Need some advice?
 

New to boating period.. And new here.

Looking to trade for a '79 V20 with a '94 Evinrude 150. Don't know a lot about boats. It seems to be in decent shape. My investment is pretty minimal. Can you guys offer some advise? What to look for. I am going to go look at it here very shortly. Maybe what a boat in this condition is roughly worth.


TIA..
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...0/IMG_2656.jpg
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...0/IMG_2654.jpghttp://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...0/IMG_2655.jpg
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...0/IMG_2653.jpg

Thats not a 94 150. Omc switched to all loop charged engines for v6's by 91 and thats a cross flow engine, so it's 90 or older.

Hmm ok, so it's older than he says. Strike 1.

Are they reliable?

Illinois ,so fresh water boat...if it didn't come from Florida... trailered boat... no bottom paint, 3 big pluses. any motor more than 6 years old is a roll of the dice...more than 20 a writeoff. it will run until it doesn't.

Check transom,deck and stringers for softness.

I think old enough to not have foamed in fuel tank. good . might have saddle tanks??

Old trailers can need more part$ than a new trailer but fresh water so maybe ok.Trailer looks newer than boat.
check for rusted springs,axles, BRAKES, hubs, LIGHTS. Try turning some lugs with a wrench. That will tell you alot.

Pix look good.

One of my old V's had an '88 150 cross flow and it was an absolute beast. If you can get your hands on a compression tester that'll give you some insight of how the inside of the motor looks. I believe those old cross flows are good with 85+psi. If you could tap on the transom with a hammer to hear for moisture that'd be a good thing to do, just hard to hear it if you have never done it. I just recently got showed how to check it and I'm still unsure I'd get it right. More or less just tap around and listen for different tones. And echoed sound is good whereas a muffled tap is moisture.

Seems like a beautiful boat just depends on what kind of money you'd have in it just in case you did have to do a transom, or repower.

Ok, brought the boat home. Needs some TLC. Sat out without a cover for a while. I was able to hear it run. He had the adapter to hook a garden hose to the lower unit. Sounded good. Couldn't really get on it. But, it fired right up. The trailer is titled as a '90 (homemade) EZ-Loader. Tires are ehh, may need to be replaced soon.

I have about 900 invested. Traded some items that were just collecting dust. It was an even trade, but that was the best cash offer i had for the items that were traded..

Here are a few more pictures. http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...0/IMG_2685.jpg
Couple spots that worry me. Transom seems "soft". Granted its a heavy motor attached to fiberglass(?). Maybe a little give is normal, IDK.. Noticed the aluminum had a crack in it and some oxidation?? What does a transom usually run, ballpark? If it ended does need to be done.

http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...0/IMG_2690.jpg
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...0/IMG_2688.jpg
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...0/IMG_2687.jpg
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...0/IMG_2689.jpg

And the keel,hull area. Seems a bit beat up. I hope this isn't as bad it it looks to me? Like rusted out strut towers on a car. Little outsude of my comfort zone..
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...0/IMG_2691.jpg
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/...0/IMG_2692.jpg

Well seems the price was right seeing as the motor runs. Looks like the transom needs replaced. Motor should not move at all. My keel has some damage too, don't seem like yours was repaired well but it can be fixed. My fiberglass guy gets about $1000 to do transoms, that's with him removing the motor and replacing it. A good glass guy will want you to get rid of that transom cap. I'd pull the aluminum off and look and see what the top of the transom looks like. If it's wet then I'd say she's screwed.

Ok, first things first. Welcome to the site. Lots of VERY smart people here in a variety of disciplines.

It's impossible for any of us to actually know what shape your transom is in, simply because we cannot be there, so you're going to have to make that decision. However, there are a few tests you can do that will give you a good indication of it's integrity. (First, a comment and an observation... Your transom is made like a sandwich. an outer layer of fiberglass, then wood, then another layer of fiberglass. The fiberglass provides a seal to keeps the wood from getting wet, along with "some' structural integrity. The Wood provided the strength to hold the engine and the force being applied to the hull by that engine as it pushed the boat along. That cracked aluminum cap MUST be replaced. It's allowed water to soak the wood underneath, which in turn can and will lead to rotting of the wood fibers, which leads to a weakening of your transom. Most people, when repairing the transom, replace the aluminum cap with fiberglass, both for strength and sealing).

Now, as Squidder said, you can tap on the transom with a nylon hammer. The difference in the sound of solid (hard) wood underneath and rotted (soft) wood is distinctive. A ringing sound = hard, a muffled sound = soft. Check near the top and anyplace there may have been a hole drilled into the transom (to mount a transducer, ladder, engine, etc. These are the places that most ofter allow water into the wood.
Next, tilt the engine all the way up, then while standing on the ground, push down on the engine by the propellor and at the same time especially look at the transom where the engine is mounted and at the transom in general. If it flexed when you pushed down that's not good. It should be rock solid.
Finally, get a drill and anyplace that you think sounded bad when you did the tap test, drill a small hole (1/8" or so) into the transom and look at the wood chips that came out when you retracted the drill bit. Are they dry? that's good. If they are wet and soggy or dry and spongy that's bad. Be sure to seal the holes you drill with 3M Brand 5200 sealant (Available at Lowe's and Home Depot) USE NO OTHER SEALANT.. this stuff has stood the test of time for boaters and is unique in that it actually works like it says it will. (It's good to have this stuff around a boat. ALWAYS use it whenever you drill a hole in the transom. and if you are putting a screw into that hole be sure to coat the screw threads and the hole with 5200 before you put the screw in. Any time you drill a hole it's always a good idea to seal the edges or the entire hole afterward with 5200. Wear gloves...the stuff gets everywhere... Remove uncured with mineral spirits or acetone. Dried can be removed with a razor blade).

So there you have it. 3 steps you can do to test a transom... Tap, Push and Drill.

The actual repair of the transom, while a pain, is really not that hard. Just time consuming and messy.

Now, as to the rest of the boat, just walk around the cockpit. Does the deck (floor) feel solid or soft under your weight? If it's soft then you may have stringer damage under the floor and we can address repairs for that also. If it's hard then great, you're ok.

You need to get that front edge repaired before you put the boat into the water. Buy a fiberglass repair kit, follow the directions, a little sanding, a little paint and you're done... but you NEED to seal the fiberglass so water doesn't get in there and cause possible delamination. (Water soaks the glass... winter comes, the water freezes and expands... viola.. delamination).

Best of luck with the boat, she looks great and with proper care will give you countless hours of fun on the water. She's one of the best (if not the best) hull designs ever made for her size.

THEFERMANATOR wrote:

"Thats not a 94 150. Omc switched to all loop charged engines for v6's by 91 and thats a cross flow engine, so it's 90 or older."


For general information, I'd like to know how you can tell the difference looking at the pictures that were posted.

Little tell tales you pick up on over the years of working on them. Some obvious on3s ate a loop charged 150 is a 60 degree v6, and that cowling is to wide as it is obviously a 90 degree v6 cowling. I can tell from the height its a v6 cowling(but I've seen v6 cowkings on v4s). The 2 little exhaust ports coming out below the cowling are also dead give aways as omc changed those in 88 for all v engines except for the old cross flow engines. The style and shape of the cowling is that of a cross flow engine as loopers were physically larger and required a bigger cowling. And a few other little things I seen.