New to the genre looking for a boat
 

Hi everybody

I’m writing from Finland and have been looking for my first boat of this type for some weeks now. I think Formula 311 is my choice. The problem living here is that the selection in used offshore boats isn’t that great. There is one being sold for little less than $60K and one for half that price. To my untrained eye they look the same 😅

The cheaper one has trs, borg warner and hp420 from -89. The more expensive has hp500’s from 2004 with some version of bravo i guess. They are both ”very well maintained” as you would expect. The cheaper one has these fins under the drives cut smaller for some reason. The seller said someone probably cut them to reduce drag. But.. Is there any sense in that? Should it be a red flag?

The more expensive one is clean looking, but I was thinking is 60K way too much for 311 with hp500’s with 1000h’s in them? The seller hadn’t heard anything about valves needing to be maintained every 300h’s, so I’m thinking they probably haven’t.

I guess I’m writing to hear it from you to hold my horses and wait for better candidates.

hp 500's or 500 EFI ? usually when the skegs have been shortened its because of damage and they cut them to match

I’m pretty sure they are hp500’s. Carbs on top.

Anyone nearby that can do a good survey complete with sea test, compression test and moisture meter readings of the structure? That alone could save you many thousands and untold hours of frustration/downtime.

That might be a good idea. Should they be specialized to these kind on boats or will anyone do? Isn’t it quite basic tech after all?

There is a third option available to consider. A 357 with TRS, cbb 502 mk6 engines and mercury transmission. Haven’t found much info on the engines, but I assume cbb means Chevy Big Block. So is it a car engine marinized? Mercury tranny seems to be the less favoured option of the two available.

Again, it’s a clean looking boat, but.. I’m going to visit our naighboring country to see the 311 with hp420’s, so might check this one out on the same trip. But it would mean 3-4 h more driving.

Heering80,

Spam an old thread and get your post count up to ten, then post some pics if you have them. You'll get a lot more and better advice if the experts here on OSO aren't trying to advise blind.

Thanks. Brad.

Boat in Finland LINK
Boat we’re going to SEE
Third one, 357

So we’re going to see this one boat soon. I requested to see the boat on a trailer before test drive, but the owner said he’ll be launching it before we get there. We can then pick it up afterwards to see the hull, he said.

Now, when going to see used cars, I’ve gotten to think it’s very informative to see engine starting cold. Is there some potential flaw with these boats that might reveal itself more easily right at the launch? For example if the fresh water pumps are going bad, might it be that they require some fiddling on the first start, but function normally after that? Any other ideas why it would be good to see the launch?

Not sure why the seller won't wait for you before he launches the boat. That would raise suspicion for me but maybe he just wants to save time ? Maybe the engines are hard starting when cold. As far as the pumps, if there's an issue with them that will show up regardless. Keep an eye on the engine temps. Watch the engine compartment , look for water leaks. Good luck

A wise man told me many years ago to buy as new/low hours as you can afford.

I think it’s absolutely plausible that he is just using it for own driving / fun during the becoming week. But still I was wondering what were the possible faults one could try to hide doing that 😅

Went to see the boat today. Generally it was a very good experience. Our first time in this kind of boat. It was clean and clearly had been taken care of. We went 75 mph wot with ease. This was the boat with 454 hp420’s, borg warned and trs.

However, there were few things that made me a little bit unsure.
First, both engines started with a backfire or a bang around the carb. It didn’t repeat after that anymore.
Then after the engines were hot, they stalled on idle when going back to marina. Or I think another one of them did a few times. One time it triggered some alarm noise, which the seller said was oil pressure due to the stalled engine (which sounds about right to me).
Then another temp gauge was dead, the other was only slightly raised to around 150 if I remember correctly. It would have been nice to be able to see the temps. There were these stainles exhausts going from manifolds to the back. They were only slightly warm to the hand after some driving. One of them was a little on the hot side but not burning. Maybe they should’ve been equally hot?
Then lastly, the circuit broker for k-plane strbr side had gone off in the fuse box inside the rear seat. Both tabs seemed to work whem the button was pressed in the marina dock with no speed. I was thinking that did it mean the fuse had been passed with wiring. He couldn’t tell anything about it. It was 35A fuse, so woouldn’t want to guide that in wrong places.

Well, there’s my experience. How bad it seems to your ear?

This a fresh or salt water boat? I'd ask when or if the manifolds /risers have been replaced .

This is a salt water boat, but the salt levels here are waay lower than what you have. I understood that he hasn’t done anything to manifolds and risers in 11 years. There were no leaks and they were shining bright outside, no rust nothing.

75 in that boat with those engines ? was that gps or the water meter

that was gps. It was 65 knots but that translates to 75 mph doesn’t it? Three bladed mirages.

Does the 357 have Merctrans 2 trannys? Wasn't clear in the translation. Merctrans were no longer used by the time the 357 was avaliable. I wouldn't think someone would retrofit one into a Borg Warner TRS setup.

Note that TRS is difficult to find parts and find competent people to work on them. Sourcing parts in EU would be rough.

The Bravo 311 would be a better long term investment. But at 1000hrs, they're certainly due for a re-fresh. Price should reflect that.

TRS drives are reliable and very robust. But are not as hydrodynamic as a Bravo. 80s and early 90s Formula SR1s won't.set any speed.records, but are timeless in their styling.

Are you looking for next season? What is the cost to ship an North American boat to EU?

Yes the text says it has mercruiser transmission. Might be a mistake, but anything is possible with these things I guess.

I’m looking to buy after I have sold our current boat, which means next season or one after that. If a hard to pass opportunity would pop up before that, it would be possible to buy earlier too. I think 311 is a model that could be easily imported since there are some units sold here as new at some point. There was some 27? model that was for sale there that I asked about. The dealer told it might be difficult to get CE-certificates for it, and that the engine would certainly no be eligible for that. Transportation costs could be significant, but I have no idea how bad.. Maybe $5K? But yeah, there would certainly be much more to choose from over there. I would just have to buy without seeing it live.

Have you looked at this one: https://www.blocket.se/annons/vastma...is_/1400768162 ?

Yes I have seen that one too. For some reason I haven’t gotten interested in it. It might be that the pictures are not as clear and well lit as in other ads or something irrelevant like that. Makes the boat look dirty. And no interior pics.

It says the engines are gone through by a reputable company though.

The 311/336 sizes would offer me all that I need. Is this a bit too much?

Really don’t get the logic behind this sales site. You’d had to be swedish citizen or have a swedish bank account to be able to send a message there. And because the seller hasn’t given his whole name, I can’t even google it.

It is a big boat, and it might be more than you need.

It is the rebuilt engines from a supposedly reputable shop with receipts for the work done, that I think is interesting. Nothing better than a turn key boat with no issues.

Furthermore it looks like he is ready to accept lower offers, so maybe he really wants to sell it, but the price really depends on the condition, and what has been done to those engines. Here in Denmark the market is really not good to sell such a boat, but I am not sure if it is better in Sweden. I am not even sure it could sell for 400000 SEK here in Denmark.

I have a 292 Fastech myself, and I think that would be difficult to sell here, even for a low price.

Today I called a broker company that specializes in boat import business. They told me that it’s been made practically impossible to import used boats from USA, so I have to forget that option.

It would be very expensive and the boat wouldn’t get CE-approval even though the same model had been imported here at some point.

CE certification is always up against the latest CE requirements, unfortunately. Instead of having to comply with the rules that applied the year the boat was manufactured, like you do when importing cars.

This means that engines will have to comply to the latest emission and noise requirements, and the boats that old were never CE certified, so that is going to be a more comprehensive certification, and maybe it can't pass at all.

The selection in the US is much bigger, but you would also have to add transportation cost, duty and VAT on top, so it adds up, and then cost of the CE certification, that might not even be possible.

So better stick to boats in the EU.

My Formula 292 Fastech was imported and CE certified in the year 2005. Already in 2006 it was no longer possible to get boats with captains call/silent choice exhaust to pass CE certification due to new noise requirements.

It sounds like your knowledge on boats is limited. How handy, mechanically inclined are you ?
There are going to be a lot of things to fix on an old boat and salt water eats everything from the inside out .
You might be getting in too deep . It takes a lot of $$ and work to keep old boats running .
What boat do you have now?

I believe I’ll manage 😏 I’m just new to this kind of boats. Actually I have been thinking that switching to these enables me to do the maintenance by myself. Motors seems quite simple and theres not much electricity involved. It’s an 80’s tech, how hard can it be 😅 They are big machines, that’s true. I guess it’s a matter of preference how you want to hobby. You can pay people to do stuff, and you can do it yourself. Just have to find the sweet spot somewhere in the middle.

We have a Botnia Targa 30 currently.