Re: '87 Force 85 h.p. - any good?
Thanks for the responses!! I have a little more info - The boat is an '87 blue fin aluminum bowrider. It is set up for fishing/trolling and the owner claims that the motor will troll all day without incident. They have also used it quite a bit for tubing. He has not used it in two years but did treat the gas in the on-board tank. The motor started easily with muffs and ran smoothly. I asked him about winterization and he said that he fogs the carbs, treats the gas and tops off the lower unit every year to make sure there is no water. He changes the fluid about every other year. I changed lower unit lube at least every year and usually more on my past engines since it is cheap and easy. Still, if it shifts and runs smoothly during a test drive I would not be overly concerned about this - do you agree? <br />The owner claims the boat does about 38 mph with just the driver - this sounds about right when compared to my 1982-18' Blue fin with a Johnson 70 h.p. that would go about 32 under similar conditions.<br />If we buy this boat, we will have the compression checked by our trustworthy mechanic and take a test drive. Should we have the gas drained or can we assume that if it is running good we can work it through?<br />We just sold a boat that was cursed and spent more time in the shop than on the water. This boat is head and shoulders above the rest in the price range and it comes with all the extras we would have to buy (FF, VHF radio, loran, downiggers, full canvas, mooring cover). I realize that these items don't add real value to the boat as we have sold two boats similarly equipped. However, these are valuable to us. He is asking $3,900. Resale value is about $2,500 and my experience is that resale value is always low on old aluminum boats - I have looked at dozens. Finding an aluminum boat in great condition is no small task.<br />Thanks again and would appreciate any more thoughts!