Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerfull?

[Greg68S]

Im really excited about the possiblity of purchasing this 1995 Bayliner Ciera 3055. This boat is imaculate. But im concerned about the powerplant. Its only a Mercruiser 350 (not magnum), but is equipt with a Bravo 3 outdrive. Is this going to be enough? I realize torque is the first and hp comes second, but will the bravo 3 give me what i need for this boat to handle. Im a 3rd year boater going from a 1989 Thompson 245 Carrera with a 350 alpha 1 outdrive. Any feed back is appreciated. I do not want to make the wrong purchase.
-Thanks Greg

 

[dubs283]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

you will definitely notice the low rpm handling difference immediately with the bravo 3, much better than the alpha

as far as power i think you will be okay, the gearing of the drive enables a smaller engine to suffice a bigger hull

i personally wouldnt buy a bayliner, the quality is lacking in my opinion

 

[Greg68S]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

I agree somewhat, however i view a bayliner as a good low priced beginner or learner boat so to speak. better to break a lesser boat and learn than break something I will regret breaking. Would you agree? Anyone else have experience with this type of weight and drive combination? or something similar?

 

[Greg68S]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

thank you
Im taking all feedback I can get $16900 is a lot of money and I want to try and get this first major buy done right.

 

[Greg68S]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

25 mph is good enough for me if thats on plane and cruising. im not looking to fly. if 25 mph is full throttle then im not interested.
Thanks for the input.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

Powerful enough depends on what you want to do with it. No, it is not going to be a speed demon, that's a certainty. Even a big block (454) will only push it to around 30 MPH. When you start getting into the 30' class of boats I am a HUGE fan of twin engine/drives. (handling, power, security)

Agree with this wholeheartedly. And, it isn't just a matter of your speed at full throttle...

The hardest thing for me to do when carrying 7 or 8 passengers, is to modulate the boat's speed without falling off plane. The 2 times I've carried that many people, backing off to 20 mph (which I can do easily with just a few people aboard) knocked me right off. I was okay only as long as I kept the speed up into the mid-high twenties, but given the normally choppy conditions where I boat, it wasn't a great ride.

Those were also the only 2 times I wished I had twin V-8's instead of my sixes.

IMO, a single small-block isn't really big enough for that boat unless you plan to keep it lightly loaded.

My .02

 

[Greg68S]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

the 17K is the asking price. im confident i can get into it for 13K. still think i can do better? it only has 220 hours on it and you can quite literally eat off it. I will be having it surveyed in a few months. I was thinking of putting 6 or eight people on it and having full of fuel and water during its sea trial. will that help me decide if it will work well for me?

 

[JoLin]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

I was thinking of putting 6 or eight people on it and having full of fuel and water during its sea trial. will that help me decide if it will work well for me?

Yes- that should be a huge help.

 

[onthelake2010]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

Greg,
This is a great boat and if you can get her for 14K is even better.
There are several at our marina. With twin screws she will do 30+ mph without a problem.

 

[r.j.dawg]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

If I'm not mistaken, the last year for the 3055 was 1994 until it was reintroduced in 2002. If you go to Bayliner.com and over to their customer care section you can compare the HID to be sure. Also, I've never seen a 3055 with a single engine, only twins. That's an awfull lot of boat for just one engine. Good luck with the purchase. That boat has a really nice layout.

 

[Greg68S]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

onthelake2010,
this particular boat has a single 350 with a bravo 3. do you still feel the same?

 

[BlkY2k]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

Bayliner didnt build the 3055 til 99 and it had twin 5.7 with a bravo 2. There were other options also for power.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

Sorry, there isn't a change in hell I'd run a 30' cruiser on a single SBC. I agree w/above that the 30' class of boats really should be twin v6's at a minimum, although I prefer the twin 5.7L's myself. The weight of the boat plus 5-6+ people would mean you were running that single SBC hard all the time while trying to stay on plane. Have you seen this boat in person yet? I only ask because it seems like they may have replaced the original 454 bravo I with an SBC Bravo 3. For a 1995 boat, you can find many other boats in good condition for that 16-18K price range.

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

25 mph is good enough for me if thats on plane and cruising. im not looking to fly. if 25 mph is full throttle then im not interested.
Thanks for the input.

with a single 260-300hp & BravoIII I think WFO would be close to 25-28mph. so to cruise on plane would be 4000+rpms.
BUT YOU NEVER KNOW UNTILL YOU GO FOR A RIDE.

 

[onthelake2010]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

onthelake2010,
this particular boat has a single 350 with a bravo 3. do you still feel the same?

Sorry, should have paid attention to the year.
A 95 would be carb (if it's a 95), and probably only 260HP, the 7.4L would be better with 310HP.

Didn't realize as my comment said two screws. Should have paid more attention to the year. That will explain the price.
The single engine 350 will get her up, but you may not be happy with it, depending on what you like. I have a 7.4L in our 2859 its about the same weight. And I am very happy with the performance with the 7.4L

I just check the specs and with a 7.4L it cruises at 17Knots as compared to our at 22. The layout of this model is very nice and spacious.

Can you get a sea trial. If your new to cruisers, this would be a very good starter cruiser.

 

[Greg68S]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

Is it possible this was a late 1994 build and labeled a 1995. I have seen this boat in person and she is extremely clean. The 350 is carb and is 260hp. I plan a sea trial/survey in a couple of months. I requested that she be heavy. Full fuel tank and water tank. And I'll be bringing several friends for a ride at least 6 people. I love her lay out but I will not sacrifice performance for room. She has to be able to heavy and maneuver while staying on plane at a cruising speed of 23. That I will be happy with.

 

[oops!]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

Sorry, there isn't a change in hell I'd run a 30' cruiser on a single SBC.

i agree with this....

as a rule if thumb in the industry, 27 feet is the line between single and twins.

30 feet is a rally big sail,,,,,you will need twins around the dock,,,,,even with the b3

 

[Greg68S]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

Well folks. I'm thinking that after considering all the information and opinions, I
Going to just stick with my Thompson. Shes all new again from upholstry to canvas and with the new stainless she cruises efficiently at 34. I think I'm going spend one year shopping and learning. Thanks for all of your input everyone.

 

[Greg68S]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

Ok everyone I know that I gave up at my last reply but I tripped on the answer about a day ago. This boat is not a 3055 Ciera. It is listed as such but is actually a 2855 Ciera. I guess I no longer need to worry about the single SBC.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Im buying a '95 Bayliner 3055 Ciera with a 350 merc bravo 3. is the engine powerf

Ok everyone I know that I gave up at my last reply but I tripped on the answer about a day ago. This boat is not a 3055 Ciera. It is listed as such but is actually a 2855 Ciera. I guess I no longer need to worry about the single SBC.

NADA is about $12K for the 2855. The boat weighs in at around 6800 lbs. So, compare that to your Thompson with basically the same power package and there is your answer on the performance. It is not going to be fast at all, but as mentioned, you could go for a ride. Does the current owner know its top speed?