Help with a 27 to 29 boat
 

Hi I,m new to the boards and would like to get a little advice from some of you guy,s . I am from North NJ and boat on Lake George , we have a 1988 245 Chris Craft limited and like to cruise along in the 45 to 55 range, we are not speed demons , but would like to have a newer boat . We are looking at Formulas 271 ,Donzi 26zx or a fountain 27 I want to be able to sit up in the cabin W/O bending my neck, I trailer everywhere I go , any thoughts or ideas on power 496HO ?? also I hear reports of used prices going way down IE: Fountain any likes or dislikes or other boats I should consider

Thanks:confused:

All the boats you mentioned are great boats. The Formula and Donzi are probably the larger(heavier) out of the three, while the Fountain should be the fastest.

If you're looking for reliability, no-worries, hassle-free operation the 496HO would be perfect and it makes great power for a stock engine. You'll cruise in your indicated range all day long. :cool:

Where do you stay up here? Where is Harmony, NJ? There are a lot of good boats out there in that size range, try them all. You cannot really make an intelligent decision without trying them all before you buy. You are starting with the best names in the business. Good luck.

Shane we stay at SCOTTIES on the South end for the past 10 years , we like to hang at log bay and we go to "LOG BAY DAY"

We have a 245 Chris Craft Limited is that a skater I see???

I have a '99 Formula 271 Fastech, love it (bought it new). I have the HP500EFI and run in the lower 70's. With a 502Mag or a 496HO the boat runs in the mid to upper 60's. The ride's great, with a big cockpit area, but as a result the cabin is not as big as some 27 ftrs. The boat will cruise all day at 40mph and acutally gets pretty good fuel mileage for what it is. I have over nighted a few times in this boat, the vee berth is comfrontable with good ventilation. I also have the full canvas setup so I can leave the cabin door open to increase air flow.

The Fountain will be a couple of MPH faster, but is has substantially less cockpit and cabin room (the beak custs a couple of usable feet off of it).

For what you describe as your needs, either the Formula or the Donzi would be good fits, it all comes down to personnal tastes.

Hope this helps.

Welcome to OSO. I have one and would strongly suggest a 28 Active Thunder. It is as big a 28 you will find. Mine has a 496ho and is far from fast but it will run 63-65 all day long in any water you throw at it. Just my .02. Feel to call John or Pat at Active Thunder at 1-954-782-1111

Re: Help with a 27 to 29 boat
 

I had a 27 fountain and it was a great boat, but the cabin is not large. I am 5'10 and I could sit upright in the cabin with out hitting my head. I have a 28 Pantera now and I would say there is an additional foot of headroom in the cabin. It's also quite a bit bigger overall boat. The fountain has a beak and a intigrated platform so the cockpit is smaller and so is the length of the cabin. My Fountain ran 67 on GPS with a 454mag MPI and 435 hours on it so I am sure it was a bit tired. There will be a lot more 27 fountains to choose from than anything else. I enjoyed the boat a great deal for the 2 years I had it. It's a good and fast boat for it's size but it is kind of looking at a vet, not a whole lot of room.

28 Donzi ZX
 

Here's a 2000 28ZX for 65k.

Rod

A 26' to 28' Sonic will be exactly what you need. They are not making 28s anymore, so the price may have gone down on them. They were available with twins or a single. The 26' Sonic is a phenominal boat.

www.sonicusaboats.com for specs on both of them.
www.offshore-performance.com for new and used boats in stock in your area.

Re: 28 Donzi ZX
 

Rod - is that a poker hand graphic sticker in front of the "Donzi"? Where'd you get it?