I've been looking for a new to me Formula for a few months now. Not sure which hull would be more suited for what I want to use it for, we would be doing long cruises up to 350 miles on the Great Lakes and hauling it in the winter months to Florida. I've gone to look at 419 SR-1's, 353 FASTech's and several others. Since it's been winter months there have been no sea trials on any yet but I do not know what to look for in ride and handling differences between the two. Also I would like cruising speeds to be at least 50mph. Thanks for any input on this.

SR1s are not going to cruise easily at 50 unless they have bigger than stock power or you run them at somewhere over 3.800 all the time.

If you plan to overnight on it then SR1's are "bigger" than their Fastech counterparts. The old school 357 is nearly as big as the newer 382. Also note the 3 feet between the 353 and 382 is HUGE. Somehow the 382 seems 5 ft longer and 2 foot wider inside (I'm exaggerating but you get the point). I had a 382 and we did lots of overnighters to long weekends.....including a 6 day trip with our 3 boys. Mine had nearly 700hp and it cruised 60 at 3,500. Not sure what they run stock as mine had blower motors when I got it (and we changed them).

382 with 500 efi runs around 72-74 mph wich is roughly 8-10 mph faster than my 357 with 454/420 warmed up to 485 hp
changed to get a higher cabin with my sonic

What did you change the blower motors out for? I want to keep it simple with no blowers but increase the power at some point.

I bought the boat with 8PSI Prochargers on 500EFI's. The motors had been "hurt" and ran extremely rich. Sold the Prochargers and built 10:1 540's. Ported Iron Eagles, ported Plenum, monoblade TB, Cam, etc. Looked stock but pulled 630hp/700Tq fully dressed on a dyno. Drives did NOT like 5 blades with 700ft lbs of TQ!!!

In hindsight I wish I had just re-freshed the motors and spent some time dialing in the Prochargers.

Thank you for the input. My initial thought was the 382, but then I saw a few 419's, 311's and others.
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That power sounds like it moves you along well. I've been out boats for awhile and went the way of performance diesel trucks, moved into a lake community and bought a Seadoo jet boat and the bug got me again for a big boat.

So out of the loop on what drive and power combinations are out there, what should I look for or stay away from? I've seen 496, Ilmor V10, 502, 500, 525, Bravo, Bravo 3, there's a 700sci with I think M6 drives locally for sale. Mostly looking for a reliable combination that won't kill the bank when it comes time for repairs and maintenance. Also me knowing me I'll have them all torn down for more power, knowing that what is something to look for that can be upgraded more easily. I've read that the 496 while a good stock power does not take to power adders well. What are the differences between the 8.1 and 8.2? The last time I had a boat the options were 502mpi and 502 carb of several hp ratings for both.

The 419 is a great boat, great for cruising and lots of room compared to a 382. Mine had 500hp's cruised around 51 to 53 at 3500 rpm . Been in a 35 and 38 and ride in a 419 is much better. I boat in lake huron, michigan and erie. Definitely would not get a 35 if your going on longer trips. 38's are a great boat as well. If you can get a 38 with 525's very nice boat.

Was your 419 the SR-1 or Fastech hull? Out of curiosity did you ever weight the boat on the trailer? Thanks for the input, the first boat Ilooked at was a 419 SR-1 with 3 502MPI I believe 410hp.

Mine was a 1995 sr1. Owned for 15 yrs. Just sold it last fall. Bought a 40 as with 525. Was a great boat.. Still miss it!

I've also looked at the 400ss but I didn't feel that would be as practical because of towing.