I bought my first used boat (97 wellcraft 16 center console fisherman) beginning of this year. The lower unit on the 97 evinrude 50 (2 cyl 2 stroke) went out last week. The seventeen spline drive shaft is super rare and will cost 1200 bucks for a reman. Nothing with the 17 spline on craigslist, several with the 14 spline (older). I'm considering a trade with a local mechanic for a '78 55 hp he took in as a broken trade and fixed up. I found several posts about the 55's being superior to the 50's in reliability and repairs (cost, availability of parts, etc.) Just wondering what everyone thinks, I wish I would have known about the 97's lower unit troubles (inferior to 14 spline/larger gear case and hard/impossible to find) before getting into it!! Thanks everyone for being so helpful, iboats is a great resource!!
