Offshoreonly.com - PowerQuest 280 Silencer

mars,

We looked at pretty near every "mainstream" boat in the 27-29 range before we bought our 280. I had a post on here back in the dark ages about that search and our thoughts, but I think it's been lost in the depths of the forum.

Anyway, here's what I remember:

Powerquest 280 - great combination of cabin and cockpit size. Pretty nice styling, good fit and finish. Excellent factory support. A lot of useful space in the cockpit. Came with a decent windshield that actually blocked the wind (a definite consideration here in Michigan). IMHO, best combination of size and price.
Formula 271 - slightly better looking than the PQ (look at the way the windshield integrates with the rear quarters of the boat). Slightly smaller in the cockpit. Believe it weighs a couple hundred pounds more than the PQ, probably 1-3 mph slower on the top end with the same power - IMO, that is within the margin of error for driver/water differences. Was much more money than the PQ and I couldn't justify the extra cash. Is it a nicer boat than the PQ? Overall, I'd say yes, just not many thousands of dollars nicer.
Baja 272 - I thought the overall build quality was a little lower than the PQ and Formula. We didn't care for the rounded styling of the boat, and around here they are a dime-a-dozen. I wanted something a bit more unique.
Fountain 27 - way, way smaller than the others for the same or more money. Nice hardware (K-planes instead of tabs, that sort of thing). Generally dislike the styling of Fountain boats and hate the left-hand throttles and dune buggy steering wheel. In order to be comparable in size to the other "27" boats, you have to go to the Fountain 29, and then you are in a whole 'nother price category. But it is fast as greased eel...
Checkmate 27 - we only looked at these briefly as the Admiral did not like the styling. Lots of satisfied owners out there, however.
Sunsation 288 - In my opinion, it is the looker of the group. Very slick and Mitcher T paint is light-years ahead of any of the others. Fast with similar power, I'd say only the Fountain could run with one. But... narrower than the Formula and PQ (8' beam vs. 8'6"). Outstanding finish and factory support that is better than most custom boats. We would have bought this boat but for two reasons - no windshield (at the time, you can get one now) and I got a bad vibe from the dealer (and Sunsation stopped doing business with them shortly thereafter).

If I were in the market for a new 28' today, I'd be looking long and hard at the Sunsation, with the Formula and PQ in second place. I haven't really followed it, but it looks like PQ bumped their prices a fair bit over the past few years. When we bought our 99, it was a bargain compared to the Formula. I bought a new '99 PQ for the price of a used '97 271 Formula, similarly equipped - not sure you could do that today.

Keep in mind that most of these boat will run in the mid-60's with a 502 Mag, maybe a mph or two faster with a strong 496 Mag HO. An HP500 or 525 would put the Sunsation and Fountain into the 70 mph range, probably close with the others, though I think you won't find too many of these boats with blue motors.

In any case, I'd suggest you do what we did - make an honest assessment of how you'll use the boat, the shop accordingly. Good luck! Keep the board in the loop, it's a great resource!!