96 Islander 221 with Merc. 3.0lx

[dt5150]

hey all. question for any of the islander or chieftain owners out there with the 3.0lx merc. i'm looking at a 96 islander 221 hardtop with this motor in it. ideally, i'd much prefer to have the 4.3 v6, which is much more common, but i haven't been able to find too many hardtops. anyway, i was hoping to hear from anyone who has/had one with the 3.0lx in it. how does it perform? getting on plane difficult? top speed? fuel usage? any input would be helpful. thanks!

 

[Scott Danforth]

that is a lot of boat for that little motor, however the boat doesnt weigh much being a tinny. I think the islander is about 1800# dry with a hard top.

if you prop it low enough, it should get on plane OK. it wont be as stellar performer as the 4.3. fuel usage will be worse than the 4.3 as you will be at WOT most of the time. my guess at top speed would be low 30's

 

[ezmobee]

A buddy had a 22' Chieftain outboard model way underpowered with a 90HP motor. I actually planed out really nice. Top speed was slow, like 26MPH or so, and you pretty much ran it at WOT all the time but it did OK.

 

[laurentide]

Apples to oranges, but I have an 18' Chieftain with a 70hp OMC outboard and it's fine. No trouble planing with a load (me and three people), and unloaded with just me it hits 30mph at WOT. That's exactly half of its max rated HP. These boats take pretty well to being "underpowered."

 

[dt5150]

i'd certainly prefer a 4.3, but if the 3.0 will do 30's and get up on plane without too much of a fuss, i think i could live with it. i don't do any long distance runs really, i'm usually setting lines only a few hundred yards from the launch. i do pull my kids on a tube, but i don't think it would have any trouble with that. i see a fair amount of 18-19ft. glass bow rider boats with this motor.. i don't know how much they weigh, but i would think they're heavier than an islander.

 

[Watermann]

You'll be surprised how well 140 HP does with that hull and that little 4 banger is not near as heavy as a 4.3L. Yeah it might not be what you want in a motor but the boat is what matters. Sometime down the road you could find a donor boat and make the swap to a 4.3L.

 

[will w.]

A friend of mine pulls our super mable tube with 3 teenagers behind his 22ft. His is Islander is from the 80s with a 4 banger. I don't know what speed he gets but I pass him pretty quick at 35-40mph.

 

[Catfishcabin]

My 18 foot StarChief gets up on plane very easily doesn't drink a lot of gas and goes plenty fast for me all with the 2.5 liter Mercruiser

 

[dt5150]

thanks for the feedback guys. i figured if the boat is in overall good condition and the motor runs well, and if the price is right, i might snag it. guy is asking 12k. i'm likely going to look at it tomorrow, and hopefully take it on a quick test drive as well. i'm very curious to see how it gets up on plane. i don't care all that much about top speed, low to mid 30's would be ok. getting on plane is more important to me.

a good friend of mine is friends with a local guy who owns a big marine salvage place so i could get a pretty good price on a motor swap if i decided to go that route later on. i figured if i bought it, i could run it for a while as-is and see how i like it. if it doesn't perform well enough, dies, or just gives me problems i'd look into upgrading it to the 4.3. preferably mpi.

here's a shot of the motor and the boat.

 

[dt5150]

a few more..

 

[Alumarine]

Nice looking boat.
If you get it and find it doesn't plane quick enough I put a set of smart tabs on my 18 and it literally pops up on plane.

 

[Watermann]

Nice Islander for sure, but it looks like the owner isn't the type that takes real good care of the boat. A few things caught my eye. Standing water and leaves in the bilge. The motor oil has been drained into the bilge in the past or it's leaking. He hasn't bothered to clean off the ugly water mark on the hull. Looks to be in original condition which if kept indoors or covered 100% can be a good thing. Check real close for any rotten wood and soft spots. 12k seems high to me for a 20+ year old boat unless in perfect condition and it can have some serious issues that need to be dealt with. We're seeing more 90's boats being rebuilt here.

 

[dt5150]

yeah you can tell it was put up wet for the winter. it was winterized, but i don't know if it was shrink wrapped, i don't think it was. probably left outside with the aft canvas on. it wasn't stored indoors last winter. this owner bought this boat last spring so he's only had it about a year. his wife wants something else that she can lay out in the sun on, reason for selling.

 

[dt5150]

there was obviously some water inside the boat during storage, notice the mildew. there was also a piece of carpet that was on the floor, which was likely part of the cause. he said he's cleaned off the mildew since the pics were taken.

 

[Watermann]

Yeah for mildew to form on everything it has to be soggy through and through. Bet that stinks too. :lol:

 

[dt5150]

we shall see, going to see it tomorrow. the floors are supposed to be solid according to the seller. i'll certainly give them a close look along with the transom.

 

[will w.]

I looked at a late 80s 22fter a couple weeks ago, 4200 obo. The owner told me the floor had a soft spot but it was an easy panel to replace. I figured it had to be the panel covering the gas tank. So, my son and I drove an hour to check it out. The panel above the tank was sunk in an 1 1/2'' and probably sitting on the tank. Dang near went through the cuddy floor while testing it and I found a soft spot outer edge near the rear beside the doghouse. Its been my experience that a soft floor means watterlogged foam. I reached down in the bilge and started poking the transom wood with my finger. By the time i got to within 6'' from the bottom I could feel moisture and it was punk at the bottom 2 inches. I got out of the boat, lifted up on the outdrive and watched the bottom 6-8'' of aluminum transom flex and bulge. I continued around the boat looking at rivets. Found a rib below the cuddy that had every rivet completely covered in some kind of goop and flaking spray paint in the same area. The owner was still in the boat and as I made the full round he flipped the mooring cover off the windshield then said, ''Oh yeah I forgot to mention this''. Three cracks running diagonal across the glass. Glad I've done a fair bit of reading here at iboats a know what to look for. LOL

dt5150, what state are you in? I just purchased a 96 19' soft top with electric downriggers, 6 big water trolling rod n reels and a ton of tackle for 5k. Could have done better, but I felt it was a fair price and I'm not keen on taking advantage of very nice lady in her 2nd year as a widow. I just gave her the initial asking price. Afterwards I found another by word of mouth but a 22' that needs engine work, not sure what work it needs. I did not get a price but it sounds like less than I paid for the 19. 22' was my goal but I could not find the one.

 

[laurentide]

Around here (Vermont) $15K will get you a pristine late model Islander with zero issues. 12 is way too high for that boat, IMO. It looks like a potential rebuild candidate due to neglect, and if you're going to do all that you might as well repower it with the engine you want. I honestly think that's a $5,000 boat. And that's assuming you want to do all the work required to rebuild the decks and all the other problems you'll find.

We're just trying to help you avoid a potential bad purchase. There are lots of good deals out there if you watch CL. I'm not one to talk, but don't fall in love with it when you check it out.

If it does check out, remember that used toys are only worth what someone will pay. And no one's paying $12K for that one.

EDIT: I saw one on my local CL for $6500, same model and engine. It sat there all winter. So, at least in my area, they're not worth half what the seller is asking.

 

[classiccat]

Around here (Vermont) $15K will get you a pristine late model Islander with zero issues. 12 is way too high for that boat, IMO. It looks like a potential rebuild candidate due to neglect, and if you're going to do all that you might as well repower it with the engine you want. I honestly think that's a $5,000 boat. And that's assuming you want to do all the work required to rebuild the decks and all the other problems you'll find.

We're just trying to help you avoid a potential bad purchase. There are lots of good deals out there if you watch CL. I'm not one to talk, but don't fall in love with it when you check it out.

If it does check out, remember that used toys are only worth what someone will pay. And no one's paying $12K for that one.

EDIT: I saw one on my local CL for $6500, same model and engine. It sat there all winter. So, at least in my area, they're not worth half what the seller is asking.

Right on the button there Chem! :thumb:

 

[dt5150]

thanks gents. well i took a ride up to vt to see it on saturday.. this one was a definite no-go for me. too much neglect for too much money. the exterior was structurally in good shape, but the paint was pretty beat. loads of dock rash and scratches, paint all faded. one small dent, nothing big. bottom water stained. one of the big things i noticed was the seams and seals around the upper section and the hardtop. visible cracks in the seals, and i also found a crack along where the hardtop mounts on the port side.
inside was in ok shape but very dirty, he had cleaned off much of the mildew but the floors were filthy. black with dirt, mold and mildew in some areas. no soft spots that i could find but i'm sure they're not too far off. a few small broken items like nav lights etc. the one good thing about the boat was the little 4 banger, that thing purred like a kitten. had good compression too, 155 psi across. ran like a top. too bad the rest was the way it was. i did find one small soft spot on thee transom too. after scraping away a big blob of dirt and decomposing leaves, i could feel softness in the wood with my screwdriver. lots of water leaks around the windows too, i think they all leaked to some degree. dashboard was pretty wet from the rain the night before. some leaking inside the cuddy as well. so all in all, this wasn't the boat for me.

i'm in nh so i'm trying to focus on the vt and ny areas to find one. closest to home, and they're pretty common boats for the champlain and ontario areas. chemicalwire, that's right where my budget is, 15k give or take a grand of two. i'd would LOVE to find a 2000 or 2001-02 in pristine condition! that's exactly what i'm looking for. i've got the cash.. all i need to do is find the right boat. if you see one, please let me know!