Man, are thes things uber complex? Made of gold? or what? Been looking and reading as much as I can about these things as I search for a bass boat...These motors and their repairs are big bucks...For my small budget looks like I'll end up with a Mid to late 90's two stroke....Merc probably seems to be the most common. I guess the drinking water resevoirs will be off the table back in cali untill I can afford an upgrade some day.

Anyways, I'm thinking these machines cant be that hard to decode and repair by myself if need be, or am I overconfident?

I'd look even older. The old, simple two strokes (oil in the gas, carbs) seem to run forever unless you overheat them (if you buy a used one, the first thing you fix is the water impeller in the foot).

I had a 78 135 evinrude, and it had factory compression with 400hrs on it.

If you buy the Seloc manual, you shouldn't have any trouble with working on it. They really aren't all that complex, just different. Old ones, anyway. New stuff is ubercomplex and tightly packed. And damned expensive. Don't buy anything used that's been in salt water...

Buy a Japanese motor if buying a two stroke or even a four stroke. That's just my opinion of course.

By the way, you don't need a Bass boat to catch Bass. I have a 14' Westcoaster with a Honda 15 on it that I use for all my fishing adventures. Even Salmon fishing in the ocean, but must keep an eye on the weather.

Total cost for my project boat, around $2k. $500 for the motor + $400 to rebuild, $450 for the boat + $300 to refurbish, $200 for the trailer, the rest spent on odds and ends.

Here's a picture during during remodel.

Went to look at a little 16 foot 1997 "Pro Gator" bass boat today, it was nice had a 75HP Mariner (Merc). The Motor looked real clean, negative was the guy had been using for inter-coastal(salt)..but he only had it for one season. The carpet was shot, but all the decking was fiberglass with no wood to warp out, nicely designed boat....Trailer had some rust but not too bad probably could have been wire brushed out there was a kid there same time as me that bought it on the spot probably not a bad deal for 3100 which was the asking price...I was going to offer 2500 but I'm not in a rush and was not going to pay full asking price. Probably not a bad deal for the kid though, motor alone was probably worth a big chunk of that. I'll keep looking. Liked the hull design of the pro gator though made in Louisiana with double thick hull with foam in between seemed very stout..worth checking out if I see another in my meager budget.....Anyone wanna trade for an 89 SWB?

Don't trade for the '89, Justice!

I like AlumaCraft, myself. Just simple, reliable stuff. And what FastEddy said, go older. 40:1 engines get a lot of lube, so they tend to last a while. And carry oars, just in case.

John B.

Beater jonboat and a Honda. The oars are there to keep the Coasties happy on the big river. And ALWAYS a plan B. SOSuspenders for PFD.

X2 what fasteddy said, give the impeller a looking over (and carry a spare prop).

Shear pins in jet units are fun to replace when the water is 36dg and only up to yer shins. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" /> Waders baby. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/baby.gif" alt="" />

The 89 may be for sale real soon..Just no practical use for it here...The 2.85 tcase and front ARB will go into the 91..first though most likely.

>>>*Le' and I went with a 16' Lowe, basically a duck boat.

Then we had a railing put on her, some swivel seats, a console, a convertible top, ship to shore radio, on and on and on.

Nice and light, I can get in close with the little 4 HP engine, and use the 30 H/P Evinrude we had hopped up to get moving and she pegs right along at just under 25 MPH.

Bass don't have a chance, neither do Salmon or Trout. We like the little thing, it will still float if it is cut in half.

PIA mixing oil in the fuel is the only bad part, I can grab the front of the trailor and put her in the garage with my bare hands.....*EB

I've got a 12' rowboat parked on top of my Montero. I'm thinking about getting an old jet ski and a few cutting disks... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

If you don't go Honda or Yamaha motors, go Evinrude or Johnson. Mercurys might put out more horsepower per ci, but aren't as reliable.

A buddy of mine inherited his dad's boat with twin Volvos on it. Damn nice boat, but his spent a small fortune getting those engines rebuilt and they still didn't run worth a nickle.