Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, loaded down the ship with 12 (six adults, six kids) and made an 80-mile roundtrip with the 270BR.

It was our first time out with any cargo and load in real conditions.  I gotta say I was just beaming with joy by the time we got home--definitely love the way the 270 handled LOTO on a busy Sunday.

We made it through some serious waves, just stayed under power and picked a line and the boat did what I hoped it would do. There were some big cruisers out on Sunday and the 4-6' swells were a challenge.   We had upgraded from a smaller boat of a different brand and I'd heard Crownline was where I needed to be.  Damn straight.

I also installed a fuel-flow meter on the rig before the trip.  At 35mph (3600rpm) I was using 16.5 gallons per hour.  Considering the load, I am very pleased with this economy.   The better cruising speed is just a hair over 30mph (3000rpm) where it dropped to 13gph.

I know what you junkies are thinking: "so...what about wide open?"  Well...great minds think alike.  With three passengers and smoother water I got the 270 to 49mph (gps) and she was enjoying the octane at 24.7gallons per hour.

I had some concerns about the 8.1 killing the wallet this summer, but really it's the right size engine for this boat since I was able to head down the lake with a huge load at 30mph and never push the engine.  A smaller engine might have had to work quite a bit harder--but then again the smaller engine also weighs less so it might all even out.

The family all loved the Crownline.  Tons of space, storage and 6 kids in the bow "who aren't touching each other!!" all the time.  Even had time to relax and enjoy a cold one during the drive.

Kudos Crownline--I am one very happy customer!

I am glad to you hear you are pleased with your choice of the 270. It is a wonderful boat. We have taken a couple long cruises with some friends that have a 270 and I agree completely. Plenty of room, smooth cruising and after a long day you do not feel beat up! 

It sounds like that was probably one of the hardest tests your 270 is going to have to pass...at least until July 4!

Does your boat have the 375 8.1 or the 425?

Congrats Patrick!  The only thing better than the boat is the memories made while aboard!  Have fun!

 Chris 

Robbie Rogister:

Does your boat have the 375 8.1 or the 425?

It's the Gi, so I think it's the lower HP of the 8.1.  I think the Gxi was the high-output for that year/model.

Gary Deppermann:

I am glad to you hear you are pleased with your choice of the 270. It is a wonderful boat. We have taken a couple long cruises with some friends that have a 270 and I agree completely. Plenty of room, smooth cruising and after a long day you do not feel beat up! 

It sounds like that was probably one of the hardest tests your 270 is going to have to pass...at least until July 4!

I highly, HIGHLY doubt we'll ever choose to go out in bigger water.  We were anxious to get out on the water so we would've probably gone out in anything over Memorial Weekend.  It's nice to know that if we ever get caught in a storm that we'll be just fine.

We live around the 50MM on LOTO, so it's pretty rare we get down below the 20MM.  Having a 270 on this part of the lake is plenty big.