sooooo for a land locked guy who has never seen a mackeral, and really doesn't know what ur talking about, ur saying they're not good boats and I should steer clear?

The biggest problems I see are that if the motor needs a tilt unit you can count on breaking a bunch of bolt trying to get it off so if you are not good at drilling, tapping/Helicoil yourself then forget it. I own two of the same era Yamahas and they are pretty much welded together.

The tranom likely needs to be done but look at the ends of the stringer too. Wellcraft cut holes at the bottom of them right at the transom and didn't always seal them well and the stringers were raw wood againt the transom plywood so if the transom core gets soggy it rots the stringers too.

I think Jason means that the 250 Sportman has a fairly narrow beam for it's length and the elavated helm seats you high up so any rolling is amplified. It doesn't bother me that much but I would only rate it average as far as ride. It is also light for it's size which doesn't help the ride but does mean it can get by with less power and is better for towing.

I paid $500 less for mine in running condition when the econonomy was better.

Someone told me once ( i think it was Ferm), something that has proven itself to be true:

"Take whatever you think it might cost to fix and multiply it by 3-5".

Unless you are skilled at boat repair and have a yard full of spares.

I know its apples and oranges, but i'd be all over Schicks V20 for $4950.

Smokeonthewater, the 250 Sportsman is narrow to me. It rocks violently even with the smallest wave. I owned an 86 250 Sportsman with twin 1986 Yamaha 150s. We bought it hurricane damaged and poured a ton of money into it. First trip out, dad said he wanted the V20 back. The motors are too close together to be useful for docking, its very sluggish at best. But in a straight line its good and fast. Ours would almost hit 50mph. And being able to run as fast as you want in rough seas has a benefit over the V20. When the decision came to sell one of the Wellcrafts, I ultimately chose to keep the V20 because it was more economical, and for the fishing I do now I dont need the cabin. And thats another thing, I couldn't sleep in the cabin. Between the wave slap on the hull and the rocking I couldn't sleep or stay in the cabin for any time without getting seasick. Even at the dock.

I think purchasing a 250 Sportsman should be based on the type of fishing you do. If you think you will find yourself doing alot of overnighters then the 250 may be the ticket. But I always had enough room to put cots on the deck of the V at night.

Oh yeah, couple of other things about the motors. Plain steel shift ro is prone to rust out. Ask if they have been replaced with stainless. The tilt tube and tiller arm are plain steel too. and can turn into balls of rust.

I second that. Both Yamaha's on my 250 needed tilt tubes, shift shafts, tilt trim motors, all new fuel lines. I came out ahead repowering my V20 with a newer motor! If the motors are in bad condition, I would suggest selling them and installing a single 250 or higher 30" shaft outboard.

hmmm all good points.... thx... I think I would have to be a LOT closer to this boat and spend a lot of time looking it over my self to make a decision.... I think I might enjoy the boat BUT after much thought I think it's likely to have enough problems to make it a bad buy..... now, if he'd take $300........ lol



gonna pass.... thx for all the input salties :)

Definitely not worth travelling from your twenty.

I enjoy talking boats and on the rare occasion I actually have some personal knowledge I'm always glad to share.

I didn't realize you were in freshwater until the last post... stay away from salt water outboards.

You know how dog's age works, It almost the same for fresh/salt outboards as it is for man/dog. lifespan.