Jeff B wrote:
My Dad has an opportunity to buy an older Ranger bass boat that is seemingly
in "perfect condition" for what he feels is a very good price. It is a one
owner boat and my Dad knows the owner and his meticulous nature so he really
wants to buy it. However, he is a bit concerned about the motor itself just
based on its age (it currently runs flawlessly). He has asked me to try to
figure out how difficult it would be to work on this particular motor
if/when it needs repair down the road. I have a lot of experience with
4-stroke car engines (I work with them for a living actually, building
turbo/efi race motors) but I have literally zero experience with anything
related to boats, 2-stroke motors, or even carbs. So in a nutshell, for
somebody that has a wide selection of tools, and lots of mechanical
experience, are there enough resources out there (service manuals, etc.)
that a person could jump in a succesfully repair this type of motor?

On another topic, is there any particular part of this boat that we should
knit pick before buying? Every single thing on this boat "looks" perfect.
The paint, the carpet, even the upholstery, but we have never owned any kind
of boat and buying anything this old is a bit scary.

Thanks for taking the time to read!

Jeff

Two strokes are quite simple, especially in that age range. You can get
good manuals, and be all set. I never really messed with boat motors at
all until I started doing a lot of fishing and bought one. I have done
some work on two stroke motors (motorcycles, snowmobiles, etc) and
after getting a manual, it was easy.