New Powerquest owner
 

If all goes as expected I will finalize a deal on a 2000 280 silencer this Wednesday. The survey and Sea trial have come back as very good, and all that's necessary for me to do is make the transaction (the boat is out of state). The will be a new style of boating for me, and I'm sure I'll have a zillion questions. I've always had a flybridge cruiser (which I'm keeping), so this is all new to me.

The boat is powered by 502 with a procharger and the related goodies (XR drive, Hydro steering etc). On the sea trial it was clocked by a handheld at 68.

Believe it or not I haven't seen the boat .....only pictures (confirmed by the surveyor and company I've contracted to haul it), but it's supposed to be super sweet. Showroom classic condition.

Oh well, I'll know first hand in a few days in if all goes right, I'm a PQ owner. My first question:

Is Powerquest still in business? Thanks

Nope out of business, but regardless still a great boat, I am sure you will enjoy it, very well built boats.

Good luck but.....how does it have a 502 with a pro-charger and only run 68mph?

I thought the same thing but did not comment on that, my old 270 with 502 mag NA ran 62 ish stock and the guy i sold it to bolted on a small whipple and ran 75 ish.

I bought my Powerquest 257 over the internet too (sight unseen just like you). Had it surveyed and picked it up 6 months later....
Ive owned my boat now for 2.5 years and couldnt be any happier--they really do build an outstanding boat! Wait till you get it and start to look in areas that are normally not seen (behind gunwalls, under seats, behind the dash etc) and it will impress you with the amount of work they put into these boats so they would last--very little plastic on board too. My boat doesnt have any stress cracks or signs whatsoever that it is a 15 year old boat.
Im 1000% sold on them and Im sure you will be too. Congrats.

PS--I agree with everyone else on your top speed--are you sure it has a procharger? Something doesnt seem right with 68 mph and ballpark 600 hp

just remember that boat has a stepped hull so start slow , get some practice and feel for how the hull works, then let er' loose.

68 seems reasonable if not high for a stock 502. Procharger should get you near 80

A good friend of mine had the same boat with a pro charged 454 efi mag, and it ran in the low 80's. I'd make sure you have a leak down test done on the motor to make sure everythings ok. That boat will run 68 mph stock, with a 502, easy.

80 Wow!!! The surveyor took it out for a sea trial and phoned me and said he "ran it up" to 68 on his hand held and kept it there for about 15 seconds. So, based on what I'm reading that must not have been WOT. I'll definitely have to take my time and creep up to speeds like that. He also said he did a hard turn at 45 and the boat handled well. Being a novice at this, I've read alot about "chinewalk" and am obviously a little concerned. Is this a major issue with PQ's? Any tips on handling and what I should do (and expect) to get used to it? Thanks in advance for all of your comments and advice.

I boat on Lake St. Clair, so if any of you are in that area I look forward to meeting you. Any PQ rally's or anything like that scheduled? Thanks again.

I have 50 some pictures. If anyone is interested and has the time to take a look at a few, I can send some of the engine and drive. As I said, this is all new to me, so it would be helpful if someone could explain what some of this stuff is! LOL.

I phoned pro-charger and gave them the serial number of the charger. They gave me the purchase date and service history (was never in for any service), and explained a little about it to me. My local mechanic pointed out some of the other upgrades, but I'm still not really clear on all that I have. I'm sure the survey will define it a little more clear.

I actually stumbled into this. I was just looking for a stock PQ 280 in good shape. This one is in excellent shape and has all of the add on's that I didn't plan on.

Like its been mentioned just take your time, in varying water conditions and at different speeds, and get used to it. Tab position may also come into play at higher speeds. Throttle down, and lower the drive slightly when approching tight turns. I had a 270 with twins in it, and it was a very forgiving boat. Good Luck!

Tuck the drive on a step bottom boat ? are you sure ?

Laszlo: I used to live in Rockwood. When I was a kid (early 60s) I lived on Candace. And, I owned a house on Lynn/Hazel in the early 80s.

anything above 65 on that boat and it will start to chinewalk which is pretty typical. Do you have bennett tabs or K-planes?

Do you have hydraulic steering?

I cannot stress enough to take it easy. Might even be wise to have someone you know in the area to go out with you to give you a few tips.

.........oh, and do not tuck the drive on a step hull when making a turn. If you tuck the drive, the aft of the boat has a tendency to 'lift' and skip across the water in the turn causing a spin out and possibly a roll over if not careful.

Not to scare you but practice and advice go along way.

Thats pretty funny I grew up in Dearborn right down from Ford world HQ and moved down here about 10 yrs ago, most people have never heard of Rockwood, but it is a nice thing! We have 2 acres with over 5000 sq ft backed up to state land with lots of deer, and not to many people even know we exist back here so it is nice and quiet as well, and at 1 mile away from lake erie its great for trailering the big boats.

Also do not tuck in your drive on a step boat, unless you want to spin it out ! Take it easy get used to it and on the powerquest just a touch of tabs at higher speeds sets it up nicely.

Alright already, stike the " tuck " comment and insert lower slightly. Its all about seat time, regardless. :party-smiley-004: I honestly forgot about the 280 having steps. My 270 had a straight bottom.

Thanks for the replies. I have Mercury ITS steering. I think you're giving good advice. I will take a couple guys that I know (one has a 48 fountain and the other a sunsation) out with me for the first few times. I doubt I'll have the boat up to 60 for a longgggg time. I'm pretty cautious and honestly a little nervous. I respect the power. This chinewalk stuff really concerns me. I know nothing about this.

If it should chinewalk, how do you get out of it......throttle down?

Sorry, I forgot; I have tabs............not K planes

My 280 has a HP500efi and runs 69 all day long with 4 people and 3/4 tank of fuel I have had it 71 on gps a couple times. no chine walk just run a little tabs(I have K Planes) you will find the sweet spot

For chine walk back off a touch and re adjust or give it a bit of tab to settle it down.

Great. It's a "done deal". I drove to NC Tuesday, made the deal Wednesday, and she's sitting in my driveway right now! I can't wait to get her polished and WET!

Glad to see people getting in on the good deals out there, they wont be out there for much longer, good luck with your new ride and enjoy it.

Thank you for your responses/tips. I'm out on St. Clair often. My Bertram is "Out and About" and I don't think I'm going to name the PQ. But, she's a 2000 280 with dark blue, light blue, red, and yellow accents. Look me up if you're up this way!

We will be out there for the nooner and the moot, I will be the only 37 Active Thunder out there, named Energy Crisis.

I won't be at the nooner, because I will be down your way that weekend. Swan Boat Club by Fermi has their annual weekend regatta. Great party. Maybe we can hook up at the moot. Active Thunder.............great boat!

Steve, great to hear!!

You will love that boat. I had a 99 with 502 and it treated me very good.

congrat's, I have a 280 w/ 502, 69.5 is my top speed(gps), I installed 16" tabs and my boat has single ram hydrualic steering that seem to help with the chine walk. you should consider hydraulic steering at those speeds, The previous owner also installed a 1" drive spacer and picked up a couple mph,

let's see some pic's

you mind me asking what you got it for?

I paid $33K. 2000 Powerquest 280. 320 hours. Original engine was replaced in 2005 with a 502 MPI, owner says the new engine has 70 hours. Procharger, XR drive, and ITS steering added.

I waxed it this weekend, so looked every inch of it over. There literally isn't a scratch on it. It has a bimini top w/ full enclosure that has never been used! Also has a cockpit cover and full cover. All gafrig gauges and shifters. Livorsi GPS speedo. Porti potti never been used, but is plumbed but not connected.

This bilge is clean enough to eat off of

email me at [email protected] and I will send pictures if you would like. I'm not sure how to post them here.

Need some pics!!

You made a great buy. Congrats and enjoy.

sound like a good deal, I think you have to be a paying member to post pic's

what kind of speed was he getting with the procharger?

The owner passed away 18 months ago. I made the purchase through the wife. The owner would often run with his brother in law, who owns a fountain. The brother in law told me he was running high 70s.

The only actual speed I know of was the man I hired to do the survey hit 68 on the sea trial at 4800. He then backed off. He noted in the survey the boat was "clearly capable of high 70's speed".

He also noted that he did "hard turns" at 45 MPH without any slippage. Of course he had it out on a small inland lake in NC, not on Lake St. Clair on a busy Saturday!

We will be down at Put-In-bay on saturday with the A/T if you are out.

I agree i have a 260 legend sx with a upgraded 509 with modifacations and a speed demon carb and pushing 550 hp with a 25 pitch 4 bladed merc prop and its hitting 80 mph. just be easy getting her out of the whole save alot on the drive.

This thread stopped? How did it run last summer? I'm new to the PQ world and have been reading around trying to learn as much as I can. Was just curious on how your summer with the new boat went?

Summer didn't go well. I love the PQ but had more than my share of problems. Not being familar with the blower was probably the root of most trouble. I ran into one issue after another, and eventually blew the motor (burned 2 pistons).

At the end of the year I rebuilt and went back stock . At the end of the year I was still trying to find the right prop set-up. I'll start this spring continuing that effort.

So far, the best I've been able to do is run a Hydromotive 24 that will turn 5000 but only get me to to a top end around 55. My goal is to get up on plane in a reasonable time, run around 35 MPH at 3000, 45 at 4000, and top out around 60. We'll see.

How's things going in your PQ world?

This boat looks exactlly like BillR's 2000 280! Are you the third owner?

No, I'm the second owner. The original owner and boat was from Lake Norman N.C.

Steve, I hope this summer is a better summer for you!
I havn't got her in the water yet, but give me another two weeks and I'll let you know!

JPlanes: Are you near Lake Cumberland? I'm coming down this year for the poker run in September. Have the houseboat reserved already and will probably spend Sat. night at State Dock.