UNSANE, I looked at that boat in 2008. It was a bank owned boat, and was at the factory. It had never been titled. It needed a lot of cosmetic work inside and out. I passed on it, and Kenny put me onto a much cleaner 496 22'. There are not many I/O 22's around. I just saw a white and yellow 496 boat up north on Boattrader that looked pretty clean in the pictures. Good luck.

I've owned larger boats and I want a smaller boat this time around, mainly because of fuel costs and yes...all that cleaning can be a pain. The seller won't back off his 24900 price and I won't pay that so until he wants to move down on the money, I won't waste anyone's time by going over to look at it tomorrow. Although the boat spent its life in fresh water, it is currently sitting on a lift out back of the brokers house, with only a cockpit cover. The broker lives a few blocks from the beach, so it's in a salt environment now. The seller needed the trailer for his new boat for the time being.

I do have some questions/concerns on the boat's setup: A 28" Bravo prop on a 1.5 gear set tells me the boat should be running in the 78-80mph range, and obviously a 320hp small block won't get it there. So either the engine is lugging real bad or there is a lot of prop slip. I assumed it was on a 1.65 gear set but Kenny told me it was a 1.5. I was told by the seller that it needs a lot of trim to get it up to speed. Wouldn't a lower pitch 3 blade with more bow lift be the answer???

Thanks to everyone who chimed in.

A 28" Bravo does sound a little much for that set up. It did not have a prop on it when I looked at it. For a reference point, I used to have an old 22' with a 454 330HP and I was running a 27" mirage 3 blade @ ~ 70 MPH. With my current 496 22', I am running a 29" BBlade Maximus, with a labbed 30" Bravo as a spare. The factory test sheet with the 30" listed 81.7 MPH. After adding the 29", and CMI sport tubes, I am getiing ~ 84MPH.

I came from a 22, and can say the only thing I don't like about the bigger boat, is the room it takes to store it. I had to add on 6' to may garage to store it, but its done, and I love the boat. Tows fine with a 1/2 ton. My 22 had a 454, The 280 has 502 uses a little more fuel, but I'm cool with it, since it runs cirlces around my 22.

anyway, hope you find what your looking for. I really like our velocity. Good luck
-shane