About to join the Formula Family


T

tikki50

New member
My wife and I have spent years debating about which boat fits our lifestyle. Im done waiting, she's finally accepted some ideas about what is realistic and it's looking like a 280ss fits our needs. I'm glad I found this place lots of info here. Hopefully I will be sharing photos soon of our new(er) vessel! I have to say from the posts, it sounds like Formula is a great company and Im happy to hear how strongly that is supported.

Hi, Todd
 
Welcome, Todd

I was looking for a 280SS to upgrade from our older 242SS . . . as luck would have it I ended up with a 330SS. Never looked back. Figuring that the newest 280SS's are about 10 years old now, what model year range were you thinking of getting?
 
I agree with Ted, was looking at 280 and ended up with 330, very glad I did. Both are great boats and expanded search offers up more deals. Anyways good luck with the search.
 
Thanks everyone, looking forward to boating again with my own family. The year range is late 2000's like 2007 or so. I can't go bigger than the 28 for trailering purposes. If all goes well, I'll be posting photos once this deal gets closed. I have to say the boating industry has REALLY picked up this past year or so, kind of amazing.
 
ugh, I spent a good 4 hours with the Surveyor. What a knowledge gaining experience. I can't imagine buying a boat without one. Unfortunately he found a wet center stringer and moisture/standing water in the aft area of the cabin way back near the bulkhead, leaky hydraulics on the b3's, minor other stuff. Ive noticed some threads here about water in 280 cabins, seems kinda mysterious and just clean it up. This was more like 1 -2" of standing water near rear starboard side. I'm concerned just how bad the center stringer is, he called it "wet" but not delaminated. A real bummer cause the wife finally seen it and loved it. It was a quiet ride home.
 
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Well the surveyor said to monitor the moisture so....Im worried about 5-10 years out. I found some threads around possible inaccurate readings due to thickness on this particular stringer, could it be a false reading. We plan on indoor rack storing and a week or so at a time wet, during trips. If I monitor it and keep it dry, how much more damage could happen? could it be ok. It's still solid, just wet. I sent an email to Formula asking a bit around the structural design of the stringer and impact of wetness. Thought of requesting a core sample as well. Everything else around the engine area was ok, the bulkhead etc all good. just the center near the bottom. looking at the stains and where the bilge sits unless you actively open and mop the area along the stringer your going to have some minor pooling along it to the transom. Areas around the mounts were ok. very slight moisture around the port D-ring but acceptable. Heck the boat was only in the water 4 months of the year. Not sure what to do at this point. I haven't been through too many 280's to know if this is that common or not.
 
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Wow, tough situation. Have you posted this in the SS forum to see if it might catch the eye of someone who may have seen this sort of thing? I feel for your dilemma especially since your wife loved the boat. Are there any other similar boats out there for sale you can compare with? Sounds to me like you're arming yourself with as much info as you can.

Jeff
 
Sorry to hear, but once wood gets wet it will start to rot. Only way to stop the rot is dry it out or inject antifreeze. The antifreeze mixes and the rot stops. Agree the only way to know is with a core sample, and can be done with a small drill bit. Drill in and if wood is wet your know. The hole can also be used for injection. If its not wet, then it was a false reading and can be sealed back up with 4200 or 5200.

Just guessing, but since you noticed the area around the bilge pump. If Formula did it right, the hull was glassed in, then another piece of wood was added and glassed over it. This way the bilge pump is screwed into the upper piece of wood and not the hull or stringer. If they didn't those bilge screws can cause the issue
 
Well, the second surveyor came out and did core samples. They were dry! That's good news for us. No black mush and its all light tannish color. So the purchase is moving forward. At least from this point on, I'm going to really keep an eye on it anyways.
 
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