Thanks for the encouraging replies! Really bought this boat to do the Great Lakes next summer. Work and health issues prevented that trip this summer, so bought the bigger boat instead.
After the Great Lakes I need to resume the interior leg in Demopolis, AL, down to Mobile Bay. From there, the Loop joins the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to about Dog Island, FL. My old 258 would have been great on that leg. But then there are some fairly long open water days crossing Gulf, making your way down to Tampa to pick up the Gulf Intracoastal again. The 282 will be nice on some long days in the open Gulf.
And I do plan to overnight much more. I need to figure out how to rig up an AC.
But my first need is to add power assist steering. I'll start another thread on that. I've got some bad discs in my neck and I wasn't prepared for the difference in twin engines.
