Velocity 260-280 ?'s
 

We just returned form our vacation to the Miami boat show. My better half fell in love with the Velocity's and gave me the thumbs up to look into puchasing in the next year. We are from MN so other than seeing them at boat shows I have no real world experince with Velocity. I have a few ?'s. I'm torn between the 260 and the 280. Has anyone rode in both and can attest if there is a big difference in ride. I will be boating on the Mississippi so I won't be in any huge water. What are you getting for true speeds from these boats? I've read alot on the web about Velocity and I know they are fast but I never trust a salesman. I was told the the 260 with a 496mag would run 75 and the 280 with a 496HO will run 75. If both these speeds are accurate I think I would lean twords a 260 simply based on price. Has anyone ordered new Where you happy with customer service and what you got for your money? Also where did you purchase yours? Can you buy direct from Velocity or do you have to buy from a dealer? Anyone with older ones. How do they hold up over the years. Any info would be great. Thanks Brian

I have a 200, 260 and am I very happy, espically with dealing with the factory Scott Mc the GM has been very helpful to me for problems or driving tips. As far as wich one the advatage of the 280 is a little sink and some storage space. I like my 260 but wish I had little more storage space. As far as speed got my 260 with only the 7.4mpi310hp, up to 67 this summer. Unfortunatly my dealer I bought mine through was not very good(I deal directly with Velocity now). Basically if you are just boating during the day and no overnights go 260 if you want some more space go 280. As far as strenght mine has been in some of the 4-6footers on lake superior and held together just fine.

I have a 1998 Velocity 280 which I purchased new in 1998. I love the boat but have never driven the 260. It has a 502 mag with lightning headers. Speed, GPS not speedo is 73 mph with light load and some chop. Normaly can get a good solid 71 0r 72 with normal load. With equalpower and equal size you will not find a faster boat, it also has a deeper coakpit and roomier coakpit then most of the competition.

I bought it from Eyerock Marine in Binghamton, NY. Great guys and straight shooters.

Good luck,

I forgot...Eyerock has a web site.

www.eyerockmarine.com

I think you'll be very happy with the Velocity 260 or 280. The 260 will be slightly faster with the same power but will have a little less comfortable ride. I think 70-72MPH for the 260 with a 496 is a more reasonable speed then 75. The Velocities hold up very well provide they're cared for and not "regularly" abused.

Perhaps one of the nicest things about Velocity is how approachable and nice the Stepps are. You'll enjoy doing business with them. Scott is a very good guy as well - not to mention quite entertaining! Good luck and I'm sure you'll be very pleased with either the 260 or 280.

Rick

Thanks for the input. I do mostly day boating. Only a couple overnighters. What do you mean by "regualy" abused? I have a lake boat now that I drive like an offshore boat. I don't want an offshore boat that I have to drive like a lake boat. I run with Baja, Fountains, Formulas and a Pantera. We do encouter alot of wakes off cuisers. That's why we run big boats(well I'm trying to get there). We generally run 60 or better and aren't affraid to pound our boats. I've read the posts on problems with Velocitys strenght. Is this something I should worry about? I want a boat that will hold together. Granted we're only talking about 3-4 foot wakes. And the mojoritly of the time I try to avoid it as much as possible. The normal river conditions will only produce 1-2 foot chop, I don't think there is anything to worry about there. I've been trying to go to Velocity's web site but it doesn't work. Anyone know if its down or has changed? Thanks for all the input? Brian

You wont have a problem with cruiser wakes. I got bored one day while following my dad's 50'carver. So I jumped his wake 3 or 4 times.
http://www.angelfire.com/celeb2/pete...s/wakejump.jpg
Not to mention I have taken my boat in 3-4ft seas for fun. Now the day I was running in 5-6ft was not as fun. If they boats can handle great lakes should hanlde cruiser wakes no problem.:p

Right on. If your not afraid to run one on the great lakes. Then I have nothing to worry about. Have any of you finaced through Velocity? Unfortunatly I won't be ina possition to buy untill next winter. It's going to be hard to wait a full season. I might look into buying used to keep the price down. Where there any problem years. I'd realy only like to go 4 years old or newer. Again thanks. Brian

My boat was a demo from a dealer that was not taking care off very well and did not get any history service records with the boat. I had a few little problems but all were solved by just calling the factory.
As far as deal lots dealer closeouts if you do some searches online or sometimes the factory has some repo's from dealers.Things I wish mine had you might want to look into to better controls(throttle&gear) the stock merc's are ok but velocity is updating with bettter stuff in all 2001 and up boats. Prop mine came with a hydromotive good but hard to get onto plane with. I just bought a new Bravo from Scott M at the factory specifically labed for the velocity. Also the newer merc engines have a oil drain hose built in for changing oil( big+) I installed a aftermarkett change system to save the halse. Sorry for the Long Post:rolleyes:

All this info is great.

Velocity 260
You said you could get 67 with a 310hp is that on the speedo or is that a radar or GPS speed. I've seen alot of good deals on 260's with 310hp's. Thats a littel slower than I'd like. My majic number is 75 sometime the price is more important.

Does anyone have the electric bolsters? I've only seen the manual ones. I really like there bolsters and I was wondering how the electrics compared.

You could always get a bigger engine later, the one good thing about the 7.4mpi is good fuel milage. On a 100mile round trip cruisng at 40 I only burned about 40 or 45 gallons. 67 was on speedo gps would be about 65(less than a 1/4tank of fuel onboard) 1ft chop. The boat still had a llittle more in it was not fully trimed. I backed off though, probally could of made it to 68 or a little more. Everyone tells me 70 is the majic# that boat startes running real good at. If you could find one with a 454mag you probally could hit 70.

A 260 with a 310 hp 454 will run 68 -70 on a 1/2 tank of fuel and a lab prop.I put a 5 psi procharger on the one that I had and it ran 80-82 all day ,well wy it ran.It realy started to feal good at 75+.Man what a fun boat!There ara a couple of people around with some big power in 260s 90+ mph and I know of one at 112mph.For real!

"I know of one at 112mph.For real!"
Holey haulen ass:eek:

As far as electric Bolsters Caincando1 I dont have them, but they would be nice I would defintly get them if you could I wish I had them. The manuels are simple but always have to be lined up just right.
Here is there website:
http://velocityboats.com/

MMO JO Did you alter your engine at all? I have thought about whipple or procharger, but was not sure if the engine could handle it. I suppose as long as you dont abouse it, it should be ok?

Those are some impressive mumbers for a 310 hp. So I'm assuming a mag 375hp should have no problem hitting 75mhp.

I've been trying that website for 4 days and it won't open. Any one have an 800 number for them?

Just tried the Velocity site and it worked fine. Phone number is 407 321 1340.

75mph in a 260 with a stock 375 horse seems high to me.

Padraig

I just looked at a 260 today. It had a 7.4 MPI and said it would do 65 on the radar. He also told me with the MPI, you can change the chip and get about 350hp with it. It seemed like a well constructed boat, and it had more headroom than the 26 Donzi that I looked at today also.

Velocity 260 I did not change any thing in the engin.The reason I blew it up was a leaking riser gasket.When I went to start the boat it sounded like a dead bat.But turned out to be hydro locked.I jumped it off with a jump box and that blew the head gasket.

Cool thanks now if I can just find someone to get me one for easter I will be all set.:) Hmm I wonder wich chip he is talking about cuda? I will have to do some research thanks for the tip.

There aren't any "chips" per se for the MPI's - there are people such as AZ Speed & Marine that can reprogram your exisitng MEFI ECU to get a little more horsepower through tweaks to fuel mixture and better acceleration through more agressive advance. Since the 7.4 MPI is already 340 HP at the crank shaft - 350 or 355 is reasonable. As I recall, reprogramming runs around $325 which is probably a cheap 1 MPH upgrade provided it isn't too lean of a mixture!

thats what I thought, thanks for the info. I'll just wait untill I can supercharge the engine and make some real power.:D

Another ?. What is the deal with Thoroughbred? Was this just a name change? Where there any differences in the boats at all. Does any one know if the Velocity dealer from CA that was at the Miami show has a website? I've got a business card at home but it doesn't have a website. I can't remember that name of the top of my head either.

As far as I know that was their old name, they used to make modifications to those boats. If you need a # for a dealer out there just email the company or call them. They are very helpful and could probally get you a#.
http://www.velocityboats.com/index2.htm
PHONE 407-321-1340 FAX 407-321-1344
Here is a article off the web explaining the company.
http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlan...27/story8.html

We raced a 26 ( now the 280 ) in A class a few years back and it was a great boat! Ran the kilos in Sarasota with 510-730hp, running a Bravo with 1.5 gears spinning a Hydromotive worked 26 @89.5mph on a 2 way pass. The boat will handle any water you dare plus is a blast @ 90mph! Repowered after racing with a 502 blower motor with approx 650hp that would run 82-83mph. Great choice in that price range and size.

I raced the F!-56 Team Linebacker boat in 2000. It was a 280 and it was definately fast! We saw 84+ on the GPS several times with a 502 EFI and 28 Hydro that had been worked.

The boat handled great in the rough water also once we figured out that we needed to add a little weight to the bow (no cabin as it was race boat). In Corpus Christi in 2000 we ran 70 - 75 in 5-6 footers.

The people at Velocity are great. Call and talk to Scotty or Steve and they will tell you everything you wany to know.

Also the new VR1 is a great boat. I think the construstion is even better and the speed is still there.

Hey Clay - Hope you doing well - Are you racing this year? Hope to see you out there.

I have a 2000 Velocity 280 that I bought from Hutchinson's Boat Works in the 1000 Islands. It came with a 502 Mag and went about 70MPH. I Whipplecharged the engine after 45 hours and it now does middle 80s(GPS).

I have about 95 total hours on the boat now and have been extremely pleased with it. I have had no warranty issues and the boat feels and handles very solid. I was not particularly impressed with some of the "fit and finish" on some of the older Velocitys I had seen. (I'm talking interiors and trim here ... not structure) Since the late 90s and especially 2000 and later, the boats are great. I think the 280 is the best boat they make. The driving position and deep cockpit is perfect for me.

I've spent some, not a lot, of time in a 260, and it felt more than 2 feet smaller. If you're mostly going through 2 footers and less except wakes, the 260 will probably be fine. If you plan to go 75mph(GPS) on a regular basis ... the 280 will feel more solid. I don't even use tabs and turn a Bravo 1 30".

Good luck

Re: Velocity 260-280 ?'s
 

i have an 01 454 mag stainless marine headers 26 labed hydromotive hard to plane 6 to 7 sec. but good gas miles fastest 74.3 gps 1/2 fuel and two 180 lb guys think about a pad bottom boat a little more ruff a little more of a drivers boat