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Random Quote: My biggest worry is that when I'm dead, my wife will sell my fishing gear for what I said I paid for it.
Hello to all,
Interested in hearing opinion's / experience's concerning these two boats. I've sea trialed the wellcraft with verada 250's. Very impressive rig. I like the Amberjacks cruising amenities, but how well does this boat really fish ? How do thier offshore capabilities stack up ? I've never owned a boat larger than 21 feet so I'm venturing into unchartered waters. Thanks in advance for your opinions and advice.
I have a 2001 Amberjack and I love it. Just understand the 290AJ is really a cruising boat that accomodates the occasional fishing trip. However, I do use it to dive and have made many trips offshore into the Gulf of Mexico. With 230 gallons of fuel the provides me plenty of range. I would classify the offshore sea keeping ability as respectable, escpecially considering that you are sacrificing deadrise to get all of those cabin amenities.
The appeal of the Sea Ray AJ to me is it's versatilty. I can take the family out for an overnight trip, go for cruise or, I can pop the aft bench seat, pull the carpets and go fishing and diving. The wide 10'6" beam gives me plenty of room in the cockpit. Down below, you get the comforts of a Sea Ray- I have mine with a generator, AC, stove- almost all of the options. And the small aft cabin is perfect for my 3 1/2 year old daughter. (I also use it for storage)
Bottom line... if you are a hard core fisherman the AJ probably won't due. If you are cruiser who likes to fish once and a while (like I do) I think the boat is great.
I'm leaning towards the AJ, glad to hear you love it. Is your boat powered with the 5.0 EFI's or 5.7 EFI's? If so, are you getting the advertised range of 300 plus miles and speeds of 32 cruise and 45 top end ? What about the stern drives ? I've always heard that I/O's are maintenance intensive compared to outboards.
No, I'm not a hard core fisherman but I can't imagine being out on the boat and not having a hook in the water. Like you, I like to cruise, fish , and dive. However, I would like to have the option of running 60 to 80 miles offshore where the fishin gets good and be safe and comfortable.
When I was looking at a bigger boat 4 years ago,I fell in love with the 27' AJ,but it sold out from under me.It was riged out to fish,thats what I do with a boat. I now have a 2900 Wellcraft Sportsbridge(4 years)and fished it till last end of the season.Its a older boat,I'm rebuilding it from top to bottom,all systems,but its one fishing boat that has room to fish or do a weekend for two and not tripping over each other.
Brian gave a well stated, clear and IMO accurate opinion of his boat, the Wellcraft is a little more "fishy", but it will still cruise if you get the Ac/gen options. The ac/gen access on the wellcraft will be more difficult due to avail space to put them..that said,,if you keep the boat in the water O/D' s are a lot more maintenance, due to growth,corrosion issues, out of the water, there is little difference,,and I have owned both O/D's and O/B's,,have O/B' s now BECAUSE I keep it in the water, had O/D in the water and wouldn't do that again.
evernic, north miami beach Fl.
Thanks for the input, evernic.
I will either keep the boat at home on a trailer or in dry storage somewhere. I live in the heartlland of florida so both left and right coast are readily available within 2 hours. I prefer to keep it in a marina, but I've witnessed several salty boats under the care of various marina's and this somewhat concerns me.
The 290 coastal with the 250 verado's was a winner in my book ( it was loaded ) as is the 290 AJ. Still undecided, I plan to sea trial a 290 AJ this weekend. Hopefully this will make my mind up for me.
Prockvoan, thanks for the reply. Good luck, and have fun with your rebuild project.
Welcome to THT and good luck your decision,, nice place to be to have to decide between these two!!! on a trialer at home is great, there is always something to do on a boat and when it's close by things tend to get done more often,,i had one in dry storage and it became a burden to drag tools,equip, etc down to the yard to work on it, even simple maintenance took more time. both are great boats from what I know of them and as I said the coastal 290 is a little more on the fishing side, either is terrific,,comes down to personal choice at this point,,,,,enjoy whatever you get evernic
Hey..I'm Hooked, I own a wellcraft 290 coastal. Bought it in Aug of 03 and Absolutely love it. Got it loaded, Gen set, air..etc.etc. I can't say enough about the boat, how well thought out the design is as well as the quality of the construction. I fish as much as I can as well as staying on it as many weekends as possible...for a mid size boat it does everything I put it through extremely well.Also... I went with OBs b/c I had a terrible time with my last boat with IOs.
This is a pretty cool forum, thanks for the welcome. Alot of interesting threads to read and participate in. ( I still haven't figured out how to use the emoticons ? ).
Glad to hear from a 290 coastal owner. The 290 I tested was a very nimble boat. Handled better than my 21' CC.
Several things to look at. Bow access, 290 Coastals have a walk over design easy. 29 AJ you must go around and dodge that radar arch thing. Outboards, a big plus in saltwater. Electronics mounting and helm layout. The AJ is a 280 sundancer with a fishing (sort-of) conversion.
You'll love a 290 Coastal. I have countless hours in them.
1) I have the 5.7 V8 Merc Bravo III set up. In my opinion, this is a better option than the inboard V drives offered by SeaRay. My boat is a 2001 and I believe in 2002 the 5.7 was replaced with the 5.0, yet the same horsepower was being produced. I have not experienced any problems with the drives, although I do keep it lift stored and fresh water flush everything after each use.
2) I take my boat offshore and have excellent range. With 230 gallons of fuel, I can get about a 250 nm range and still have some reserve.
3) This is certianly not a Sundancer. More beam, more fuel, more weight, larger cockpit. There is plenty of room to mount electronics at the helm. I have a 7" radar, 7" fishfinder/plotter, a ST60, Raymarine 300, and VHF all at my helm.
4) The "fishbox" behind the rear bench seat is great for fish while fishing, and also great for storage when cruising.
5) The dual throttle/ shift controls allow you to operate the AJ like an inboard, which I like. The boat is easy to handle around the dock.
6) The "creature comforts" of the Sea Ray are what sold me. Also, my local dealer, MarineMax, has done an excellent job of providing service, which is important.
If you're in saltwater, go with inboards or outboards. I/O is OK if you like to work on your boat. Very few yards actually do it right. Remember that the factory paint prevents corrosion to a degree. It is not anti-foul paint. And they stopped making clear anti-foul paint. Prepping, priming, and painting every little corner of those i/os' is a nightmare to me.
Wellcraft 290 Coastal / Searay 290 Amberjack ?? 
evernic 
, silly me, 
