Looking For Opinions On First Boat Purchase

[jkeith2326]

my wife and I are looking into buying our first boat and need some opinions. One we are looking at is an '86 renken-18.5 ft. 3.8 v6 mercruiser with omc outdrive(I know, not the greatest) nice interior with swim deck. Hull looks ok with some hairline stress cracks. Price is $2400. The other boat is an '88 chris craft with 5.7 mercruiser engine for $4500-enough said. Both boats come with trailers. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated and thanks for your time.

 

[Steve Mahler]

Re: Looking For Opinions On First Boat Purchase

dont buy the OMC unless you enjoy heartache. hard to work on, lousy resale, etc. Without knowing anything about your needs and the conditions of the candidates, here are my general thoughts:

1) avoid OMC, Mercruiser 3.7L aka 470 at all costs
2) avoid all Force outboards, and especially a Maxum or Bayliner with the L Drive
3) in Jet Boats the Mercury 90 and 120 jet engines are underpowered, smokey and prone to failure. Unfortunately they were widely sold.
4) 80s and older Volvos (2.1 liter, 2.3 liter) can be very expensive to repair
5) get a paid survey or at least bring a friend who has old boat experience

 

[jkeith2326]

Re: Looking For Opinions On First Boat Purchase

Thanks for reply. Our budget is $3000 or less and we are looking for ski/tubing boat that seats 6-8. As this will be our first boat, we are not looking for anything fancy, just solid and reliable with some power. Any suggestions? Also, preferably with an I/O.