1997 330 DA vs. 2000 310 DA

[BigTwinLake]

Looking for opinions, currently interested in 2 very similar boats...
1997 330 DA twin 454 MPI w/V Drives
2000 310 DA twin 350 Mag w/Bravo III

Both boats are the same price and are within 10 hours of each other.
Similar options on both.

Which boat would you choose and why?

 

[Golfman25]

I was looking at the same boats. I would go with the 330 because it's bigger. Bigger engines and no I/O. Both are pretty nice boats. I do believe that may be the year with the Bravo corrosion issues.

 

[Horton177]

V drives all the way.

 

[Horton177]

However, hours, maintenance history, bottom job etc all should play a factor. And how clean they are. Pics never do justice. But bigger, bigger motors, and v drive less maintenance. def the way i would be going.

 

[keokie]

Very different boats. The 330 is noticeably a little bigger. The 310's have some more modern niceties. The 330's radar arch is low, and some folks don't like that for headroom. The 330 arch is also aluminum and sometimes fades a little different color than the gelcoat. Also, stainless snaps in the aluminum arch can cause corrosion issues particularly in saltwater.

The 310 will have a little more robust and all welded aluminum bow rail. The 310's all have the coring backed away from the bow rail stanchions. I saw one 330 done that way and another 330 where the rails went through the core (undesirable from a rot standpoint).

The hulls are totally different. The 310 is 23 degrees of constant dead rise. As I recall the 330 is 17 degrees. They feel very different under way. In addition a V-drive is very different under power than the sterndrive.

For a boat kept in a saltwater slip, I would definitely do V-drives. Kept in a freshwater slip I would probably do V-drives. Lift, rack, or trailer I would probably do the sterndrives.

The 310 is a pretty big boat for small blocks... even sterndrives.

 

[Creekwood]

I'm biased, but the 97 330DA is a great boat with v-Drives. Much less maintenance than I/Os. Handles great. Mine with 454s cruises at 3400rpm and 30/31 mph without effort. I get right around 1 mpg (US gallon) at cruise. Things to watch for are soft decks at the bow around the hatches and windlass. Really no other issues to worry about other than making sure you get a survey and test every component to make sure they work.