Rodbolt or anyone else??

[HeadHunt]

I need a little advice. I am about to purchase a Sailfish 236 with a 2003 Yamaha 200HP ox-66 with 450 hours. The engine looks great. The guy fished the boat hard the past two years off the Georgia coast. He claims his closet trip was 38 miles and regularly went 45-60 miles out. He also claims to be very particular about his maintenance since he used it so far offshore. I plan on using it out of 3 inlets for palegics. Oregon, Hatteras and Beaufort. Do you have any advice what I should check before buying this engine?<br /><br />Thanks,<br />HeadHunt<br />alanmedlock@charter.net

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Rodbolt or anyone else??

are you anywhere near kitty hawk ?

 

[HeadHunt]

Re: Rodbolt or anyone else??

If I was I would be knocking on your door. I am stuck in the mountains. I am in your neck of the woods at leat 10 times a year. Before you put alot of time into answering my question there is one more thing to consider. I also have anothe Sailfish 236 I can buy for 2k less but look at these two engine situations and tell me what you think.<br /><br />1. Boat one in my original question is a 2003 200HP OX-66 with 400 hours. No warranty but may be a touch small for that rig. Owner claims good maintenance records and never any problem.<br /><br />2. Boat two has a 2002 250HP OX-66 with 150 hours and one year left on the warranty. One owner with very good maint. records. The reason it has an extended warranty is when the dealer was rigging/prepping it new, they blew the powerhead with only a few minutes on the engine. Must have set something up wrong. Therefore they gave the guy a full 4 year warranty. Not sure if it qualifies for Y.E.S.<br /><br />Assuming everything else is equal, which engine would you buy?<br /><br />Thanks Rodbolt,<br />Alan<br /><br />ps<br />We talked a couple of years ago. Remember, I knew Chris, the merc. mechanic behind the Red and White in Wanchese?

 

[HeadHunt]

Re: Rodbolt or anyone else??

Correction... boat two has 221 hours and 4 months remaining on warranty. Are there any major differences in reliability or upgrades between the 2002 OX-66's and the 2003 models? The 2003 certainly has been used more in less time. Sometimes, that is a good thing.<br /><br />HH

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Rodbolt or anyone else??

not a lot of difference, the 250 is a 3.1L motor that is a bit quirky if the tech is not familiar with them, the 200 is a 2.6L motor that is a solid design but either will fail if the maint is not done.<br /> both the engines require maint to the fuel and cooling subsystems or they die. I reccomend the preventative maint over the corrective version.

 

[HeadHunt]

Re: Rodbolt or anyone else??

Thanks rodbolt. I am leaning toward the 200. The boat is a little nicer and it will be much better on fuel. When I found out the warranty was only 4 months on the 250 and then looked at the performance numbers my opinion changed a little. I agree about the preventive maint. I am a stickler for that as well. I have read tons of threads on several forums about the o2 sensore, VST screens, vapor separator screens, fuel pumps/injectors. I guess if an engine seatrials good and the previous owner has good maint record (and used Yamalube & Ringfree), there is not much left to do unless you have a good Yamaha guy close by that can give you an inspection on short notice.<br /><br />On another note, they have been tearing up the YFT this fall in your area. I plan on being there alot starting next March. I may store my boat in Manteo during peak season to eliminate so much towing. If I am ever in need of a good mechanic in that area, I sure would like to be able to leave it with you. I'll bet you stay so booked up you never have room for new customers. If you don't mind, send me your contact info. My e-mail is in my first post.<br /><br />Thanks alot,<br />Alan

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Rodbolt or anyone else??

yep I stay rather busy but ill do what I can to help. contact info is rodbolt40 at yahoo.<br /> ya gotta watch shops that just do 100 hour services, they tend to miss all the rest of the service points