Copy that. Does he have any pics he'd like to share? I may be able to rule it out as an option right from the get go. If so, I can PM you my email. If not, we'll see this spring. Either way, thanks for taking time to speak with him.

LOL, perfect...AND FREE? ....Just a few thousand dollar road trip, right? Yep, that one's a bit of a stretch isn't it?

I'm in Cleveland, Oh. where we boat in burning rivers and such....

I'm not sure, ill ask for ya.

Just curious, any other boats out there that interest you in that size range/price range? The old 272 Formula is a nice boat, just not sure Id search high and low for the perfect one. Theres lots of great old boats in that size range, that can be bought very reasonably. Some that come to mind

30FT Scarab Panther
28 or 30ss Sonic
281 Checkmate
Formula 302
Formula 292
Formula 311
Baja 280 or 300es
Scarab 31 Excel
Wellcraft 26 Nova ST
Scarab II
Donzi Z-29

Bunch of others too. Id look at all of them, and find the cleanest, best equipped, structurally sound boat you can swing, and like.

Thanks.

I have looked at a couple of the above and suppose I should broaden the search to other manufacturers. It's easy to get stuck on something. I just love the lines of those 272s and 311s. Was trying to keep it around 27ft mostly for towing and storage purposes in the drive. I will look at the ones I'm not familiar with. Ya never know when something is gonna catch yer eye......

I haven't read all the posts that are on here but I've read enough. For starters as just about everyone here has posted- the price is way to high. Second that boat with twin 350's is going to be a dog. I'd bet you'll be lucky to see 55 mph. When you get sick of that speed, which will take about one trip out, you're going to have big bucks in to to modify it. The drives will have to be converted to bravos for starters and like any modification, your going to need to replace the exhaust. Good luck finding a nice set of used exhaust manifolds, big block- no problem- small blocks are rare and expensive if you find them. The 272 is not much different than my 292 and there is no way I would buy a 292 with small blocks. It took one summer and the 330's were replaced with 450 hp 454's. With that power the boat feels great. With small blocks your going to always be in the secondaries, you will get worse mileage than big blocks.

Just curious, what happened to your fuel consumtion when you went to the 450hp motors from the 330's? Thanks.

It's hard to say- I'd say if anything at cruise its maybe a touch better but if I'm running it hard it will use more fuel. There is nothing worse than an underpowered boat because you're always running it hard. I find it funny when people by little engines in boats because they think they will get better mileage. Unless you're just idling you will get better mileage as your power increases up to a point. At least thats been my findings. I agree with most of the boats that Mild Thunder listed. I will say this though, there are not many boats that are built better than Formulas. They are not the fastest boat out there but they are built like tanks. I've rebuilt 3 over the last 5 years and I've yet to see a rotten transom or stringer or any wood for that matter. And some of these boats had sat outside for years uncovered. The biggest issue are the wood modular panels on the side. These will usually rot out, but its an easy, cheap fix.

The Scarab Panther has great lines and is one of my favorite Scarabs; however, I've read that they frequently have rot issues due to how they were layed up. If you can find a good one though, they are a nice boat.

Sonics are great boats as well. Built tough but again they are heavy and will need power to go fast.

Either way you should be able to find a nice BBC 272 with trailer for $15000.00 or less. I really like my 292 and you can pick them up for around $20-23 for a nice one. Just make sure you get 454 Mags and K-Planes. The best of the 3 is the 311, they are about the same price as 292. I don't know how far you intend to tow your boat but I tow mine locally with a BMW X5 with a V-8. It tows it without an issue!

Little algebra for ya....It takes x amount of fuel to make y horsepower. It takes y horsepower to move a particular boat lets say 50 mph. So no matter if you have 700 peak horsepower or 200 if it only takes 200 to push the boat to 50 that's all your using and it only takes x amount of fuel to make 200 hp. If all she makes is 200 and 50 is topped out youre destroying that engine every time out. But 50 mph cruise in a boat capable of 75+ is a Sunday ride. Granted its not this cut and dry. Prop pitch load etc all contribute and throw the numbers off but propped right for your use fuel consumption only becomes an issue when you push the sticks to the dash. If you have no self control go small blocks and save for rebuilds lol.