Coworker has an interest in getting a boat. I'm the advisor on this, with fresh water (great lakes) experience but no real salt water experience.
Looking at 20' cuddy with i/o drive. Probably mid 80s to mids 90s vintage. It's winter time so everything is pretty cheap.
I'm assuming (salt wise) it should have a separate heat exchanger for the engine (fresh water cooling). Also galvanized trailer as well.
I see ford & Chevy v8s, volvo power, merc or volvo penta outdrives, etc. I don't know if there is any red flag (stay away from) i/o drives. I know volvos are tricky to work on but that's about it. I've changed gimbal bearings before so aside from alignment they can be diy.
I'm told that hull wise, stringers and plywood fares better in salt water due to lack of microbes. Not that I can rip a floor out on a check out :)
Anyway, I'm sure that someone on the grm board has btdt, so let me know the cliff notes :)
thx
No experience, but if I were going salt water, I would use an outboard. Or two.
Saltwater I/Os can be fairly high maintenance if raw water cooled. Risers and manifolds become a maintenance item, that need to be replaced every 3-5 years $$$$. Water pumps should be a annual repair $$. Personally I would stay away from Volvo's, OMC's or any brand other than MerCruiser. The other brands hold up fairly well, but they can be very expensive to repair. Check the gear lube for shiny bits or any hint of milky oil. You don't want to have to rebuild a outdrive $$$$. Check the oil pan for rust. They are known to rust through and that usually means pulling the engine. Also check the freeze plugs for rust or weeping. Fresh water cooling is nice to have and I actually put it on my last I/O.
A galvanized trailer is a must at a minimum. If you can find one with an aluminum trailer that's even better. Painted trailers suck in salt water. Do NOT want.
If it's an older boat, carry a hammer with you. Any place you knock on the hull should sound solid. Any place you walk on the floor should be solid with no flex. Standing on the outdrive should not make the transom flex in any way. Stringers, especially at the motor mounts should sound solid. Motor mounts are a known rot area. Rot repair SUCKS and can add up to $$$$ in a hurry. They rot just as fast in salt water because it isn't what they float in that makes then rot. It's the rain. Check the hull carefully. Check this video for what a solid verses rotted transom should sound like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5h17uWdOww
The rest of the boat won't sound quite like that, but the difference will be noticeable.
OH, if you look at a MerCruiser, ask when the last time the bellows and shift boot were changed. They aren't that expensive, but they are a PITA to change. Also trim the drive up and check for barnacles up in the drive joint. They will tear up the rubber under there and they are almost impossible to remove without pulling the gimbal assembly apart. .
If you're looking for 80's-90's boats, Sea-Ray made nice boats, but avoid Bayliner. I think Fiberform died somewhere around then, but they made solid hulls and decent boats for the era too.
Freshwater cooling and a galvanized trailer is a must. Good advice above for MerCruiser, and I'd encourage you to stick with the inboard/outboard idea.
I grew up boating on the Puget Sound and we never moored our boat, so we never had any barnacles to contend with. Every time we pulled out, we'd swing by a lake on the way home and dip the boat and trailer in to rinse some of the salt off. As an adult now, I question the environmental impact that may have had on the freshwater lakes, but it certainly helped keep our trailer rust free.
the waterpumps should not be that big a maintenance item. They are just a rubber impeller. Cheap, easy, and made to replaced annually.
The rest is good advice. I look at I/Os as being the worst of both worlds. All the weight on the back of the boat like an outboard, parts that stay in the water like an inboard, space taken up by the engine like an inboard, and way too complicated for what it does. Go either inboard or outboard.. but not an I/O
20' is pretty short for a cuddy too, to the point where the cabin will be very small and it takes valuable space from the rest of the boat. Will it be used for over-nighting? If not I might go with a pilot house for weather protection rather than a cuddy. And an outboard.
Where will it live, and for what usage?
I've never had one, but my impression is that most small cuddy cabin boats were bought to keep the wife happy, have some enclosed space with a crapper. Some boats with a larger center console will have a head in there.
A 20' cuddy is pretty small. When we had ours, we had 3 small children. Then it's perfect. The cuddy usually gets you taller gunnels, so the kiddies don't fall overboard, and you have the perfect spot to nap them.
We've owned a lot of small boats here in Florida. We had a 22' cuddy, and that cabin was nothing but a bucket holder/crap magnet and mildew generator. Also, run away from the I/O. Honestly, run away from any boat of the era you're shopping unless you want a project that stays a project forever. Sort of like a child that never grows up, and never loves you.
Margie
If its raw water cooled and flushed every season, they're not that bad. If its closed-loop cooling, its no different than a car. Still needs maintenance, but certainly a lot better than salt.
All of the outdrives are pretty robust. The only one I might avoid is the early MR Mercruiser, simply because parts are ever so slowly disappearing. The MR and Alpha share a lot of parts, but the MR-specific pieces are disappearing. Alpha is bulletproof up to about 300 hp/350 tq. After 275 hp or over 3000 boat weight, I like to suggest a drive shower to keep it cool. Bravo is just plain bulletproof. OMCs and Pentas are equally similar to Alpha, but a Penta tends to take a bit more abuse in higher torque applications compared to the Alpha or OMC. Beefier shafts and stouter gears I heard were the reason.
All of the engines are automotive based, and each company does an excellent job of assembly and parts. A 350 from Volvo, OMC, or Merc will all be excellent.
