First I'd like to thank anyone that takes the time to read my issue(s) below and attempts to help me or give me some much needed advice.
I am looking to purchase a used inshore salt water fishing boat with a motor anywhere between 60 and 115 HP. I am what has been referred to in other posts as an uninformed owner or in this case "future owner". I want to get informed before I take on the task of finding the perfect boat for my budget. Now the question I have is not about the boat, it's about the motor.
At first I minimized my search to motors that still carried a factory warranty. I wasn't looking for brand name because to be honest, I wouldn't know a good year and make from a bad one. After a lot of searching I could not get the combo (boat and motor) that I wanted in my price range. So I started looking at older boats. Not too old. Mostly from 97 and newer. I'm finding a lot of boats that look really nice but the question always points to the motor. How reliable is it? Was it well taken care of? How many hours are on it? With proper maintenance how long will it last? I want my last concern while I'm out on the water to be "I hope the engine starts this time".
Then I thought, if I purchase a boat with the motor and the motor runs good, how much would it cost to upgrade to a new motor with a warranty? Depending on the price I thought it might be worth it for the peace of mind.
Let me give you an example of a very real scenario. I found a boat that I like and the guy wants $6000.00 for it. it's a 99 with a 1998 90 HP yamaha outboard motor.
Here's a pic: http://i15.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/e2/e5/725e_1.JPG
Now my budget is around $8000.00 for a boat. Would I be able to upgrade to a new motor for $2000.00? If so is that the best option? I'm going to guess that some of you would say that I should take the motor to an outboard motor specialist to have the compression checked along with whatever else is usually checked in a thorough inspection.
I live in New Port Richey Florida about 30 minutes away from Clearwater, so I'm assuming there are a lot of shops I can take the motor too but I would probably use this forum to get opinions on the one's that are the most honest.
So what do you guys think? I know I have a lot to learn but I am more than willing to do it! I've owned a couple of Jet Ski's in the past and I just sold my Jet Boat to purchase a fishing boat. Neither of those had an outboard motor though and both were purchased with less than 40 hours on the motor and still under warranty. I like to think that I am good at doing preventative maintenance, but I've never done it on an outboard motor.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
Shawn
I am looking to purchase a used inshore salt water fishing boat with a motor anywhere between 60 and 115 HP. I am what has been referred to in other posts as an uninformed owner or in this case "future owner". I want to get informed before I take on the task of finding the perfect boat for my budget. Now the question I have is not about the boat, it's about the motor.
At first I minimized my search to motors that still carried a factory warranty. I wasn't looking for brand name because to be honest, I wouldn't know a good year and make from a bad one. After a lot of searching I could not get the combo (boat and motor) that I wanted in my price range. So I started looking at older boats. Not too old. Mostly from 97 and newer. I'm finding a lot of boats that look really nice but the question always points to the motor. How reliable is it? Was it well taken care of? How many hours are on it? With proper maintenance how long will it last? I want my last concern while I'm out on the water to be "I hope the engine starts this time".
Then I thought, if I purchase a boat with the motor and the motor runs good, how much would it cost to upgrade to a new motor with a warranty? Depending on the price I thought it might be worth it for the peace of mind.
Let me give you an example of a very real scenario. I found a boat that I like and the guy wants $6000.00 for it. it's a 99 with a 1998 90 HP yamaha outboard motor.
Here's a pic: http://i15.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/e2/e5/725e_1.JPG
Now my budget is around $8000.00 for a boat. Would I be able to upgrade to a new motor for $2000.00? If so is that the best option? I'm going to guess that some of you would say that I should take the motor to an outboard motor specialist to have the compression checked along with whatever else is usually checked in a thorough inspection.
I live in New Port Richey Florida about 30 minutes away from Clearwater, so I'm assuming there are a lot of shops I can take the motor too but I would probably use this forum to get opinions on the one's that are the most honest.
So what do you guys think? I know I have a lot to learn but I am more than willing to do it! I've owned a couple of Jet Ski's in the past and I just sold my Jet Boat to purchase a fishing boat. Neither of those had an outboard motor though and both were purchased with less than 40 hours on the motor and still under warranty. I like to think that I am good at doing preventative maintenance, but I've never done it on an outboard motor.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
Shawn