Thoughts on Whaler Rave 15?

[rothfm]

I"m a longtime boater, and outboard rebuilder......My daughters boyfriend has a relative that offered him thier 1993 Rave 15 as a boat, motor, trailer package for 500. Its not running but comes with 3 115hp Jet Engines, and states it could be made to run or rebuilt.

I know nothing about these jets, or who makes them, what goes wrong with them etc.....

They were looking for something like this to go back-bay to the Sandbar picknicking with their dog etc. I'm handy and rebuild outboards from ground up. But again, know nothing about these engines or the boat itself.

I've seen some with 70hp outboards put on a bracket. Rather not do that. But looks like it might foot the bill and be a neat little boat if we were to make an engine run.

Curious on others with experience with these?

 

[mr 88]

500.00 for a 93 Rave etc sounds like a decent deal to me. Whaler makes a solid hull and are generally rot free. I am sure you could Google the engine model,make year and come up with some forum/answers to availability of parts and what to look for after you give more detail about what's wrong. Not a lot of good feedback from what I read after googling it. The guys that have put a outboard on them like them a ton more after doing that.

 

[Mopie]

I would sure look closely ar everything. Cross reference which ever engines there are with outboards they were made from.
With your stated familiarity with outboard engines, I would do it. The pumps are pretty direct.
This would be good rebuild as it was.
Changing to an outboard has been done in cases, but it is a whole new deal and boat.
Make sure title is clear and yours.
Good luck.
If the boat ha een let in the water for long periods will show.
If it has been allowed to collect water inside, tht too will show and in either case the ot may be heavy from water the foam.
If it has been on a trailer, look ar bottom for irregularities in the hull from too much weight, like water.

 

[monster1]

Everything I've ever read about these whaler jet boats say run and run quickly. Not making the statement myself. Just what ive read time and time again. For me, that would be enough to stay away and look for something that wouldn't be a headache.

 

[mr 88]

BTW the Whaler with the 115 is a Rage not Rave , so when your researching it on the continouswave.com you come up with some results which are plentiful.

 

[ahicks]

I know nothing about this boat, but i can share that jets depend on tight clearances between the impeller and wear ring to function properly. Many owners are clueless in this regard, and operate them in shallow water 'cuz they can! Shallow water will often introduce sand and gravel, lots of it, to the intake side of the pump, and done frequently enough it's not hard to imagine the damage caused. This damage will result in decreased performance, and may eventually result in a boat that can be difficult to get on plane.

If I were looking at a 500 dollar boat, in addition to the normal conventional powered questions, I would be wanting to know how serviceable that pump is. How hard is it to get to the impeller, does it have a replaceable wear ring, are specialized tools necessary, and are there parts available, would all be questions I'd want answers to ahead of time.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

As they say for 500 bucks the trailer is probably worth 1/2 that at least. Since you rebuild boats there is no need to tell you what to look for in the boat but those jet powered engines come with their own set of challenges. This will certainly be a challenge for someone without experience with jet power. But just imagine the wealth of information you will have in a short time that you never had before. That in itself is worth much more than $500.00. Like I say "You don't know something until you know it."

 

[racerone]

I assume it is just a V-4 Evinrude / Johnson powerhead.----Nothing special other than fuel system follows INBOARD rules.-----Also must be properly winterized too.

 

[mr 88]

I assume it is just a V-4 Evinrude / Johnson powerhead.----Nothing special other than fuel system follows INBOARD rules.-----Also must be properly winterized too.

I Googled the Whaler RAGE 15 and the one engine they say to stay away from is the OMC 115 which the OP said it came with 3 of them. Maybe he can make one good one out of them
Parts are non existent from what I read. Most guys either put a bigger Yamaha Wave Runner engine in it or they filled in the bottom.hole ,put a bracket on it and then hung a outboard on her.

 

[b.gagnon]

It's not worth it unless he has money to blow and plenty of time!
In the end after all the time and money, he will have a boat with just about no resale value....

 

[Old Ironmaker]

It's not worth it unless he has money to blow and plenty of time!
In the end after all the time and money, he will have a boat with just about no resale value....

I always look at whatever I am restoring with the resale value in the back of my mind before I exceed it. Many don't care about what it will be worth when done, usually for something with a sentimental personal connection with it. You see cars auctioned at Barret Jackson where the thing is worth 1/2 than what the seller has invested in it. That would kill me but many of these guys have the coin to take a big hit, not I.

 

[rothfm]

Thanks for the feedback, We passed on this boat after seeing it. While if it was for me personally, it might have made a neat little project,as I know the motors very well.

But being for him and my daughter, I would wind up doing most of the work and dont really have that kind of time beyond my own projects.

It was intact, with the outside jet housing removed and loose. Engine didnt turn by hand, trailer too small for boat, needed interior work.

Too bad people just park boats and let them fill up with water and leaves etc...Geesh, why couldnt the guy at least toss a cover over it?