Re: Buying a '00 2002 Walk around Need Advise?
I have a year 2000 model 2002. It has the extended hardtop, merc 150, merc 9.9 kicker with remote start, throttle and steer, Raymarine electronics including radar, electric windlass, geez, tandum axle trailer...basically lots on things.
It's been reliable and everything works as they should. I bought it used several years ago and am very pleased. I think my worst issue is the merc 150 which is a 2-stroke oil burner that smokes more than my family's liking. It runs great, nothing wrong with it, but depending on winds and boat speed the fumes can carry into the cabin. I am hoping to repower in the next two months with the top coices being Verado 175, Optimax 175, or a Suzuki 175. I'm told these new motors are excellent and I'm leaning toward the optimax 175 as these new 2-strokes are lower noise, burn much less oil, and more fuel efficent.
The boat is great. The cabin works well for all of us, heck, even me at 6 foot 4. If I could change anything I'd like a little higher windshield but then that's probably because I'm tall. Some owners complain that the fishwells will fill with water while parked but I haven't experienced that. However, the fishwells don't pump dry which is a minor annoyance. Also the fishwell pumps are a real treat to remove and clean but I've figured it out so it's not too much of challenge and they rarely require cleaning if you keep a clean deck. I have a few spyder cracks on the top starboard deck by the cabin which are not uncommon on fiberglass boats so I'm not too concerned.
My trailer is tandum axle and I wouldn't be comfortable with a single axle. Like most trailers splashed in saltwater brakes can be a problem. I tried nursing the drum brakes with flush kits and lots of care but after too much hassle replaced them with Kodiak silver cadium discs. Awesume brakes so far and the bearing seals are the best I've seen! The lights were replaced with LEDs and I'm much happier and always road ready.
I tow with a 3/4 ton chev silverado and it's like the boat isn't there. I wonder how well the midsize vehicles handle with this in tow...probably just fine too.
What else...Not much...I had water getting into the cabin and it took awhile to find the source. I finally discovered it was following the boweye threads so I reinforced it with a hardwood backing plate and used a lot of sealant resulting in a completely dry cabin again. It's surprising how much water found way down those threads. I added water separator fuel filters and mounted them inside the bilge. Any work down here is a stand on your head and work through a small hatch thriller. The washdown pump failed twice which is also in the bilge area. This time I added a prefilter before the pump and hope it will stand the test of time. I added all the electronics so I've been through most all the wiring and didn't find any unexpected surprises except maybe routing wires through the extended hardtop tubes...more thrilling adventure stuff but again got it done (only one side was drilled for tube access and I had too many wires for one tube...nylon fishtape is the only way to go!). The overhead electronics box is sweet.
Trim tabs, wipers, kicker bracket all good...dual batteries which may get replaced with the repower this year...oh, the built-in battery charger is an excellent addition if not already on the boat. My boat has hydraulic steering which is nice.
Give your possible purchase a good inspection. Take it for a test drive and check all systems. Have it professionally inspected. This is a popular boat and for good reasons. It's good design, good construction, few weaknesses, affordable to operate, handles well in rough seas, provides a mostly dry ride, I like the versatility of a walk around, and a very useable cabin and deck space. We fish and crab in the salts, fish, swim and tow toys at the lake...yeah, nice boat.
NWFisher
