280-284 Amerosport

Introduced in 1987 when Euro-style express cruiser sales were really beginning to heat up, the Chris 284 Amerosport’s bolt-on swim platform and unattractive hull graphics did little to distinguish her from the more upscale sportboat competition. Hull construction is solid fiberglass, and a fairly wide beam gave the 284 a spacious interior for a 28-footer. Her mid-cabin floorplan is arranged in the usual (generic) manner with double berths fore and aft, a convertible dinette, and a good-sized galley with good storage. Like other of Chris Craft’s Amerosport models of her era, the interior fixtures, hardware, and decor items are below average in quality. With the companionway offset to port, guest seating in the forward part of the cockpit is limited to the double-wide helm seat—a not-uncommon arrangement in express boats this size. A tubular radar arch became optional in 1989, and in 1990 (her last year of production) the SE model had a traditional swim platform rather than the bolt-on appendage of earlier models. A good performer, twin Volvo 271hp Duoprop I/Os cruise the 284 Amerosport at 26–28 knots and deliver 40 knots wide open.