Used Maxum boat with o/b Merc 115hp need your opinion

Hi all,
Well i'm about to buy a boat and want your opinions prior to purchase Please
I found a boat its an 1989 Maxum bowrider with an 115hp outboard mercury it also comes with a trailor (needs to be sandblasted and repainted), there isn't a top or bimini that comes with it. The boat covers need replacing. they want $4k. Is that a good price?

I was wondering if you knew if this is a good boat and motor or not? Do you know of any major issues? I was told that the compression was checked and is A1.
I looked at the boat and it looks in pretty good shape, no big bumps or scartches underneath. Its actually very clean! The floor seems in good shape, no bounce in it, there's one little tear in on the the seats (back to back seats) but thats normal wear and tear!

We are a familly of 5 (2 adults and 3 kids under the age of 5) I want to make sure that I buy a good used boat. This is going to be used mostly for joy rides, maybe some tubing if the kids are up for it, and of course some fishing but not very often Very busy with the kids and not a good mix with the fishing lines and 3 young rambuncious boys! lol :facepalm:

Thanks to all in advance for your precious feedback!

Re: Used Maxum boat with o/b Merc 115hp need your opinion

As your boats are typically way expensive up there, that sounds like a fair price (it would be a $2500 boat here). What length is it? That boat most likely came with a Force outboard so do NOT assume the Merc is the same year as the boat. Rot is your biggest concern and it sounds like you've checked carefully for that.

Re: Used Maxum boat with o/b Merc 115hp need your opinion

shelsea said:

I was told that the compression was checked and is A1.

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Don't believe what the seller says at face value. Check compression etc yourself or have a mechanic do it.

If you have pics of the boat, post them so the experts here can give you more specific advice.

Re: Used Maxum boat with o/b Merc 115hp need your opinion

I'm not sure of the length, I think its a 17. We are going to the boat dealership this weekend to take a better look and pictures, I want to inspect it throurouly especially the floors after reading all the post here! I read someones story where the floor where redone on top of rotting I don't want that to happen to me.

How do you see the year of the motor?

Re: Used Maxum boat with o/b Merc 115hp need your opinion

BonairII said:

Don't believe what the seller says at face value. Check compression etc yourself or have a mechanic do it.

If you have pics of the boat, post them so the experts here can give you more specific advice.

Click to expand...

How do I check the compression myself? the boat is at a boat dealership I would hope their are being honest.
The owner of the dealership took the boat in and is selling it for a customer of his that bought a bigger boat. I'm goig to ask if I can get the customers contact info... not sure if he'll give it to me.

Does anyone know if a 115hp merc is really hard on gas? its a 2 stroke. I would be ridding it to the max, just enough to cruise around...

Re: Used Maxum boat with o/b Merc 115hp need your opinion

A 4 cylinder outboard is going to be tough on gas compared to an I/O. 115 should be good power for a 17' though so you won't necessarily need to be driving it around at WOT all the time. The rule of thumb would 11.5 gallons per hour at WOT. Get significantly better from there as you back off the throttle. Compression testers are cheap or can be loaned from an auto parts store. From what I understand, their numbers aren't particularly accurate but they are consistent. What you want to see is all the cylinders being within 10% of each other. If you could find the model number of the motor, you can find the year.