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[Bradmxz]

Happy wife happy life...i like the swim platform on our sea ray 200. Our kids and their friends camp out on it. Im used to maintaining my IO wouldn’t have it any other way. All depends on how you want to use it.

That definitely makes life easier haha. But like mentioned, the majority is salt water use. My mind still isn't made up though. It's a hard decision really.

 

[Bradmxz]

A thought just occurred to me, how hard is it to close the cooling system on in I/o. I know there's a kit to buy, but are there any troubles with them as well? Looks like I have more research not do. Ugh.

 

[Scott06]

Generally on a used engine it is not advisable to add closed cooling as sediment and corrosion will be present in the engine block and likely to clog the small passages in the heat exchanger. If I recall you are considering a 3.0 it is one of the most accessible engines in terms of oil filter spark plugs and the two engine drain plugs. Except for exhaust manifold and elbow maintenance will reasonable care and flushing you should be ok without closed cooling

 

[Bradmxz]

Generally on a used engine it is not advisable to add closed cooling as sediment and corrosion will be present in the engine block and likely to clog the small passages in the heat exchanger. If I recall you are considering a 3.0 it is one of the most accessible engines in terms of oil filter spark plugs and the two engine drain plugs. Except for exhaust manifold and elbow maintenance will reasonable care and flushing you should be ok without closed cooling

Yes after researching for a little bit I think flushing is the best option.

 

[Bradmxz]

Well had a chance to go view the boat today. It's a very nice boat, but what caught my eye was on the showroom floor, a 2013 bayliner 175 with 133 hours on it. Asking about it, I was informed we could get it for $14000, the way it was. That's Canadian dollars I should ad. Now it didn't include a few things that I wanted, like guide poles for the trailer and had no depth finder. I mentioned that I wanted those things, and the salesman said he would include them. Being an older boat, I was worried about the service history and maintenance. It's a one owner boat that was purchased new at this dealer and traded back on a newer boat. Still apprehensive about the I/o, I started asking questions about the manifold/riser, the impeller and service done on the leg. Within minutes he had a full print out of all service history as the previous owner was well to do and any and all service was done at the dealer. Still thinking I would prefer an outboard, the dealer is going to include 2 years of warranty.

So, I think this is a good deal. What do you guys think? The boat seems in excellent condition. Before it leaves the dealer, it will be water tested, the depth finder and guide poles installed. That works out to $11,150 us dollars. Let me know what you guys think before we pull the trigger so to speak.

 

[Scott06]

Well had a chance to go view the boat today. It's a very nice boat, but what caught my eye was on the showroom floor, a 2013 bayliner 175 with 133 hours on it. Asking about it, I was informed we could get it for $14000, the way it was. That's Canadian dollars I should ad. Now it didn't include a few things that I wanted, like guide poles for the trailer and had no depth finder. I mentioned that I wanted those things, and the salesman said he would include them. Being an older boat, I was worried about the service history and maintenance. It's a one owner boat that was purchased new at this dealer and traded back on a newer boat. Still apprehensive about the I/o, I started asking questions about the manifold/riser, the impeller and service done on the leg. Within minutes he had a full print out of all service history as the previous owner was well to do and any and all service was done at the dealer. Still thinking I would prefer an outboard, the dealer is going to include 2 years of warranty.

So, I think this is a good deal. What do you guys think? The boat seems in excellent condition. Before it leaves the dealer, it will be water tested, the depth finder and guide poles installed. That works out to $11,150 us dollars. Let me know what you guys think before we pull the trigger so to speak.

Depends on what you want to do with the boat. Price and warranty are nice.

For 20 years my family (parents bought used and i took it over) had a Sea Ray 170/3.0 engine - boat was great for many reasons but in the end was small as my kids got older, pounded in rougher water., but was very affordable when my wife was staying at hime with our young kids...

185 is one step bigger i don’t know the cost difference but when we moved up 6 years ago to a sea ray 200 sport (21 ft) really was the perfect size for us on a freshwater lake. typical day 6-8 people ski/wakeboard for an hour or so, then swim. Perfect size boat.
you mentioned salt water, on the ocean i think bigger is better. Or do you boat in a bay inside a barrier island

 

[Bradmxz]

Depends on what you want to do with the boat. Price and warranty are nice.

For 20 years my family (parents bought used and i took it over) had a Sea Ray 170/3.0 engine - boat was great for many reasons but in the end was small as my kids got older, pounded in rougher water., but was very affordable when my wife was staying at hime with our young kids...

185 is one step bigger i don’t know the cost difference but when we moved up 6 years ago to a sea ray 200 sport (21 ft) really was the perfect size for us on a freshwater lake. typical day 6-8 people ski/wakeboard for an hour or so, then swim. Perfect size boat.
you mentioned salt water, on the ocean i think bigger is better. Or do you boat in a bay inside a barrier island

It's almost always inside of the bay. It would be the very odd trip outside as we call it. The weather would have to be pristine, and the next stop would be Spain if anything happened lol. Our sea ray was 19.5 long and handled really well with a mild swell, but it was 2500 lbs as well. Looking at the specs on this boat, it's just over 1900 lbs. We eventually hope to end with a cabin cruiser in our later years. Something for overnights. I think this boat will be plenty big for us. Our kids are older teens, while my son likes to fish, our daughter prefers going with friends, so it will be mostly the three of us.

I'd like to thank everyone for the input. I think we're going to go ahead and purchase this boat. I'll update the thread with pics when we take possession.