Purchasing a 310 Express Cruiser 1990 w twin 454s

[Christopher Mesker]

First off I am glad to be here. Forums saved me a ton of time and Money when I bought my first class A RV and Now I am hoping this forum will do that same. It appears there is a wealth of knowledge here.

The wife and I RV and have owned a Houseboat for 25 years and now are buying our first cruiser. The Sea Ray is owned by a family friend, been on the same lake (Old Hickory in Nashville Area) for 15 years. We plan on keeping her here and maybe going on 3 to 5 day journeys through the Cumberland Lock system to Ky lakes area. This will be our trial run for my retirement in 5 years. Anyone done this? Is it doable in our boat?

The purpose is to see if we love Cruising. The boat will be docked less than 2 miles from our home so I am hoping to get the hang of a twin engines on my lake before taking any long journeys overnight. I have been told that this is a solid boat by many. She has been serviced and was pulled last year for prop and shaft replacement. My friend will not steer me wrong, she has maintained her if anything goes wrong. However, I am still having the once over done on her before I take her out.

Any thoughts on the boat and things I can learn now? I have YouTubed how to drive a twin engine and I am looking forward to taking her out this week with the previous owner. I am a do it yourselfer and have owned many boats but not with twin engines. I am worried the room compared to the house boat may be tight.

Our long term dream is to retire in 5 years and buy a bigger boat in Florida and go to the Bahamas and Key West...the intercoastal water ways and such.

Anyway just wanted to say Hi! Glad to be here.

 

[bobeast]

If you can maneuver a big ol' single engine house boat, this should be a piece-o'-cake. That said, one of the best investments you can make, would be to hire a captain for a day and have her teach you how to dock and maneuver in tight quarters. Once the muscle memory is trained it ain't no thang.

The boat design itself is solid, but as with any older boat, its wise to have a survey done to identify any outstanding issues. Then perform ANY maintenance items for which you do not have solid records, regardless of engine hours. This establishes a baseline moving forward.

Finally, and most important...enjoy the crap outa' that thing.

 

[Stee6043]

A twin 310 should handle like a dream! Enjoy!

One concept you may want to get comfortable with as a DIYer - a moderate to high level of rage will accompany most projects that have to occur within the engine room. When you visit the boat this week consider taking a gander in the engine room, start to appreciate the potential pain that comes with oil changes, impeller replacement, battery watering. In my opinion the smaller the boat, the younger the DIY'er needs to be to survive regular maintenance projects. I changed the batteries on my 340 once before deciding I was too old to do that again. And I'm not that old

Though the 310 you're looking at is maybe a bit beemier than the late 90's and newer? There will still be a lot of stuff packed into that engine room though...

 

[Christopher Mesker]

Thanks for the tips. I will be going down there soon....let see if this old body can handle it.
I have 2 young bucks who will be doing the tight space repairs.

 

[Gotta be JoKen]

Hi congrats on the boat. We purchased a 91 310 express and love it. I too learned to drive on YouTube and the thumb’s point the direction works great lol. The boat seems to do just what I’m hoping it will.