Older outboards to avoid in the 90-110 range?

[malby]

Hi all,

I am looking at buying a second hand boat for fishing and family cruising in the 5-5.5 mtr range. It will have to fit in my garage which is 2.3mtrs high. I have been doing lots of research and have decided I want a glass boat as they generally ride more comfortably and generally look better and thus are more likely to be a winner with the wife. My kids are all teens and above and so need something big enough to take about 4 adults and 2 teens across to Moreton or fish 3 people min and 4 preferably. Many older boats I am looking at in the 'up to $20000 range have old donks on the back and so looking for advice on what to avoid. So far the wisdom of boat mechanics is:

1. Don't get an older Japanese outboard such as Honda or Suzy etc as they are prone to corrode (some mechanics call them alca-selsers as they are supposed to just dissolve?!) and have other problems such as carby issues in the older 4 strokes. Spares are also very exy.
2. Be careful of getting a Johno as they can cost a packet for spares due to parent company OMC going under.
3. Yammy's have narrow water jackets so be very careful of them.
4. Tohatsu's are good as are Merc's/Mariners
5. Try and generally get something no older than 10 years
6. Look for a Motor that has been regularly serviced with receipts and has had gaskets etc replaced in last couple of years as these and other guts parts (can't remember all the names) need re-doing every 5 years or water gets into the motor.

Any input or advice (on boats or motors) is welcome as i really don't want to get caught out and there's loads of lemons out there from what I can tell.

Thanks,

Mal

[den001]

you have pretty much answered your own question with point 6.

as long as its been taken care of and regularly serviced you should not have any dramas with any brand of engine...

there are some brands that stand out from the crowd, personally i would prefer a japanese engine over the yank motors but thats just me...

[Dan5]

IMO if it looks neglected they usually are.........Best advice i could offer is have an independant marine mechanic do a full report for you on whatever you like the look of.

Also being a glass boat i'd be having someone with a good knowledge of fiberglass boats inspect it thoroughly before parting with any hard earned cash.

Upon finding a boat i'd put up a post here to see if anybody has owned a similar make/model as the one your interested in to see if they have had any problems that maybe you could identify yourself.

Getting a 10 year old boat could be trouble a multitude of things could be wrong with it let alone the outboard.

On the other hand if you find something well looked after you could get yourself a bargain that would serve you for many years to come.

Like i said it would be in your best intrest to have anything you find checked out first by someone qualified and experianced.......the couple of hundred you spend then could save you thousands later on..........that would really take the tarnish off of a new boat for you.

Also don't forget the trailer condition/setup aswell as you could be up for a small fortune there......a decent trailer under the boat is a must.

Dan

[Steeler]

OMC spares are like needing a part for a crunchydore or falcon, so dismiss point 2 and thats coming from a Merc man.

[malby]

Thanks for your advice Dan5,

My plan is/was always to get a full inspection from a qualified mechanic. I have just recently seen a Haines Signature 492f with a Suzy 70 and I have put a post up as you suggested. I am a tad concerned about a few things with it.
1. It seems small
2. Is it a seaworthy boat in any swell/wind?
3. mechanically it has pitting around the outside of the engine even though its only 4 yrs old. It lived on the GCoast canals for first 3 yrs so was worried about internal corrosion.

Any thoughts,

[Dan5]

Well can't advise on the hull but can share some with the engine as i owned a 70hp suzy 4stroke for nearly 7 years.
Firstly the corrosion is a lack of maintenence issue IMO and is proberbly a good indication that the rest of the package may have suffered neglect aswell.
The suzy i had was actually an Evinrude badged model as at the time of purchase 2000 Suzuki had pulled out of Oz and you could'nt get your hands on a genuine Suzy for a year or so untill the Hainse group took up the distrubution deal.

With the particular engine i had i was using it for guiding work and i racked up just over 4,700hrs running time my self in it......admitadly most of those ours were trolling speed or at low revs but atleast a quarter would have been at cruising speed say around the 4.500rpm range.

I had a good run from mine but it wasn't trouble free but with the hours i put on it some failures are to be expected.

Trim/tilt solenoid went twice,regulator/rectifier went once and did a top seal in the gear box which ended up being a fairly comprehensive gearbox re-build and the only OMC part on it the throttle controller fell apart which i replaced with a morse one.

Mind you the engine would have been virtually trouble free up to the 2,500hr mark from memory.

The only corrosion i had on mine was a few internal hose clamps and around the thermostat housing apart from that nothing really of mention exept where stone chips had peined the paint away on the leg some minor corrosion had started there.

My boat virtually lived in seawater for 9 months of the year for a good couple of years of it's life being towed around by a mothership from Darwin to Broome and Gove so it copped plenty of seawater time to proove it's self,as a side note we also had 2 Yamaha 100's which did the same work as mine and they had trouble inducting salt spray into the cowling but good dosings of Lanolin helped cure their corrosin issues which was more of fault from the hulls that they were on throwing a fine rooster tail of water up and being sucked in.

Being a 1.3ltr engine the 70 has plenty of torque for a smaller hp and you'd be surprised at how it would push the boat around they are a fairly gutsy 70hp.

[malby]

Wow, that is avery comprehensive response Dan1. Sounds as though it would be fine as long as it checks out ok. Also will need to confirm what people think about the hull as seaworthy. Hopefully will get some responses from people with these soon.

[robothefisho]

They're a top little hull performance wise. But I doubt they are rated for 6 people? Probably 5. Most boats in that size range are. With a 70 it won't be a rocket, and will drag its ass with that load in it. If your intended use is to drag 6 people to tangalooma and back, keep looking and get somthing bigger with a lot more deck space.

[Tickleish]

I'll agree with Robo, nice little boat and capable offshore but with 4 blokes fuel fishing gear and everything else you need or a day offshore she'd struggle. You would struggle with power and space, mate had a 470F with a 70 2smoke and it was quite a good combo power wise for 2 people. On the few ocasions their was more than 2 people in her you really felt it.

Keep looking

[Roughasguts]

The 492F is only rated for 5 bods, there a good boat but narrow just 2.02mt wide that's why she looks small.
The other thing is the 492 is bum heavy and bow light! even with noone in it so you may wan't to re think how many it can actually carry 3 adults 2 kids in the cab be the most I would take out. How much coin is the boat your looking at?

Cheers.

[malby]

Approx $20000 total

[malby]

That looks like a Signature on your Avitar Roughasguts. Do you actually own one? I also notice you are from the C Coast. I used to live at Terrigal before moving up to Bris. Really miss the awesome waterways down there and the deepwater access straight off the Coast. Been a real challenge facing such shallow water as we have in Moreton Bay as my 4.9 Quinny is no match for the short chop.

[Roughasguts]

Yeah that's a 492F with a 85 HP Suzuki Two banger, Im at the bottom of lake Maq but do take the boat out through Swansie.
I paid 16.7K for it 10 years ago, so they hold there value pretty well. Me mate has one with a 75Hp two banger for sale he want's 20K for that as well slightly better nick than mine.
Cheers.

[Steeler]

Hope your not a Mariners fan Roughas ????.

[Roughasguts]

Hope your not a Mariners fan Roughas ????.

Nah womans beach volley ball for me.