Larson Cabrio 260 or 274 decision help...

[importmonkey]

first post. hope to be on this forum for a while, though. been lurking for some time doing research. hoping owners can weigh in and give me some perspective on the differences, pros and cons of getting the 260 or 274. either better? thoughts? opinions?

p.s. to give a little background. we had a Larson 170 all American back in the day and it was good to us. now, with two kids and the need for more vacations, we want something that will allow us to get out more often. we're looking to overnight on the river if we want/need to, and certainly trailer to other spots - bringing our "hotel room" with us. Here is our list of needs -
Aft/Mid Cabin
Generator
A/C
Camper Enclosure
Trailer
Pump out Head
8'6" Beam (max) for trailering
GPS

My needs -
Radar arch
depth gauge
single I/o
colored hull
300+ hp motor
thanks in advance.

p.p.s. narrowed it down between the cabrio 260/274, sundancer 260 and signature 260

p.p.p.s. should probably also add that i'm looking to stay around $30,000 so that puts me in the 2000-2008 range.

 

[MLC347]

Make sure you hire a marine surveyor. I didn't and regret that decision after recently putting over $5,000 into my engine. We own a 2005 Larson 274 Cabrio with trailer. It has a Westerbeke 5.0 generator and Volvo 5.7 with duo-prop. Handles well but took a while to get used to the trim tabs and not over compensating. I believe its partly due to the 8' 6" beam with a very high profile. The 5.7 pushes it well but is a little slow getting on plane, horse power is 280 cause its not the GXi engine which is 300 hp. We've only spent one night on it but it was very comfortable with only two people. Never owned a Searay so can't help there.