Re: Ebbtide
I remember the brand. Remember scanning sales catalogs. Came from Louisiana somewhere. Seemed to be a quality product but never knew anyone who had one. Don't know where they are today. Don't know when and if they used composites vs wood (stringers, deck, transom). Biggest problem in older F/G boats is rotten/water logged wood.
How is the seat trashed out..weather, like the boat lived out in the weather....rain and all? Any signs of water standing (water mark up inside of sides, transom)? You "walk the deck" doin't take the sellers word for it. It should be solid with no movement under a 200# person. Take the boat for a test drive. Get out in a pretty good chop and run at or near WOT. Check where the deck meets the hull/sides transom and look for flexing of the joint....look for the floor flexing (rotted stringers). Any signs of movement in these area make it a no-no.
Is there a well in front of the transom with a drain plug? Can you see under the deck back there....open, holes for drainage? If you can see through to the underside of the deck look for rotting problems. Check transom for signs of heavy stress cracks, rotting and all.
Johnson 120 would be a 4 cylinder. Some were cross flow induction and others loopers. If engine is loop charged, it makes a big difference in efficiency, however OMC did a good job of improving the efficiency of their crossflows from the early days. Lower unit oil change with new plug seals a must....no milky or chocolate oil....water in LU and you don't know how it got there, how long it was in there, and how much damage it caused....you don't want to get involved in fixing that unless they give you the thing.
Probably a set of tires wheel bearings and seals are in order; Bearing Buddies a must and a marine grease made for boat trailer bearings. I'd certainly want to know what my "rig" was rolling on.
Good luck,
Mark
