Advice: Freedom 275 vs 285???

[yarbrowm]

New to forum and not forum savy but will give it a go. Struggling between the 275 and 285. Will primarily use on large lake but on occasion will trailer to coast to go offshore. Most of time will cruise the lake with famil and friends though. Have read about the 275 listing to port. Is this an issue with the wider beam 285? Also, does anyone put twin 250s on the 275 or are twin 200s adequate? I think of the f200 as a souped up f150. Not sure if I splurge on the 250s if they alter the way the boat sits / rides though only about 80 pounds heavier a piece I believe. Advice from others with these boats would be appreciated. My apologies if this topic has been beaten to death already.

 

[Toddwein]

I used to own a 275 with twin 250s. Best decision I every made was getting the 250s. They are great motors. I never ran a 285 but the 275 is a much more popular boat maybe because the beam allow it to be trailerable. Not sure if you are buying new but the new 275 redesign looks amazing to me. Lots of great features. I never experienced any leaning/listing toward one side unless there was too many passengers. It was great boat. I would consider getting it again for sure!

 

[Fishtales]

As stated, one has an 8'6" beam and the other 9'6" beam. One is legal to trailer without permit is most states, the other will require one to be legal.
Can you trailer the bigger one without a permit, well I guess so and several indicated they have done this on the site. I would recommend against it for several reasons.
- If anything happens, you will have some explaining to do at best to the authorities and your insurance company and may not be covered.
- LEOs are boaters too and some may know the models to watch out for (read on THT before).
- Hull consideration. I'm not bashing either but you will need to ride them in the type of seas and environments you plan to use them in.
- Layout. Probably close but 1' in the beam is huge. I'm sure it translates into a much "bigger feeling" boat. Are there must have features in one vs the other?
- Cost. With size, cost goes up exponentially. Is financing in the picture? Is there other things you can do with the delta cash or are you awash in it and want the bigger one?
- Fun. Big is nice, bigger is nicer but are you really going to have that much more fun in your boat for the additional $?
- Tow Vehicle. What do you have? More importantly what does each require? Will it comfortably tow both boats? Do you need a new trailer? Is there much cost delta?
- Value post sales. Poster makes a great point. Which one sells faster? I'd say an 8'6" beam boat sells faster all day.
- General advice: Buy the biggest boat you can comfortably afford, more so if buying new. You will get 2'itis, well in this case maybe 1'itis until you find the boat that best fits all your needs. New boat depreciation is steep. Is one of the two avail at a dealer today? I'm a big believer in getting a better deal on a boat that a dealer has versus one you are ordering.

Just my 2 pennies.

 

[yarbrowm]

Thank you for the responses. They were very helpful. I have wondered about a trailer permit in the past as the boat I just shed had a 9 foot beam. I have contacted the South Carolina DMV with regards to the issue before but I have never received a definitive answer. I wouldn't be surprised if my State didn't require a permit but I could be wrong. I'll certainly get an answer from my insurance carrier regarding the beam if I end up pulling the trigger on the 285.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Not my money, ultimately not my choice. I would get the 275 based on your use needs. Are you using it on Lake Norman, Murry or Hartwell? I think a 27 foot Grady will more than handle anything those lakes will dish out in terms of waves and such though not lightning.

Now if you said it will be in the ocean a lot and offshore a good bit, then I would suggest the 285. More beam , a foot more beam would be nice to have at sea. I fish my 228 a handful of times at sea and most of its days are on Fontana Lake in the Smokies . if I was getting primarily a lake boat, the 275 is the boat of choice there.

 

[Dogfish]

.....so what did you decide? :huh

 

[yarbrowm]

Going to the plant in GV to check them out (255 vs 275 vs 285). Hopefully I can hear their response with regards to the "listing" noted with the 275. I'd like to pull the trigger on the 275 but I'm not sure I'll be happy if I have to rely on frequent use of the trim tabs just to keep it steady for a lake cruise. Perhaps the beam-length ratio of the 255 lessens the listing noted by some with the 275. I'll be interested to see what GW thinks.

 

[yarbrowm]

Went to the factory today-top shelf all the way. Compared a 255, 275, and 285 Freedom and pulled the trigger on the 275 via my dealer. 275 seemed to suit my needs the best. Hope to have it sometime in June to enjoy for the better part of the summer.

 

[Dogfish]

Just curious, what did the factory say about the "listing" issue some guys have talked about here?
I bet the factory tour was really great. Congratulations on the new ride! :dance

 

[yarbrowm]

They seemed surprised that I suggested that listing was a potential issue. They also said that I shouldn't have to use trim tabs unless there was significant weight discrepancy from port to starboard. I described an experience on my friend's new 2016 275 where I found myself using the trim tabs more than I wanted and it could be I had the engines trimmed all the way down. They suggested that I should have trimmed up some once on plane to "release the hull" and that because I hadn't I was likely driving the bow into the chop forcing a less stable ride. Seemed to make sense to me as a novice at best. The 275 has been a huge hit as far as I can tell-I suspect that if it were a huge issue there would be more forum complaints. In any event I ordered a 275. The 285 was impressive but it just seemed like too large of a boat for me to use on my home lake and the 255 didn't seem quite large enough as we usually boat with other families and carry a full load. Hopefully I made the correct choice. Looking forward to getting it.

 

[yarbrowm]

My 2017 275 arrived. Broke it in over the July 4th weekend and was very happy with the ride. I went with twin 250's and omitted the beverage center behind the helm seat to gain more cockpit room. I plan on putting a large YETI there for fishing / cruising when needed. I did not find listing to be an issue and the hull kept us totally dry even in some nice chop. I was very pleased with the overall fit and finish of the boat with two exceptions that I plan to have addressed. 1) the console gelcoat abutting the YAM command link gauge is noticeably chipped and 2) there is a racquetball sized area of the deck floor in the main walkway between the port/starboard consoles that "pops" when you stand on it. There is no visual defect (i.e. depression or bulge) in the floor but my guess is that it wasn't effectively glued to the hull. If you stand on it and release pressure to walk away you feel it "pop." The first issue should be easy to fix. The second I'm not sure about as I'm not sure if the potential treatment is worse than the problem. Hopefully it isn't an indication of future / progressive floor-hull disassociation. In any event I'm looking forward to my next outing.

 

[Rustygaff]

Pretty boat. Congrats! BTW, my 255 lists to port as mentioned earlier in this thread. I quit trying to figure it out. Learned to live with it by using some tab.