Bayliner 305 with 5.0l motors-gctid804251

[1Ronnie]

Hi there, after 2 small Bay's, I have finally found myself in the position of being able to buy a 305, the boat I have wanted for over 15 years! :woohoo: Hence my first forum post ...

I have had an offer accepted on a 2003, with 450 hours on 5.0l 220HP's with the standard Bravo 2's. I have a sea trial, survey and mechanical booked for the weekend, so will be getting professional advice. I am a typical fair-weather weekender, with plans to maybe do a hundred miles run up north for a week each year or so, with up to 4 people.

Am I going to be OK with the 5.0's? I know people say Bay's are often underpowered, but to be honest I have been satisfied with both my 1750 with the amazing Force 120 :P and the 175 with the 3.0l Mercruiser, so it's fair to say I am not power hungry. I just need to know it will get up out of the water, and stay up there without too much problem.

Thanks

[CptCrunchie]

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[RGrew176]

Lets put that underpowered argument to bed. A 3055/305 with twin 5.0's is not, repeat NOT underpowered. Will a 3055/305 with twin 5.7's perform better? Yes it will but twin 5.0's on that boat provides plenty of power.

[RGrew176]

Thinking back to 1999 when I ordered my 3055 Bayliner offered the following engines. Twin 4.3's, Twin 5.0's, Twin 5.7's Twin 7.4's (those made for a fast boat over 50 MPH top end) and Twin 5.9 Cummings Diesels. I ordered mine with the Twin 5.7's. I contemplated going with the diesels but finally went with the 5.7's. If one had ordered a 3055 with Twin 4.3's that would be underpowered. Any of the other engines offered were OK and had plenty of power for that boat.

[Mlydy]

I have the 5.0L 220s on my 3055 and it does not feel underpowered at all. I'm sure if you had larger engines then drove these you might feel different but I think you're going to love your boat!

[canoel]

Welcome to the forum!!

As others have said the twin 305s will be fine.

[1Ronnie]

Thanks all for responding, I appreciate the feedback.

I took the boat out for her sea trial today, and generally loved it. A few small niggles with gauges, blowers, etc. Should be no problem to get them fixed before purchase.

But ... I did have some problems with the Port Engine, which I thought I would run past you. I have a mechanic and surveyor doing a full going over Monday, but was interested in the opinions here. When running over 2500 RPM or so, the Port engine would lose power, drop 500-700 RPM, and "pop", I'm not sure if you would call it a misfire or backfire. It might last for 2-3 minutes, then power up and get back to normal. The Broker suggested it was water in the fuel and is asking the mechanic to swap out the separator filter.

The engine never stalled, it generally fixed itself, and ran clean and quiet at Hull speed. Does this sound like a fuel quality problem to you? Or do you think it is something more ominous?

[builderdude]

"1Ronnie" post=804934 wrote:


The engine never stalled, it generally fixed itself, and ran clean and quiet at Hull speed. Does this sound like a fuel quality problem to you? Or do you think it is something more ominous?

You could completly remove a plug wire from that engine and likely not notice much difference in how it runs at "hull speed". Have the mechanic do a compression test on both engines and be there to observe/record the results. it'll give you a good idea of Their internal health.

[itsabowtime2]

Your survey should tell you a ton about the mechanical health of the engines.

The issue could be a simple as a fuel/water separator. Water in the fuel. I would request the tank be drained if they discover that. Could be a carb issue.

There are a few ways you can go depending upon what they find. If compression in the engines are good and no other mechanical defects are found you could ask that the repairs be done, adjust your offer accordingly or have some of the purchase price held in escrow to be used to facilitate the repairs on the one engine.

[Discovery]

I have the 5.7 and they are preferred for the way I load the boat, very heavy. At times I'm carrying an additional 600 litres of gasoline, 2 adults, 2 children, and the rest of the must haves for 7 days 200 miles down the lake. I also have a 10' tender on weaver davits, 6hp outboard, a set of spare props, secondary anchor, 300' 1/2 rope for stern tie, and a sizeable battery bank. The 5.7's always pull hard to get us on step for these trips a couple times a year. The 5.0's would suffice most of the time, but not an option for me all the time.

Based on info you provided you would be well served with the 5.0's.

You will be very happy with the space available and the comfort it creates on your new boat, congrats.

[Grantj]

I would definitely second the thoughts of Discovery. Boats and airplanes have a couple things in common - you can't have too much power, but you can sure have not enough. If you're comparing this boat to your previous "smaller Bays", and wondering if it will jump up on plane like they did - it won't. Think about the power to weight ratio - your 20 footer weighs maybe 3,500 lbs. empty, and even with a 4.3L puts out 200HP. It holds maybe 30 gals of gas and no water. Even with full gas and a couple of people, your power to weight ratio (lbs. x 100) is maybe a little over 2:1.

Now, look at the 305. Bayliner says it weighs 11,900 empty (when new). Boats put on weight with age, like we do. Add 157 gals of fuel at a little over 6 lbs./gal, and 35 gallon of water at around 8 lbs. gallon. Add all your required gear, and two adult couples with bags. You're easily pushing 14,000 Lbs.! Divide that by 440HP and you get a ratio of over 3:1 - 50% higher. Plus, that 30' wide-beam hull and extra outdrive add a LOT more drag to get up out of the water on plane. If you wanted to maintain a power to weight ratio similar to your 20 footer, you 'd need about 700 HP!

Am I saying 5.0L are worthless? Of course not. Lots of 3055/305's have them. But remember Bayliner sells affordable boats. There's a reason they built a lot of them with the cheaper engines, to keep costs down. You won't find as many with bigger engines, because the purchase price was 10K more. If you're going to use your boat at sea level, lightly loaded on calm waters, and not carry 1,000 lbs. of fuel and water every time you go out, you may be completely happy. But don't let a test drive with just two adults and empty tanks lull you into thinking it has "lots" of power with twin 5.0's. If you load that boat down on a hot day in choppy water and are trying to keep on plane, you're really going to wish you had that extra power. And, some bigger trim tabs. But that's another story...

[TenMile]

"1Ronnie" post=804934 wrote:
Thanks all for responding, I appreciate the feedback.

I took the boat out for her sea trial today, and generally loved it. A few small niggles with gauges, blowers, etc. Should be no problem to get them fixed before purchase.

But ... I did have some problems with the Port Engine, which I thought I would run past you. I have a mechanic and surveyor doing a full going over Monday, but was interested in the opinions here. When running over 2500 RPM or so, the Port engine would lose power, drop 500-700 RPM, and "pop", I'm not sure if you would call it a misfire or backfire. It might last for 2-3 minutes, then power up and get back to normal. The Broker suggested it was water in the fuel and is asking the mechanic to swap out the separator filter.

The engine never stalled, it generally fixed itself, and ran clean and quiet at Hull speed. Does this sound like a fuel quality problem to you? Or do you think it is something more ominous?

Is the mechanic going to have the opportunity to take a ride on the boat or is he doing a compression test and dry dock inspection? Ideally, after he does the compression test it would be good to have him run the motor under load via a Sea Trial but recognize that might not be possible. Assuming the compression test is good, and the oil is clean with no water then the potential culprits are fuel (old, wet), fuel flow (dirty carb, filter, pump), spark (wet distributor, bad plugs, bad plug wires, ignition). It's most likely not major, but it could be costly to diagnose and fix once you slap your money down....

I'd be concerned if during the mechanical inspection you're not able to reproduce the performance issue. If that was the case, I'd be taking the boat out again for a sea trial until you're satisfied this won't be an ongoing issue (ideally with the mechanic).