Oh, one thing to look out for with used outboards is parts availability. Probably not a concern with the ages you're looking at, but we recently replaced our 1982 Merc outboard with a more recent Yamaha on the fishing boat because we were at the point that we were scouring junk yards and the internet to find parts.
I grew up with Mercs, as well as an Evinrude. We now have 3 Yamaha's. YMMV.
Curtis73 said:I don't think I've ever seen one that trimmed up above the keel, but most of mine have been volvo or mercruiser. (these aren't mine, just examples)
That would suck. I'm glad I never had that issue. Both of my hulls were pretty deep Vs. The extra keel depth must make the difference.
I had a little deeper V than this. I guess with a flatter bottom it may not clear the keel.
In reply to Flynlow :
All depends on priorities. South Florida bow bunnies don't like the smell of diesel these days.
Me, I'd have done the same thing your buddies did.
In reply to ultraclyde :
I've owned my Seay Ray cabin cruiser 42 years now. On average it costs me about $500 a season to maintain. it's a Chevy 350 with a 330 hp engine.
I use it for cruising including gunk holing up 9 mile creek where I'm often sliding through mud the creek is so shallow. But I tilt the outdrive up and as long as I don't hit a log or rock with the prop the boat is fine.
replacing the prop costs $125 for a rebuilt one. Takes me about 20 minutes or so.
I live on a big Lake and use it for mainly cruising, water skiing ( it will go 40+ ) and a lot of tubing. especially around the 4 th of July..
it's held up to 23 people but typically it's my wife and I. A slow cruise after work. Quiet peaceful watching the stars come out and enjoying a drink. Drinking is legal as long as the captain isn't drunk.
at first I used it 200 hours a year but lately it's closer to 50-75 the gas tank holds 105 gallons and it's hard to use up 1/2 the tank. Water is 40 gallons holding tank 50. Sleeps 6 without anyone sleeping on the deck. Head ( bathroom) Galley Kitchen. A lot of beautiful teak wood work that has been treated once and the interior still looks good. Exterior teak takes a beating and some should really be replaced.
I digress. Don't buy a boat from the ocean. Come to Minnesota to buy. We have 15,000+ lakes and rivers that feed the Atlantic Ocean via the Great Lakes. Red river of the North that goes to the Hudson Bay in Canada, and the Headwaters of the Mississippi.
All Fresh water not only that but 6-7 months of the year boats are in storage, fully covered . Yet 10 year old boats won't sell for 1/3 of original price and boats like mine can often be purchased for. Less than Challenge money.
My 1983 Baja was a total investment of $3500 and change. (lots of work because it was pretty rotten and needed a new motor). Over the few years I ran it, it cost me zero in repairs and only oil changes for maintenance.
My 1958 Sea King runabout is still on the lake. The original 1959 10-horse Evinrude is still in use (not on that boat, but on another 14' boat. The only reason I replaced it was that it was slow, so I put a 1993 Merc 25 on it... and it is still in use today. The only repairs that were needed for the old 1959 10hp was a driveshaft pinion gear because I completely forgot to put lower unit oil in it one season. $5 at the junkyard and 2 hours of fiddling fixed it.
My current Ebbtide with the 3.0L had a gunked up carb when I bought it, but $1 worth of brake cleaner and an hour solved that issue.
All of my boats have been just bloddy bulletproof. Current and past inventory, just for a reference of things I would recommend and not recommend:
1958 Sea King. 1959 10hp 'rude (amazing), 1976 Johnson 20hp, then a 1993 Merc 25. All recommended.
1968 Glassmaster. First motor was a 1968 Merc 65 that ran for 20 years of my above-listed abuse before it just started losing power/compression. Second was the 1988 M70 that I detailed before and it's still on the boat.
Grumman pontoon from the 80s. The motor that came with it was an early 90s Johnson 48SPL. Nice, but dad didn't want any more 2-strokes (biologist/environmentalist) and he was getting too old to not have power trim, so he got a Yamaha 50. I forget what year, but it was the last year of the carburetors and not EFI. All recommended.
1960s Starcraft. Aside from the rough-ish ride, bulletproof boat. It had a 69 Johnson 70, and it got replaced with a mid-90s Johnson 70. All recommended.
1983 Baja 19 Sunsport I/O. The hull was a full 1-1/4" thick solid glass. No wood in the hull to rot. It was an amazing combination of fast hull with enough deadrise in the front to be as smooth as a cadillac. WOT and 60mph was nothing in a 1' chop. Mercruiser outdrive was great.
199? Ebbtide. Ebbtides are in the middle-range of quality. Mine is great, but with the 3.0L it is much slower than I wanted. I don't think I'll put the money into a re-power, so I'm looking for another boat.
There are so many more, most of which had similar powerplants that I loved. I will echo that you should go as analog as you can. I don't want EFI, electronic controls, and all the junk that goes with it. Just give me a carb, some cables, and a key. This is why I will almost always buy used. I would love a hydrostream, but they frequently rot the cores in the hull. There is a catamaran (forget the brand) that is super fast (like 100+ mph) with a 275 horse outboard, but the layout of cats kinda sucks for my purposes. I would settle for a fish-n-ski type which is basically a bass boat hull with a wraparound console.
One other note about "old" outboards. Somewhere in the early 80s, they switched from rated power at the flywheel to rated power at the propshaft. It can be a significant difference... like up to 20%.
I only mention that because if you find a sweet deal on a low-hours 1978 Johnson 115, just know it's only getting about 90 to the prop, whereas the same V4 115 as a 1989 model will be a true 115 to the prop.
Yeah, I've never really experienced the "break out another thousand" mantra. I'm sure it's there for some folks, but I feel like if you have any bit of mechanical aptitude, you'll be ok in 95% of cases.
Good thoughts all around. Sounds like I'm pretty open to any drive train if the boat is right, but still have a leaning toward the outboard. Buying a northern freshwater boat would be great but the models I'm favoring are a LOT more common on the coast.
One of my goals is to roam a bit further on the ICW, so a higher bow will be a bit safer if I catch larger swells crossing the inlets. Being rated for 8+ people is important. I'd love to throw the crew in the boat (6ppl) and run about 20 miles to Darien for lunch, stuff like that.
But the one thing it absolutely MUST HAVE. the deal breaker...
Is dedicated anchor storage on the bow. Lol. Pet peeve.
In reply to ultraclyde :
Then you want a Sea Ray 260. Really high forward bow. If it's sitting on the ground at 5'9" I can barely touch the bow platform. And that's where I keep my forward Danforth anchor. It's a heavy laid up hull and in 42 years nothing on the deck or floor is soft or needs repair. I'm 285 pounds and my wife nearly as heavy so I test it with every step.
Mines not for sale, because I doubt I could get $1500 for it and it's worth a lot more to me. (42 years worth) But they were popular. When I bought mine I had a lifetime of Chris Craft ownership and assumed that was my next boat. The Sea Ray blew me away.
Later ones went to lighter construction with only Token teak railings etc. but the 78-79-80 ones are real classics.
Just for information the real bargains aren't listed on the internet. They are sitting in a boat yard or someone's back yard with shabby tattered remnants of a tarp coving them. But you'll get them for a fraction of their real worth.
By the way, I watched them chain saw up and toss in the dumpster a newer boat than mine ( Wellcraft) 34 feet, with only 385 hours on it. It was shabby but apparently nobody had wanted it for over a decade and the owner of the Marina figured the labor to do that plus paying for a dumpster was worth more than he could hope to get from selling it. Apparently that's common practice.
Oh, if you like really elegant boats that will need work,go to Bone Yard Boats . Some of the boats they give away simply take my breath away, Yes they are all wood boats but Wow!
If I were a decade younger that's what I would do. For free or maybe pay storage fees. ( which you can negotiate with the Marina. They'd rather have a few bucks in their pocket than the labor and paying for a dumpster.
Great Lakes We have more Ships/boats sunk in the Great Lakes than the Bermuda Triangle. Plus we have some pretty big boats on my Lake. Plenty over 50' and a few approaching 100 feet.
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