Re: What would be your choice? Merc or Rude
jp--
i think EZ has hit it on the nose on all points. you'll still be able to raise the Merc reasonably easily (the "tower of power" is also the "tower of leverage") but ability to trim it underway is nice and will increase your speed and decrease your fuel consumption. me, i'd absolutely go for the one with known transom/floor and motor half the age. i suspect you could get the 2d boat for 15-1600 and you could easily have that much into fixing up all the issues with the ancient Merc and replacing transom, even before you added TnT, on the 1st boat. you didn't mention where you are but the kicker is at minimum a really nice option and can literally be a lifesaver if you boat somewhere hairy or far from shore. altho i think EZ is maybe a little high on his $ estimate of kicker value....i'd call that a $350-500 motor. depending on your intended uses, you may find the 50hp perfectly adequate. and it's 2 cylinders vs six(?) on the Merc, a plus at tuneup time. and you could literally rebuild the 50 with ease on a home workbench.
OMCs of this vintage have issues with the "power pack" for the CDI going out so be sure to check spark on both motors.
since compression test is mostly a comparative test, you can get results accurate enough for your purposes. the motors i've tested when cold and long dead have usually given results that basically correspond to their #s once resurrected and warmed up, just 10-20 psi lower. remember that way-low reading on one cyl could just be stuck ring (not uncommon with dem nasty gummy 2 strokes and i've seen it sevl times with 4 strokes as well) so use it as negotiation point but don't tear it down til you retest after running motor through a few heat cycles.
