black motors will only run high 60's/low 70's. And a 382 with black motors would be lucky to run mid 60's.

t500hps

This exact question has been asked before.....because I've answered it.

While there is a 3ft difference in the 2 boats, they are drastically different. If they were Fords, the 353 is a Mustang while the 382 is an Excursion. The 382 is just a bigger/wider wave crusher compared to the faster/nibble 353.

Smoke eater

Thanks I figured this would have been asked/answered before. With the 3ft difference where am I going to notice that at? Is the cabin area the downfall of the 353 over the 382? Im sure people have owned both and would have the knowledge that I do not. Looks like I need to make friends with owners of both boats to get a real feel for it and spend some time with each.

Maritime_Eng

That is a great comparison (Mustang vs Excursion), My family and I have owed many Formula's over the years 242, 272, 311 and a 382. If I did it over again I would have went with a 353. They are just more fun to drive than the 382.

fossil fuel

My 382 came with 525's bravos. While it was a great boat it was still sluggish with the weight. A 353 with the same power probably is really responsive. That puts blue within the average budget on a 353. When I re powered to 700's it completely changed the boat. The NXT drives with cleavers made the boat crisp and fast. Cruising at 70 was effortless. Getting up on plane with 4-5 in the boat was almost instant............but the repower price tag was over $100K. You can not find a more forgiving safe family boat than a formula. Its not the fastest but it will not hook and launch everyone over the side. The formula bottom is what I call a rocker bottom. It works well at all speeds and is forgiving when you do stupid stuff. A Cig or Fountain are much faster with the same power. When you look at the bottoms they are almost flat from the transom forward to the 2nd step. This design is way more sensitive to driver input, especially at high speed. Outerlimits need full time pay attention to trim and tab at speed. These are also great boats but dumb driver errors are often rewarded with oh CRAP!!. Good luck on the search.

Smoke eater

I hate that I just saw that big thunder just posted a 1999 formula 382 for sale even though it has everything I wanted .I kinda feel that at 489 hours on the stock 500efi never being opened and the fact that it sounds like it doesnt include trailer, I feel that 77k is a bit high for the price. My buddy just told me that it was listed on a facebook page he belongs to. Tried looking on big thunders website and I dont see it listed so maybe its to new for them to have had time list it on their site. And the fact that I havent even considered trying to list my current bird for sale. Not looking to jump to high to fast as I'm sure when the time comes everything should fall into place. Or so one could hope

Franks292

I see Fossil Fuel from time to time on Lake Michigan. I also looked at it 3 years ago at GSC while i was signing the papers for my 292, What a bird! Probably the most badass 382 I've ever seen in my life. As for the hull, I had a 27ft Scarab before I bought my 292 and man, what a difference! I know my 292 is the little brother of the Fastech family but it'll hold its own in less than ideal conditions compared to my old scarab which was about the same hull length minus the swim platform on my 292. I've ridden in a 336 SR1 and a 33 outlaw in similar conditions. Formula just has a better hull. There a few 353's hitting the market. There's even two 419 fastechs for sale within 100 miles of Chicago, both less than $100k with tripple 500 EFI's. Talk about a serious wave crusher for lake Michigan!

pputkowski

Can’t add much to the discussion beyond sharing this boat that is available locally. I know the owner and he is the kind of guy you want to buy a boat from, you can tell by the photos and description it is the right kind of boat.

https://charlotte.craigslist.org/boa...131304601.html

Barr Hopping

The 3 ft difference is an extra foot in the cuddy between the head and side couches, extra foot in the cockpit, and en extra foot in front of the engines where the generator and vacuflush is normally mounted. We have a 382, but looked at 353s before we bought it. We liked the extra room. Ours is fully loaded, 500 EFIs, runs 66 with a weekends worth of crap and fuel, 69 with 2 people and super low on fuel.