All right saw saw the boat, hull in very good shape, but motor needs a good paint job. I took the serial and model numbers before i left. Got home and found out the engine he had said was a 99 was actually a 93, and the shaft size as per the motor tag is 30 inch, and it looked it.
So, called the guy today and told him and he said he would call his father and the boat shop which I know and see what the deal was.
He calls back and said he talked to the shop and they took the power head off of a 99 which was a trade in motor and in good shape and put it on his 93 engine as the trade in motor was a 25" shaft. According to them the 94 238's required a thirty inch shaft for a single engine application and a 25" shafts for a twin engine set up.
So I told him I was interested still and we are going to do a sea trial first week of April.
He just called me back and says he has two guys that want the boat, same money and that they just want to hear it run on a hose no sea trial.
I told him I won't do that, to go ahead and sell it if he cant wait.
Supposed to call me and let me know.

sounds fishy, if you look on the power-head, on the top side there is an aluminum "freeze plug" that will have the serial number of the "new" power head on it so you can confirm what it is. If he is advertising the engine as a 99, its not a 99, its a 93 with a used power head on it

OMC stopped doing the model number on the powerhead around 90 or so, so that most likely won't do you any good. It will have a number on it, but a dealer has to break it down. I couldn't find any info on the 94 238, but the 95 238 lists a 25" shaft. The engine situation sounds fishy to me, and I wouldn't even consider it without a sea trial. Unfortunately I know your coming into your boating season up that way, and boat prices are skyrocketing.

I just went and looked up 4 different 238's, and they all had 25" engines on them. I did notice they had a small cutout made in the center of the transom for the 25" engine to sit low enough, so there is a chance it could have had a 30" engine put on it. Since he says it had a powerhead swap done, there is another issue that could arise from it. Around 93 OMC changed the length of the driveshaft and made it longer for the new style cranks in the fingerport engines. An early lower will bolt on, but will not have very much spline engagement into the powerhead. It is unclear if the switch took place in 93 or 94 as like I said earlier 93 is redheaded stepchild for the 200/225's. From what you are saying I wouldn't offer him but what you feel the hull and trailer are worth as you could be getting into somebody elses basket case of parts for an engine. So if you buy it I would find somebody who KNOWS OMC's of this era VERY well and have them go over it and see what is what.

You are correct, and I know the place that did the work, D&R Boat Works, a very pro shop.
I think he is just confused, because it was his Uncle and Dad that had the work done last fall.
But we had made a deal pending sea trial and compression check which he agreed to but now says he thinks the boat will sell this weekend with just a hose run.
So be it. I am not buying it that way.

Willy, don't talk yourself into it. Like others have said, it sounds fishy. One of the favorite methods of high pressure sales is telling the potential buyer that there are other people interested in the item. (And truthfully, I liked Senor Bert much better) There are lots of boats in play right now, so take your time. Hell, if you really need a boat that bad you can borrow my V20 for the season while you're hunting for one of your own. (seriously)

Wise decision. I took a guys word for it once(my HYDRA-SPORTS) because the boat looked nice and the water level was low in the river and he didn't want to haul it all the way to the bay. I took it straight to a dep lake and once in the water I heard a noise you couldn't hear on the hose. Low and behold he was know where to be found after he had my money(and I bought it from him at his dad's house so it wasn't like I could find him either). Ended up needing 2 connecting rods and a crankshaft all because I took his word for it that the engine had just been rebuilt by a pro. And as for the powerhead swap, alot of guys have no idea OMC used 2 different length driveshafts. I asked an EVINRUDE master tech about it before and he looked at me with a dumbfounded look when I asked about the different length driveshafts. It's an issue that doesn't pop up right away, but gets you down the road when you use the wrong driveshaft.