Bass boat...worth the price???

[catalysthackle]

I have a boat right now that does not have a trolling motor or fish finder. It is set up for lake fishing with down-riggers ect.

I have a chance to buy a bass boat for $1500 that is a 17' with a 115 hp Merc. two live wells, trolling motor and fish finder. It is a 1979 boat but in good condition (i.e. everything works) What do you all think? Seems like a hell of a deal to me.

Mark

[MiketheElder]

The 115 Merc sounds like a newer motor than 1979.

A 30 year old boat? The first thing I would question is the transom. That's a lot of wear and tear over the years. Look for any water stains below the floorboards or in the stern. Use your nose. Smell anything odd? Mildew? Mold? Gas?

What kind of boat is it? Fiberglass? Aluminum?

[ALLEYES]

It all depends on what kind of fishing you plan on doing. And how you use your boat for fun stuff. Bass boats are great tools for bass fishing but not so good for family fun or for taking kids or older adults. They also don't work as well for the way most fish for walleye. I owned a bass boat for almost 10 years and have owned everything from a kayak to my current boat a 19' Lund Pro V. For most types of fishing a deep V model works best IMO.

[KI Jim]

Sounds like an okay SECOND boat. The fact it is almost 30 years old would kinda scare me because it could be one of those things where you could spend more time working on it than using it.

I am very big on having a boat that is very reliable. There are few 30 year old motors that fall into that category. I would rather have a 16 foot deep V newer-but more basic boat.

Jim

[waterfoul]

Well, before passing judgement I think we need more information. Brand? Hull type?

[The Fishing Pollock]

My ChampioN is 22 years old this year and is still in great shape. It' all in how it was taken care of . As for the motor i have an 86' merc and its getting hard to find parts for it. Hence why I'm upgrading to a 150 pro XS merc this winter. But they are a great boat for jsut about anything ya want to do. Bass, eyes, panfish, sking, tubing, and cruzes. Only thing about cruzing is theres not a ton of seats . But they do the job for all aroudn everything fishing.

[Oldgrandman]

Personally, I'd rather bass fish (if I was so inclined to) outta my Lund than a bass boat. Unless you are gonna fish relatively calm water all the time and need the speed then yeah, get a bass buggy. Or if it was worth buying and re-selling at a higher price.
But Consider the conditions your gonna fish in. You can yank a bass into about any boat, doesn't need to be a "bass boat." Deep-V hulls are hard to beat for fishability (and harder to fall out of :lol:) in less than desireable conditions. My .02 on it.

[slowpoke]

I would not like to buy a used boat unless I can take it out for a ride no manner how good of a deal it is. My Ranger is a 1989 and still going strong. I had the motor rebuilt + a lot of other stuff rebuilted. I tried to sell it but can't give it away. I wanted a Walleye boat. The bass type boat are great to fish out off in small to medium water but not in 3 footers. I put a Minn Kota Terranova 80 with auto pilot on it so I can troll for Walleyes. It gets me buy but not in big water. $1500 sounds like a good buy if you can trust the guy that you are buying it from. Good luck.

[MUSHY1]

Older boat DO NOT SCARE ME in Michigan......If you think about it, MOST boats here are only used for 6 months out of the year tops....So, that being said, The boat is 1/2 as old then say a Florida boat that is used 12 months out of the year. BUT, like Mike the Elder said, you must have it checked out for Stringer and Transom issues.....Personally, I think some of the Older Motors, especially Merc's, run better then the new ones. With all the problems Merc had with its newer Opti-Max, sometimes the older Carborated motors if broken in properly run forever.....$1500.00 still sounds Cheap if everything WORKS.....

Mushy

[SuperSnapper]

First thing I'de do is get rid of that Merc.

[MUSHY1]

First thing I'de do is get rid of that Merc.

A very shallow comment:coco:, could you elaborate on that a little.....This is a WRITTING forum.....

Mushy

[MiketheElder]

WRITTING??????????

This website needs a good spellcheck tab.

[MUSHY1]

My bad......Now thats the UAW working for us all!!!!!!! Thanks Mike.....

Mushy

[Flash]

This past summer I purchased my first boat. A 1980 16' Aluminum Starcraft. It came with a 1973 mercury motor. It had sat in a garage for 18 years. Thus, even though it was old and used, it was not abused. The current owner allowed me a test drive and was very helpful in assuring me of any concerns. Really glad I bought it.

[SuperSnapper]

A very shallow comment:coco:, could you elaborate on that a little.....This is a WRITTING forum.....

Mushy

I have never seen an outboard Mercury that is worth their price. My advice would be if you have one to always carry an extra water pump and assortment of other parts.
I know some people are die hard merc owners, and thats fine, I just personnally have never had any luck with them. Everyone I know that has had one also had problems with it...and ended up getting something else.
Mercury needs to spend more $ on making their motors and less on advertising.

[shametamer]

Older boat DO NOT SCARE ME in Michigan......If you think about it, MOST boats here are only used for 6 months out of the year tops....So, that being said, The boat is 1/2 as old then say a Florida boat that is used 12 months out of the year. BUT, like Mike the Elder said, you must have it checked out for Stringer and Transom issues.....Personally, I think some of the Older Motors, especially Merc's, run better then the new ones. With all the problems Merc had with its newer Opti-Max, sometimes the older Carborated motors if broken in properly run forever.....$1500.00 still sounds Cheap if everything WORKS.....

Mushy

geez don't put the 'hex' on my opti or verado before i get chance to dump them this spring!:lol:..

[Oldgrandman]

For what it's worth...I never heard Mercury motors were a big problem outside of this site. My boat came with a '95 75 hp 3 cylinder oil injected Merc. She runs a little rough in the cold till I warm it up. Just had to replace all the coils and thats it, besides plugs and filters, general maint.
Actually after the second coil went I just replaced the third as a preventative measure.
I got it used, and just myself have put a buh-gillion hours/miles on this thing. All that trollin and runnin :) ....you know, the good life!

[waterfoul]

Ditto on the merc bashing! Don't be hatin!! My '72 50 hp runs like a watch and I don't do anything to it... I've been running it for about 15 years and have only replaced the plugs once (it's got gapless plugs). Did have to replace a water gasket on the jacket around the plugs... took a half hour. This motor has been in my family since new so I know every hour it's ever seen...

My 1988 Mariner 40 hp also runs like a watch. Bought used on my Tracker and I've only had one issue with it this season... the starter bendix wouldn't rise into the flywheel. Couple shots of WD40 and it was good to go (oh no... I keep WD40 in my boat!!).

BUT, I know a ton of guys with older Johnson/Rude motors that run like crap. So you can say bad things about just about any model or maker.

So, back to this particular boat... take it for a ride!!!

[KI Jim]

I agree-can't bash Mercs with me either. I have an '02 125 2 stroke carbourated and it runs excellent. Trolls really nice (it cuts down to 2 cylinders at low rpm). Great performance. Reliable.

I think when it gets right down to it, all outboard manufacturers make good engines...and an occasional piece of crap. Same as the car companies.

My brother in law has a 1963 vintage 9.9 HP evinrude-you've seen 'em-that rounded, flat top design. He got it from my uncle-who got it from my grandpa. I couldn't even guess how many thousands of hours are on that thing (slow trolling for 'eyes). The only time he has ever has it in the shop is to change the water pump. A 44 year old engine, it still runs smooth and efficient.

I also have a '96 yamaha 15 hp. 1 pull start every time. Great engine.

My worst engine was a '96 Yamaha oil injected 150 HP. Never knew if I was going to get back in with it. Ran like crap at low speed.

Jim