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    Expected Maintenance on a Houseboat?

    I'm giving serious consideration to the purchase of a 35' houseboat, monohull (not pontoons) with an i/o v8, 30 years old. It all seems to be in pretty good shape. Of course, I will have the engine/drive checked out, first. My question is, what kinds of maintenance should I expect to have to...
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    Johnson Controls

    I found a great deal on an older 85hp v4 Johnson oubtoard. But the guy says there's something wrong with the controller's neutral lock. It's electric, not mechanical, and the boat engine will only start in forward or reverse - not a very safe thing! He says he'd planned to fix it by...
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    Is O/B worse for skiing?

    I was reviewing some old posts and someone said that outboards aren't as good as inboards or I/O's for tow - sports as the torque is lower. I always figured that I/O's became popular because people prefer "car" engines over noisy outboards. I love ob's due to their simplicity and ease of...
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    Sent to me...

    If this is an old one, go ahead and delete it. But it was sure good for a laugh. Last summer, down on Lake Isabella, located in the high desert, an hour east of Bakersfield, CA, some folks, new to boating, were having a problem. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get their brand new...
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    Why So Few Deck Boats & 'Toons in Calif?

    I'm looking to upgrade my old tri hull, and a used deck boat or even a pontoon boat seem like the best choices for what I want a boat to do. But out here in California, we seem to have lots of open bows and cuddies for sale, and almost no deck boats or sport-level pontoon boats! In fact...
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    Expensive 'Toons!

    While at my doctor's office last week I saw in a boat mag a test of four 24' pontoon boats. They ranged in price from a low of $26k, I think, all the way to $69k!!! None of these were stripped-down models. Now, I know that this happens with all other sorts of boats, based on hull design...
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    Worth it?

    I have a friend who is offering to give me his old boat. It's a dream come true for me right now, but...Everything's good (especially for a 1978) except the lower unit on the OMC outdrive... I know OMC is out of business. Here on iBoats, I clicked on a thread and apparently I can get a...
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    Wake Board vs Ski boat

    It's been awhile since I bought a boat, and since then I've seen a proliferation of Wakeboard boats. (Apparently they're good at creating a big wake?) As my wife and I waterski, and we have a 9 year old son who will probably want to wakeboard, I'm curious about whether or not a "wakeboard...
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    When to replace rope?

    I keep reading about how if a tow rope breaks while under way it can snap back at the boat. So how do I know when it's time to replace a ski rope? A tube rope? I use each one about 3 days each season... Dave
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    OMC Checkover

    OK, so lets say I find a used boat to purchase with an OMC engine/outdrive. As OMC is out of business, and mechanics & tools are few and far between, what questions should I ask when looking for a shop to do a pre-purchase mechanical check of the powertrain? Are there some key questions I...
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    OMC Rebulit in November?

    I found a good deal boat with an OMC Cobra outdrive. He claims that the outdrive was rebuilt in November '07. Is this possible? I thought OMC parts were no longer available. Dave
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    Stryper for skiing?

    I'm looking for a family ski/fish boat, with O/B, and I just saw an ad for a used boat that really appeals to me. It's a 19' Seaswirl Striper 1850, open bow with 130hp O/B. Looks like any other open bow runabout in the photo, but it reads like (and the Striper name implies)a fishing boat. It...
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    Dangers of over-powering?

    I have a 15' tri-hull with a 650 merc. It does OK, though it's hard to get a less-than-talented slalom skier up. WOT is about 32mph. The hull is rated for 80hp. I have a shot at buying a Merc 950 for cheap. If I hung it on the back of my boat, just what would I be risking? Might I...
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    What is "Trim"?

    Boy, do I feel dumb, here, but my old Merc 650 has no trim control, so I'm not sure what people mean when they advise to "Trim it all the way down" or something like that. I can manually set the tilt of the motor (a real difficult, 2-man job) and I've been putting the pin in the second hole...
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    i/o power vs. outboard w/ actual numbers!

    I've always heard that the 3.0L Mercruiser was an excellent power train for a 17'-19' boat, though possibly a bit underpowered at 135hp. On the other hand, a 135hp outboard is pretty ballsy on that size boat. So I figured the performance issue had to do with the increased weight of the i/o...
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    Older Outdrives To Avoid?

    I'm looking at buying a boat from the mid 1980's. (Addicted to tri-hulls, and my 1976 15 footer is getting small.)I'm familiar with the newer Merc designations (Alpha, etc.) but have no idea what a "266" is. I'd like input on outdrives to avoid from that era. (Any positive recommendations...
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    3rd Pontoon Question

    What are the advantages/disadvantages of a center (3rd) pontoon? Dave
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    Pontoons in the rough

    I've been looking at a pontoon boat to replace my small and aging tri hull. I've noticed that there seems to be very little protection from the wind for anyone but the driver. Does this imply that a 'toon is really a fair-water boat? How do they do in a bit of chop? Here in Northern...
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    What's the difference???

    I am looking at a Mercury ad that shows specs for all their outboards. They typically make 3-5 models out of each block of a given displacement: for example, their 4 cyl, 105.7ci (1.7L) engine comes in 135hp, 150 hp, 175hp and 200hp models. Bore, stroke, compression ratio are all the same...
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    What's a "Force"?

    OK, guys, please forgive my dumb question, but... What is a "Force" outboard? Haven't seen them here in California, but saw one on an Arizona boat for sale. Are they "upscale" or "Downscale" from a Mercury? Or are all ouboards pretty much the same? If you're aware of any "Force" dealers...
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