DD88

Nah don’t sweat it. There are used two -stroke 50s and 60s in the 2k ish range everywhere. If that’s worse case scenario, enjoy your nice boat. You’re generally good if the cylinders are between 10-15% difference in PSI, your in 25% territory so you don’t want to leave that for more than a season.

What boat did you get?! Congrats! Also, did you end up going to see the first boat that started this topic? Was it rough?

I didn’t want to say anything, but yes - one ride with that 25hp and you’d be on marketplace looking for a 50, period.

This princecraft is really clean. Another 90s setup, but if the worse case is that the motor develops issues, those 50 horses in the mid 2000s era are pretty reasonable on marketplace right now… so provided the boat is super clean, that would be the worse case. I could live with that.

Omg… if you’re prepared to buy something like this, and are that budget conscious, just get that boat in new liskeard. I got him down to 4500, and based on the compression test, the motor is solid. You’re paying $4500 so even if you need to fix a leak or something, it’s fair.

^^this post talked some sense into me. Thanks for the wisdom. I’ve already got a 14 footer with a 15hp 4stroke merc with an i-pilot 55 LB thrust trolling motor on it. I fish walleye a lot but now I downrig for lakers on bigger lakes regularly with it and that’s mostly what I like to do these days so I’m looking for a bigger setup with more floor space and capability to keep doing that, but I’ll wait and get something newer thats got less wear. Appreciate the advice!

Hey Siwash, I actually came across the ad myself and thought it was a really good deal, and then came across this forum when I tried to look up the boat model for more specs and assumed you had made an offer and I didn’t bother because it’s a bit of a distance for me as well. The following day you wrote that you weren’t going to take it so I reached out to the guy and it’s still available but I wanted to know why you weren’t grabbing it because, well duh lol. There’s a decent chance I go look at it myself tomorrow. If the compression checks out, my only concern at that point would be resale I think, but at that price, it’s hard not to get your money back later even on an old motor if it’s a 60hp with good compression I would think. It’s also only 2 hours from my location, and not a day’s drive! I’ll keep you posted on whether I get screwed.

Hey Siwash, What made you change your mind about this boat after you spoke to the seller? Those old 2stroke Mercs are pretty bullet proof if the compression checks out… the boat is in great shape considering the year… although I can’t say I’ve ever seen that model around before.