24' Baja w/ 350

[greg82255]

Hello,

I am looking to purchase a 24' Baja Bowrider. The boat I am looking at is advertised as having a Merc 350/Alpha one, and the guy says it goes 55 mph.. I asked him what kind of prop he is running and the RPMs, and he said he does not know but he consistently gets it up to 55. Does this sound right? I also saw a 23' Donzi Regazza who is running an OMC Cobra 350 w/ an aluminum 17" pitch prop who says his boat does 55 also. This sounds a little off.. any thoughts? Both boats are on the trailer so I can't test them in the water, and I don't want to buy one and find out it only goes 40 or 45.

Basically, what I am asking is can a stock 350 in a 24' boat make it go 55 mph?

Thanks

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: 24' Baja w/ 350

yes indeed!

 

[kellmike626]

Re: 24' Baja w/ 350

On both, definitely.

But if I were you, I'd at least try to arrange a test ride for one of them. Why? If you only start the engine on muffs, you can't really see/diagnose many problems on the engine because it isn't under load on the trailer.
For a boat like that, I wouldn't settle for anything less than a test run on the water.

 

[45Auto]

Re: 24' Baja w/ 350

Both boats are on the trailer so I can't test them in the water, and I don't want to buy one and find out it only goes 40 or 45.

Is there some special reason they can't come off the trailer unless you buy them?

I wouldn't even think about buying a boat like that without a water test. You're looking at older "hot-rod" boats, lots of times they tend to see a much more stressful life than the more family oriented boats ....

Mid 50's with a stock 350 in a 23'-24' boat is realistic. I would definitely test the Donzi, it would have to be spinning at about 5,700 RPM to get to 55 MPH with a 17" prop. OMC has been out of business for over 10 years, It's hard to get parts and service in some cases. Make sure the price takes that into account if you go with the Donzi.

 

[NSBCraig]

Re: 24' Baja w/ 350

Speed is do able but no way no test ride.

 

[convergent]

Re: 24' Baja w/ 350

I would not buy a boat from my best friend without a water test. You can certainly work out all the details, price, etc, contingent on a successful water test. You can even show him the money, or whatever, to make sure he knows you are serious. But don't buy a boat without a water test... too many things could be wrong. Look at the number of threads in this forum that start out with... "runs fine on muffs, but won't run in the water...". Not to mention, handling problems or stuttering at higher RPMs that you can't achieve on muffs.

 

[Philster]

Re: 24' Baja w/ 350

50-55 MPH at WOT is reasonable.

If you can't drive it, don't buy it.

 

[jkust]

Re: 24' Baja w/ 350

I'd say 55mph even on gps is reasonable out of a 5.7. What year boats are we talking?

 

[642mx]

Re: 24' Baja w/ 350

Hello,

I am looking to purchase a 24' Baja Bowrider. The boat I am looking at is advertised as having a Merc 350/Alpha one, and the guy says it goes 55 mph..

Is it a 242 Islander? If so, those are heavy boats and with a 375 horse 496, they do good to break 60. I've also seen the 242's with 6.2L's that top out at 52-53 mph. I've never seen a 242 with a 5.7/alpha combo...

 

[NHGuy]

Re: 24' Baja w/ 350

The 17" pitch prop boat is either an upgraded engine or something isn't true. The 5.7 engines in normal stock form only have 4600 rpms at redline.
And as far as the Baja with 5.7 maybe it's an older model, something in the years around my old bucket. My 19' 6", 2700 lb Baja can do 58 MPH at 4500 RPM on a 23" pitch prop. I don't even really believe that though because it was not measured with a GPS.

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: 24' Baja w/ 350

55 mph with a 17 pitch prop seems pretty high to me but maybe cause I'm used to boating above 4500' but still my 20' crownline with a 350 mag alpha will only do about 50 with a 21 pitch prop.

 

[dvandsm64]

Re: 24' Baja w/ 350

do u buy a car without a test drive?? our 5.7 on 19ft. speedo reads @49mph at 4800rpm. with 19 prop. was told this boat would do 63