2012 Formula 290 Sun Sport9m

DECATUR, IN—Formula’s all new 290 Sun Sport embodies Formula’s heritage of proven performance while embracing new design. The 22º deadrise remains a standard for Formula Sun Sports, making handling in any water a breeze, while the 9′ beam offers a roomy cabin worthy of its many amenities.

Family fun in the sun is enjoyable by all in the spacious cockpit. The multi-position individually adjustable dual helm seat provides the captain and first mate easy conversation underway while kids and friends relax easily on the L-shaped lounge aft of the portside lounge. When it’s time for fun on the water, the aft facing sun lounge converts to a doublewide sunpad. The dual-height cockpit table can be set in the up position for snacks or a card game, or lowered to fill the L-shaped lounge into a large sunpad with the filler cushions. Storage is plentiful under seats and lounges for everything needed for the perfect day on the water. The helm commands attention with its brushed graphite finished dash with wood burl accents. The chromed shifters/throttles with in-handle outdrive trim switch set the elegant yet sporty tone of the dash with chromed bezels and Ritchie® compass. A lockable under-dash storage compartment is standard, keeping all your personal items safe.

The cabin offers a friendly environment to cool off out of the sun. The cherry woodgrain finish step leads you to the spacious cabin to enjoy snacks and relaxation. Custom décor pillows and draperies make your retreat unique and inviting. The high gloss Deep Cherry finish entertainment center is standard with a Corian® countertop, polished stainless steel sink, in-counter trash receptacle, stainless steel refrigerator and hanging locker. The Kenwood® AM/FM/CD stereo features two cabin speakers, with controls and speakers at the cockpit and transom for music wherever you are. A Kenwood 10-disc CD changer, iPod docking station and 200W cockpit subwoofer is offered. The entertainment center can also be equipped with a 19″ LCD/HDTV/DVD combo player. Custom-patterned carpet is standard while American Cherry finish woodgrain flooring is available. The head compartment features a molded vanity, stainless steel sink, brushed-frame mirror, Corian countertop and American Cherry woodgrain flooring.

Each 290 SS can be customized with a wide variety of available options, décor packages and Imron designs. Engine packages from MerCruiser and Volvo offer a perfect range of horsepowers and speeds to suit every boater. Visit www.formulaboats.com for a complete list of specifications, standards, options and latest news and pictures.

Boating Magazine

September 2009 Kevin Falvey

Just as a physicist sees the universe in a single atom, so you can tell a great boat by the composition of the details. Take a close look at Formula’s 290 SS. It’s chock-full of higher-quality fittings and fixtures, installed in a more robust manner than aboard most boats. Overbuilt, which too often means overweight and overdone, isn’t what I’m saying. This athletic day-boat-cum-overnighter is built right. From hinges to hull, every element is physically up to the demands required, as well as executed in a way that makes it most convenient for the most important person at any boat show: you.

Inspect the cockpit seating. Padded with drifast foam, it doesn’t hold water like ordinary cushions, and the backing is rot-free StarLite XL, perforated so that moisture running through the foam can’t pool. These seats never wheeze a dribble of water when guests take a seat. Upholstered in fauxleather treated with PreFixx – a coating that prevents scuffing and shiny spots from time and wear – it is so resistant to stains that marks from a ballpoint pen can be cleaned off it. Try cleaning ink off ordinary vinyl. If you lift a seat, you’ll find it swings on through-bolted hinges – a good feature, but not an uncommon one. It’s the hinges themselves that are above and beyond. Double-action, these are designed by Formula to allow the cushion to hang vertically when open, freeing both hands to rummage for gear, instead of a) needing one to hold the lid; b) being relegated to the relatively narrow opening of a lid supported by struts; or c) having to remove the cushion entirely and displace the crew while you get out the barbecue grill.

Open the electric engine hatch. You’ll find excellent service access, as you will aboard Cobalt’s 303 ($202,869 powered like my test boat) and Sea Ray’s 290 Sunsport ($199,597 with twin 320 hp MerCruiser MX 6.2 Mpi bravo three stern-drives), both of which are beamier boats than the 290 SS. But look closer and you’ll discover details like batteries secured by racing-style boxes. Open framed to allow for service without disassembly, these are retained by threaded rod and nuts, easily surpassing the ABYC recommendation that batteries move less than 1 inch when a lateral force of 90 pounds is applied. (I pushed with both legs and they didn’t budge.) Try that with a strapped plastic box.

That battery installation is no surprise, as the 290 SS’s hull form screams its performance-bred heritage. Narrower than competitors to more easily cleave through wakes and chop, it also boasts considerable flam – convex curvature – in the topsides. This shape provides more buoyancy than flare and so resists plunging better at higher speeds. There is no sudden “fetching up” during re-entry. This less-dynamic wave-to-wave transition is a fact I appreciated while running in the Atlantic. With 2-foot swells and a moderate chop, the 290 SS was comfortable to run at 40 mph, the twin 320 hp MerCruiser 377 mag MPI Bravo three stern-drives turning 3,700 rpm.

It runs dry too. The strakes of the 290 SS remain proud all the way to the stem rather than diminishing. This, coupled with the fact that they are reversed, or turned down, deflects much of the spray climbing the hull back into the sea. The 290 SS’s soft ride makes it drier as well: Most days, you can run the 290 SS fast enough and comfortably enough that loose water making it past the bottom is behind you before it can blow across the boat. Running beam-to the wind during my test confirmed this.

The hull shape, particularly the flam, also lends the 290 SS great sociability by providing greater width lower in the boat. That’s space where you can use it, evidenced not just in the aforementioned engine room, but elsewhere as well. Check the built-in stowage outboard of the helm and companion seats. Note that the depth of the cockpit seating allows comfortable slouching yet retains knee and foot space between the wet bar and seating opposite. Check out the width of the convertible aft lounge. Wide enough for two to tan, there’s still room for a more generous than average passage to the platform.

Belowdecks, it’s equally easy to forget you’re aboard a boat with a 9-foot beam. Though the 290 SS’s sleek, low lines would be marred by the standing headroom of a tall cabin, when I perched on the head and shut the door, my 6-foot frame didn’t feel cramped. The convertible ultraleather dinette allows sitting across the highgloss table from your mate without knocking knees and provides enough width to sleep, when arranged as a berth, without absolutely having to snuggle. So this thrilling and luxurious day boat, picnic boat, cottage commuter or sport boat – call it what you will – serves admirable overnighter duty too. That’s a big-picture mission statement, but details are what set the 290 SS apart.

Exterior Features

• NMMA Yacht Certification
• 10-year Structural Warranty
• Transferable 5-Year Formula Guard® Limited Protection Plan
• Imron® graphic A, B or C w/cockpit accent striping
• Pressure-treated Perma Panel™ structural hull matrix
• Foam-filled hull cavities
• Chemically bonded & thru-bolted deck-to-hull joint
• Heavy-duty PVC gunwale w/stainless steel insert
• Concealed fiberglass anchor locker
• Stainless steel bow rails
• Stainless steel hardware & 316L stainless steel welded rails
• Six custom Formula logo-cast pull-up cleats
• Stainless steel fuel fill w/integral vent
• Polished stainless steel engine vent trim
• Two polished Bomar® cabin venting hatches w/screens
• Two polished stainless steel portlights w/screens
• Nonskid foredeck center walkway
• Continuous tinted, tempered curved-glass windshield w/stainless steel top frame & center walk-thru
• Windshield wiper
• Concealed air horn
• 316L stainless steel transom grab rail & ski tow eye
• Clarion® waterproof transom-mounted stereo remote control
• Starboard transom trunk storage & two fenders
• Extended integrated swim platform w/concealed stainless steel swim ladder
• Transom shower

Cockpit Features

• Continuous molded deck & cockpit liner
• Molded in-dash forward deck access steps w/316L stainless steel handrail
• Dash panels w/brushed graphite finish & wood burl accents
• Complete Livorsi® illuminated instrumentation, domed w/chrome bezels
• Dash panel-mounted Ritchie® compass
• Digital depth sounder
• Livorsi chromed shifters/throttles w/in-handle outdrive trim switch
• Safety ignition stop switches w/tethers
• Tilt steering wheel w/wood or silver brushed metallic accents
• Lockable under-dash storage compartment
• Auxiliary 12V outlet
• Bennett® trim tab switches & indicators
• Fingertip outdrive trim/trailer switches
• Illuminated waterproof accessory rocker switches w/E-T-A® circuit breakers
• Clarion® AM/FM/CD stereo w/waterproof dash-mounted multi-feature stereo remote control, four 6 1/2" marine-grade speakers w/polished stainless steel grilles & 360W stereo amplification
• Six-month subscription to Sirius™ Satellite Radio digital broadcast
• iPod™/MP3 port
• Twelve polished stainless steel drink holders
• Cockpit/swim platform blue/white LED courtesy lights w/hand-held remote control
• Weather-resistant cockpit seating featuring PreFixx® coating, Tenera® element-resistant thread, DriFast® foam & StarLite® XL synthetic marine panel construction
• Twin command seating w/dual-position helm & companion seats
• Port lounge w/integrated storage
• U-shaped aft lounge seating w/storage & 24-quart Igloo® cooler
• Dual-height cockpit table w/filler cushion & four polished drink holders
• Aft-facing sun lounge w/storage below – converts to full-length sunpad
• Molded wetbar w/integrated sink, Corian® countertop, 24-quart Igloo® cooler, trash container & integral 316L stainless steel safety rail
• Demand water system w/21-gallon capacity
• Fire extinguisher
• Disconnect switches for auxiliary & starting batteries
• Battery parallel emergency switch
• Cockpit cover in color-coordinated non-fading Sunbrella acrylic fabric w/SeaMark vinyl undercoating

Cabin Features

• Sliding/locking cabin door
• Solid wood cabin entry step
• Light Cherry or Ash woodgrain-finish flooring throughout cabin
• Ultraleather™ U-shaped forward dinette lounge/double berth w/high-gloss, Deep Cherry or Ash wood table & filler cushion

• Custom décor pillows & draperies
• Entertainment center in high-gloss Deep Cherry or Ash finish w/hanging locker, drink holders and full Corian countertop
• Demand water system
• Molded head compartment w/porcelain head unit, 22-gallon holding tank & dockside pumpout, molded vanity, sink w/faucet, mirror, Corian countertop & Light Cherry or Ash wood-grain finish flooring
• Fire extinguisher
• Carbon monoxide detector

Engine Features

• Twin engine installation
• Motorized hatch lift
• Courtesy lighting
• Fume detector
• Automatic fire extinguisher
• Thru-bolted engine mounts
• Two marine batteries w/retainers
• Active & passive galvanic corrosion protection systems
• Bilge blowers
• Automatic bilge pump
• Bilge high water alarm
• Bennett® hydraulic trim tabs
• Stainless steel props

LOA 29´0˝ 8.84 m LOA w/Extended Swim Platform 31´9˝ 9.68 m

Maximum Beam 9´0˝ 2.90 m

Approximate Weight 8,950 lbs 4,060 kg

Cabin Headroom 5´1˝ 1.54 m

Fuel Capacity 112 gal 424 L

Water Capacity (opt.) 21 gal 79 L

Holding Tank Capacity (opt.) 22.5 gal 83 L

Bridge Clearance 5´10˝ 1.77 m

Bridge Clearance w/arch 8´2˝ 2.49 m

Draft 40˝ 1.02 m

Deadrise 22º 22º

The Company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents, or his surveyors, to investigate such details as the buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change, or withdrawal without notice.