Looked at a 2003 Searay 280 over the weekend. The boat had a single 8.1 375HP Bravo 3. Also had trim tabs. I test drove the boat and it seemed to have good acceleration and got on plane quickly. The speedo didnt work but the guy said it will hit 40mph. He is going to get the speedo fixed. I have seem a few other 2003 280's with twin 4.3's. What would you say is the better package, the single 8.1 or the two 4.3's? I want the boat for cruising and some tubing possible. They want $55k for the boat with the 8.1, 155 hrs, and a trailer (no generator on boat). Is the 280 a 31' boat based on the way sea ray measures? When looking at boats online it seems the 280 is listed as 31' but some other brands have a 280 and it is listed as 28'. Boat is really clean.

twins will be easier to turn than a single.

that's about as big a boat as you'd want with a single engine and may be difficult to sell later because of that. the fuel burn rates between a single big engine and two smaller ones will be negligible. however, maintenance costs (including winterizing outdrives and engine - if you need to do that) will be doubled for the twins. on the other hand, low speed handling will be better with twins. when you did the seatrial, how many were onboard the boat? were the fuel and water tanks full? were there other items on board that you would typically take with you (coolers, drinks, food, tube, etc)? a fully loaded boat (fuel, water, stuff, people) will behave very differently than a lightly loaded one. especially once you add the demands of dragging a tube with some kids on it.

In that size boat, I'd opt for the twins depending upon the drive type. Are the 4.3's mated to an Alpha or Bravo? Likely Alpha 1 although my slip mate has a 2000 Maxum 2800SCR that has twin 4.3's each mated to a Bravo 2.

Thanks for the replies. The slip right next to the slip holding this 280 had a Sea ray 310. The 310 seems considerably larger than the 280, at least from the outside. From looking at a few of these online the 310's seem to come with twin 5.7's or 8.1's. The 4.3's seem to be mated to a alpha 1 on the 280's. So this one I test drove had the 8.1 and bravo 3. We had 6 people on board and 50 gallons of gas and when he hit it the boat jumped right up on plane. I was pretty surprised. He said this would be the largest boat you would want for a single engine. He said the single is half the maintenance and doesnt have the extra weight of the two engines. I just want to make sure it has enough power. I will have to go test drive again.

All things being equal, not having to winterize and maintain a second engine does indeed put a check mark in the Plus column.

if your intended use is with 6 or less aboard, you should be all right. bring more friends for the next sea trial (seriously). one other benefit to twins is redundancy. although it will take you a long time to get in on just one engine (even from not very far out), you're still able to do it without having to get towed as you would in a single engine boat (which will take even longer and could be expensive). that being said, knowing how to drive a single well will make you a better boater and will position you for the future when you move up to twins and have an engine fail on you.

I would go for the twins.

Most everyone would rather have twins!

Problem is, the boat he's interested in don't got 'em!

"jumped right up on plane", if accurate, means there's enough power. BUT, as suggested, I'd grab 3 more people and beverages for everyone, and do it again. If it STILL jumps up on plane, and you like it, start the haggling...

I think a 28 foot boat with a single 375 hp 8.1 and a B3 will be fine. For comparision, my father's Chap Signature 27, that was 27' and 9' wide had a 350MAG MPI with a B3 and it did a fine job.

As far as how big that Sea Ray is, it's probably lucky to actually be 28' long. It certainly is not a 31' boat. Not with the way people measure boats.

I do think it's weird that it has a single engine but no generator. That is common in boats that size. If you want a genny, you have to get the single. Not enough room with the twins.

And all this said, 4.3s with Alphas would not outperform that 8.1 in any way. Not really even in reverse, cause the B3 will help that boat turn better.

Most are OK with the single in this boat model, but all with the twins report back a higher level of satisfaction.

This is the 9' 5" beam model, right?

Over the years Sea Ray included the swim platform in the LOA or Model Name or not. Most are a 28' hull alone and a 31' hull and swim platform (approx).

Very nice boat model, BTW.

Thanks for the insight. The boat is a 9.5 ft beam. I am not really sure how long I plan to keep and would not want to buy something that may seem underpowered to some.

What can I expect depreciation to be on a used boat. Say for example I buy the 2003 280 with 155 hrs for $50k. The boat is extremely clean and I keep it this way. I add another 200 hours over the three years so total hours would be 355. What do you think the boat would be worth, both trade in and private party? Just trying to figure out how much I will lose on depreciation. I understand all of the other costs associated with owning a boat just interested in depreciation.

Inflation just might make it worth what you paid for it three years before. Just have a Certified Master Tech throughly check out the drive. They had some issues for awhile. I think, its after the 2006 model year that the field reports say, "no sweat". And its not all examples before either, just fully have it checked out with a Merc Certified Master Tech for I/Os, not O/Bs. They usually have their certificate framed on the shop wall. Very demanding program-they are proud.

Please do not mis-understand my comments-folks like the 280/single they own enough to accept the performance, but the twins folks clearly like theirs better.

Also, most think that the twins are "big boat" stuff and also many say that there is no such thing as too much control.

Boats are not selling right now, but their components raw matierals are going up.

Personally, I think boating will hang around and re-gain its sales again.

Boat prices will go up again. Used pricing is somewhat set by new pricing, so as they go down, used goes down and as they go up, used will go up.

Axius is another new control item this year, its about $20,000 to $25,000 extra when ordered with a new boat.

The boat will be fine I know plenty of boaters with set up. They love it; WOT low to mid 40 mph Most of the depreciation on that boat came in the first three years. If you get it for $50K in five years it will be worth maybe 40K not bad I say. Single engine maintainance cost will be a plus for over twins