Looking for Input- 1994 230DA

S

starksy423

New Member
Jun 18, 2012
16
Seattle
Boat Info
250 Sundancer 1996
Engines
350 Mercruiser with Bravo II Drive
Hey all,

I'm looking at buying a boat, and found a 230DA that I really like.

Have you owned/do you own one? What did you love about it? Hate about it?

I know I'll get a better answer from the Internet than the dealership. Any input from all of you would be awesome.

Cheers!
 
I loved the boat, narrow beam made it tough to trim out and mine seemed to be a bit under powered. I did get me hooked on Sea Ray
 
Starsky
They are the same from year to year. Have you looked at both ?
I have not seen the one at Boatcountry but if you proceed Mike M is the guy to see.
I think the 230DA is a nice little pocket cruiser.

Edit:
I just looked at Boat country's ad. They're the same boat.
I looked at it for a friend that lives aways away and made a video for him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMR1TURgljk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

It was for sale at Bayside for $9999.00
 
Last edited:
I had a 93 230DA for a couple of years before I got the 260. We used it at the local lakes for day trips and overnighters but also did two 3 week long trips to the Gulf islands and Desolation sound with it.
Although it sleeps 4 I wouldn't want more than 2 on it for any long trips.

Some of the things I didn't like about it were :
All the seats in the cockpit are very low. Made it uncomfortable when running for a long time especially since my dog always wanted to be in the front under my legs, made it hard to stretch out.
No fridge. It has an ice box instead. I replaced it with a fridge before our longer trips. There is a tread somewhere on here with photos of it.
Having an Alpha drive did make close quarter maneuvering a little more difficult. The 260 is a much easier boat to handle around the dock.
No real swim platform. I added one to mine.
Was a little touchy in regards to trim tabs. Once you got used to it it was OK.
Only a porta pottie in the head. Not good for longer trips.
It had full camper canvas but was very low at the front, as the canvas came right down to the windshield. Visibility was still good while running but around the dock if you wanted to stand up it was difficult. It did have a flap that could be opened above the center window which was nice. Wish the 260 had something similar.

Things that I liked better on the 230 than the 260.

The front V berth is actually bigger in the 230 than the 260.
The mid berth on the 230 is actually easier to get into than the 260. We used ours for storage and our dog slept there. On the 230 the access is at the center of the berth instead of at the end as in the 260. Easier to get to things from the center instead of the end.
Easier to tow being 2000 lbs lighter. I towed mine with a Tacoma for a year and while it was at the tow limit it did OK. I upgraded the truck to a Tundra, which then meant I could get a bigger boat :)

I added a number of things to mine to make it more functional. The fridge I mentioned, a water heater which allowed me to put hot water on the transom shower and to the galley sink. I added the swim platform, a 1000 watt inverter, microwave, full fresh water cooling and GPS and VHF radio.

All in all it wasn't a bad boat. But the 260 is definitely nicer.
 
Westie said:
I had a 93 230DA for a couple of years before I got the 260. We used it at the local lakes for day trips and overnighters but also did two 3 week long trips to the Gulf islands and Desolation sound with it.
Although it sleeps 4 I wouldn't want more than 2 on it for any long trips.

Some of the things I didn't like about it were :
All the seats in the cockpit are very low. Made it uncomfortable when running for a long time especially since my dog always wanted to be in the front under my legs, made it hard to stretch out.
No fridge. It has an ice box instead. I replaced it with a fridge before our longer trips. There is a tread somewhere on here with photos of it.
Having an Alpha drive did make close quarter maneuvering a little more difficult. The 260 is a much easier boat to handle around the dock.
No real swim platform. I added one to mine.
Was a little touchy in regards to trim tabs. Once you got used to it it was OK.
Only a porta pottie in the head. Not good for longer trips.
It had full camper canvas but was very low at the front, as the canvas came right down to the windshield. Visibility was still good while running but around the dock if you wanted to stand up it was difficult. It did have a flap that could be opened above the center window which was nice. Wish the 260 had something similar.

Things that I liked better on the 230 than the 260.

The front V berth is actually bigger in the 230 than the 260.
The mid berth on the 230 is actually easier to get into than the 260. We used ours for storage and our dog slept there. On the 230 the access is at the center of the berth instead of at the end as in the 260. Easier to get to things from the center instead of the end.
Easier to tow being 2000 lbs lighter. I towed mine with a Tacoma for a year and while it was at the tow limit it did OK. I upgraded the truck to a Tundra, which then meant I could get a bigger boat :)

I added a number of things to mine to make it more functional. The fridge I mentioned, a water heater which allowed me to put hot water on the transom shower and to the galley sink. I added the swim platform, a 1000 watt inverter, microwave, full fresh water cooling and GPS and VHF radio.

All in all it wasn't a bad boat. But the 260 is definitely nicer.
Click to expand...


Thanks for taking the time to respond, and for the great insight. I appreciate it. This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for.
 
starksy423 said:
Hey all,

I'm looking at buying a boat, and found a 230DA that I really like.

Have you owned/do you own one? What did you love about it? Hate about it?

I know I'll get a better answer from the Internet than the dealership. Any input from all of you would be awesome.

Cheers!
Click to expand...

We had a 93 230DA with the 5.0L.

Likes:
Lots of space and a good size boat for 23 ft
Good power
Ample room in the engine bay.
I added a third dedicated deep cycle house battery

Dislikes:
High center of gravity and can be very tricky to trim with trim tabs if you are not familiar with their operation
Narrow beam
Ice box
No shore power
Cannot stand at helm with canvass in place

Overall a very good solid boat.
 
ks65609 said:
We had a 93 230DA with the 5.0L.

Likes:
Lots of space and a good size boat for 23 ft
Good power
Ample room in the engine bay.
I added a third dedicated deep cycle house battery

Dislikes:
High center of gravity and can be very tricky to trim with trim tabs if you are not familiar with their operation
Narrow beam
Ice box
No shore power
Cannot stand at helm with canvass in place

Overall a very good solid boat.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the great information. I appreciate the help from everyone on this forum.
 
I put an offer in tonight, we'll see what the owner says in the morning.

Fingers crossed.
 
I've had a 5.0 liter LX 1995 230DA since 1997 and couldn't be happier. Island camped a lot as a family of four. Was plenty big enough when the kids were young, but as they got into their teens the aft cabin was a little close quarters for the tow of them and a little stored gear. Solved the problem by bringing a small tent for the oldest son.

Boat is perfect for a family - small enough to tow tubers and skiers (even slalom skiers), yet big enough to handle reasonable chop. Gas consumption has been very consistent at 6.5 GPH at cruise of ~24 mph at 3200 RPM. I have Benett Auto tabs but almost never use them in auto - no problems trimming in typical conditions (I do find the auto tabs useful on windy days with the tops up.). About the only negative I can mention is camper top headroom - you'll have to hunch over.

All in all - a perfect boat for my family. Good luck to you.
 
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