Well I hope to finalize the deal on the 29 in the next couple days. Question is I've looked at both carbed and EFI. Any performance difference between the two. Pros or cons. I'd prefer EFI but one we're leaning towards is a carb setup.
I've discoverd the lousy cabin door and the slow sun pad lift. Other than that I've not noticed any other defects. I was very pleased as to how fast the boat comes on plane and the throttle response. One thing I did notice is the boat seems to feel heavy in the rear. I've never owned a boat with twins before so I'm not sure if this is a normal thing. The single engine boats always seem to feel somewhat light.

Any thoughts on the 29 would be appreciated.

I too just upgraded this year from a 1996 Powerquest 257 Legend 7.4L MPI to a 1997 Powerquest 290 Enticer with twin 454’s that is carbed. I agree the sunpad lift is slow, but you can change out the actuator. This boat is a lot heavier than my legend, but am pleased with the performance. The only issue I have is one of the engines had the choke stick in the closed position and one of the bilge pumps go TU. The only other wish is that it had anchor storage in the bow like the my legend had.

I owned a 1997 290 that had carbed 454's. My experience with the carbed motors was uneventful. They ran perfectly and started everytime. I wouldn't hesitate owning carbed motors. The only thing I think would be nice with EFI is being able to start the motors, when cold, without priming the carbs with the throttles first. Once the carbed motors are warm it starts no different than an EFI motor.

The twins will feel heavy compared to a single because there are twins and they are not on the centerline of the boat. The 290 does feel a little heavy in the stern with BB but the weight really makes itself known when leaving and reentering the water. Once you get used to how to trim it out it really isn't that big of a deal and it will land nicely. I used to boat all the time in Lake Michigan and it handled the water conditions perfectly fine for a boat of its size.

The slow hatch can be fixed with a relay. I never had it done on my old boat but I believe the new owner has had it done and it has made a world of difference. The cabin door on my old boat wasn't the worst and wasn't the best.

The 290 is a good boat. I never had any issues with mine.

Rock Star , I agree with the anchor locker. That will be the one thing I miss the most.

So I'm guessing all twin engine boats have that heavy stern feeling?? Or maybe it's not really so heavy and just the fact I've always had a single.

Not all twin engine boats feel stern heavy. You have twin big blocks in a 29' boat so the CG is not optimum.

As for carb vs. EFI, each have advantages and disadvantages. Depending on the year boat you are looking at, I would lean towards EFI. Just personal preference. The boat Venomous used to own does not have the stock Weber carbs on it which were known for cold start problems. Someone replaced the Webers with modified Holley 4150 double-pumpers.

One the things I like about my 02 290 is the small blocks.
The MX6.2 MPI weigh 140 lbs. less than a 7.4L and have more horsepower plus they burn less fuel. More power, less weight = more speed and quicker to plan

I'd love to find one with the 6.2. But in order to get that option I'd need to spend a lot more $$$ and it took several months to talk the wife into the amount I did.

The 290 is a great boat and you will love it! cbgnrl has Venomous' old boat on our dock and it is a nice ride. Plenty of cockpit and cabin space, good looks, and good performance. If I could ever talk the wife into an offshore-style boat, a 290 PQ would be on the short list. I think this boat with 6.2's would be the berries!

Agree with everyone here, we love our 290. As far as the anchor locker, I store two anchors in the huge floor lockers. Works great for me. I also had a 257 before the 290, my anchor was too large for the anchor locker anyway. Yes the hatch is slow, but effective, did not add the relay, but thought about it. Due to the length of the boat the CG is a little aft, but does not seem to affect the ride once moving. Best bang for the buck in my opinion!! Oh ya, mine are carbed too, if the boat sits for more than 2 days you have to prime the carbs. I did some research and sounds like most of these engines exhibit this condition. My cabin door seems to work great, but have heard other people griping about theirs?? My .02 KS

So what does the more speed equate to in GPS MPH??
My 7.4 carbs = 64.5 GPS in almost all conditions??
very curious. KS