Advice please, can I go wrong with this one? (pics)

[southkogs]

Re: Advice please, can I go wrong with this one? (pics)

Kinda' funny when I read the last several posts: I've been boating for 30 years or so. I've never owned a boat newer than a 1972, I've never paid more than $1,000 for a boat (so far) and I've never had anything besides electric shift Johnsons, Evinrudes and now an OMC Stringer Sterndrive. (To defend Smoke a little bit) It's not strictly luck, but it's not an abundance of expertise either (though Kevin knows what he's doing with his "free" boat) - it's more due diligence and proper expectations.

Coyote, if you can figure out this boat you're looking at 1.) suites your regular boating "needs", 2.) is solid/safe (good hull, good floor, good transom, no leaks), 3.) has a good running motor and 4.) you are prepared for some fix-as-needed items to come up, then $1,500 probably ain't too bad to getcha' on the water. Chances are you can keep that boat going for several years and do just fine.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Advice please, can I go wrong with this one? (pics)

Southkogs, I had a 1968 V4 85 hp Johnson sea king electric shift. one of the best motors I have ever owned, ever motor since then has been judged by it.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Advice please, can I go wrong with this one? (pics)

Hi, new member, although I've been reading plenty on here in the past. I'm wanting to buy a boat again, and don't want to make any mistakes. I want outboard, I've taken one apart completely in the past and am fairly comfortable working on them. There is one I'm looking at now, (see pictures) that I really like the seating on. It has a 1988 Johnson 90 v4, and the boat is a 1982 Procraft. My main questions are:

1. Is that a good engine choice (reliability, easy to get parts, easy to work on?)
2. Anything I should be careful about with the boat? (problems to look for, maybe one of you has a similar boat?)
3. Is his asking price of $1,750 reasonable?
4. Anything else you'd like to add, like that I'm a stupid newbie :facepalm:

Thanks a lot!

Hey Yote, if you're serious about buying a boat and interested in what makes a good and bad boat... go to the restoration forum and start reading the rebuild threads:
Boat Restoration, Building, and Hull Repair

You'll learn what to look for before buying a boat, and what to expect in the way of repairs when buying an older used boat. If you're really interested in boats, you'll learn a lot.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Advice please, can I go wrong with this one? (pics)

Southkogs, I had a 1968 V4 85 hp Johnson sea king electric shift. one of the best motors I have ever owned, ever motor since then has been judged by it.

Last outboard I had was a '71 'Rude 50HP ... I didn't really take good care of it ... and it still took GREAT care of me. Boat died before the motor did.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Advice please, can I go wrong with this one? (pics)

I'm kinda' with HC ... I'd want to know everything is solid, and I'd wanna' run the boat on the water. $1,700 is too high (IMHO) for my area and probably yours too. $1,300 to $1,500 would be where I would want to land.

I wouldn't be afraid of that Johnson. Plenty of 'em still running out there and tons of parts like JoLin said.

what I meant was, for boats under $2000 few sellers are going to allow you to have a sea trial b/c it's a huge waste of the seller's time for a small amount of money. You pays your money and you takes your chances. therefore, inexperienced boaters are at a huge risk of buying a dog in that price range; experienced boaters walk away from dozens but spot gems.

All you guys that say it's no problem getting a good boat around $1000, how many did you walk away from, and how many were you allowed to run?
Of those who got sea trials, was the boat in or near the water? Lots of boaters here on this forum are trailer boaters more than 1/2 mile from a ramp.

And I've said before, old cheap boats are not a good place for most new boaters or a family boater.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Advice please, can I go wrong with this one? (pics)

First boat I bought/rebuilt was a February Sea test in Michigan, with a grand total of $180.00 spent on her. (found a $20.00) bill as I towed her our of the storage lot, bringing my total investment down to $160.00. Thank god it was a warm winter that year. Nice Smokercraft with a Merc 40/2 stroke. Weighed about 2000 lbs with 3 floors, all rotted, and wet foam too, thing wouldn't plane out either.

It was a total rebuild, floors, transom, seats. Ended up selling her for $2100.00 afterwards. New guy got the Sea test too.