Re: Buying boat need opinions
Just a thought here...maybe instead of dissuading every potential OMC buyer from buying an otherwise viable hull simply because it has a Cobra drive, maybe we could make this a sticky? "if you want to buy an OMC Cobra, we suggest you do this..." kind of deal? That would solve alot of the issues with the bickering in here over telling people to not buy OMC stuff, and maybe get a few nice hulls restored and on the water, while introducing some new members at the same time. Seems like a win-win-win for the new potential owner, the forums, and iboats. Obviously this would include a disclaimer for Stringer type drives and King Cobras, but it seems this would be a lot of help to those that have no clue that this is even possible to swap, and be a very positive alternative to just saying "no...dont buy that POS...".
Add to that DonS's template pic that shows the transom cut out for OMC Cobra, SX, and Merc are the same, and that (with considerable effort in harnesses, etc) the drive system could in fact be swapped over to a more modern unit, and they could still use that hull they want to buy / restore.
Had I known about that cutout before, I may very well have swapped my destroyed SX out for an available Cobra unit, and still had my '98 220H. Yes, I realize this is going backwards, but it would have allowed me to justify refurbing the hull, getting it on the water, and then trying to locate a decent SX replacement as time / money allowed.
Just sayin...this seems a more constructive way to talk about this issue, rather than simply dismissing it. All are much more informed, and able to make their own decisions in a much nicer and more constructive manner.
