Help I need some boating wisdom

I am looking to buy a used boat I can fish from and I can take family and
friends on. So far we like the deck boat option. I want to buy an older
boat, but need information to determine how old and what make and model boat
I am comfortable with. I am used to using Consumer Reports to investigate a
car purchase, but I have not found similar information on boats and boat
engines. Can anyone tell me the best place to find this info?

I have found two boats I am wondering about. a 1986 20 foot hurricane deck
boat with a 175 horse Evenrude and a 1993 20 foot hurricane deck boat with a
150 horse Evenrude.

I have heard that I should avoid Evenrude because of quality and parts
availability. I have also heard that Evenrude engines are fine and that I
will not have a problem finding someone to work on it.

Which is true???

I have heard that if a boat engine is well taken care of that they last
forever so buying an older engine makes some sense. I have also heard that
many places will not work on old engines and that I would be sorry.

Please share your wisdom.

Both of those Evinrude engines are good and should last a long time treated
right.
Parts availability may become an issue at some point on these engines but
there are still a lot of them around. I don't think that will be a big
problem for a while as there are aftermarket companies available.
You don't indicate the price of each and condition.
I like the 175 better for this boat as it needs the power, but I like the
1993 model better. Price and condition will have to be the real deciding
factor on these two.


--
Tony
My boats and autos - http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com



"John Bingham" wrote in message
. ..
Help I need some boating wisdom

I am looking to buy a used boat I can fish from and I can take family and
friends on. So far we like the deck boat option. I want to buy an older
boat, but need information to determine how old and what make and model
boat
I am comfortable with. I am used to using Consumer Reports to investigate
a
car purchase, but I have not found similar information on boats and boat
engines. Can anyone tell me the best place to find this info?

I have found two boats I am wondering about. a 1986 20 foot hurricane deck
boat with a 175 horse Evenrude and a 1993 20 foot hurricane deck boat with
a
150 horse Evenrude.

I have heard that I should avoid Evenrude because of quality and parts
availability. I have also heard that Evenrude engines are fine and that I
will not have a problem finding someone to work on it.

Which is true???

I have heard that if a boat engine is well taken care of that they last
forever so buying an older engine makes some sense. I have also heard that
many places will not work on old engines and that I would be sorry.

Please share your wisdom.