siwash

The Merc is running much better after I switched out lower unit oil, plugs, fuel filter, fresh gas and sprayed carb with gunk remover... Idles well, too that was the main issue. I might just list it and look for a bigger johnson/evinrude... Thanks you all your advice guys...

You'd think there would continue to be an after market industry for parts. I just bought a fuel filter off Amazon for the merc and the name was Siera

Oh wow. Had no idea that such an iconic name brand is not longer manufacturing. What happened?

Yes the motor is small. Boat is rated for up to 40. Johnsons are not being made anymore or you mean the parts aren't?

okay, thanks... and what about spark plugs?

BTW, seller has not cleaned the carb.

So I ended up buying a 16' with an 18HP mid-80s Merc. A few of you may recall that I was asking questions about boat buying as I shopped for one for a few weeks. Boat's okay... price was so so... we will see when I get it out there. Seller started it after multiple tries. Seemed to work after it warmed up. At home, started after about 5 pulls or so.. not bad. In forward acceleration, the engine seems to perform well. In reverse as well... But, in neutral it idles poorly and dies after e few moments. It seems to shake and vibrate then almost backfires (if that's a thing with outboards?) I should try to post a video (if possible?). Is this a carb issue? BTW, I changed out the gas and bought Shell Premium and added Seafoam. Maybe if I leave it overnight, the seafoam will break down some of the guck? Should I change out the plug and clean the carb? Thoughts?

h that's too bad! I just put in a conditional offer... going tomorrow.. the boat is mine as long as I like what I see in person... Motor will be started for me... and it runs well - at least now it does. I like the boat.. 16.5 x 67" I'll post pics when I get it home!

It's an 18 HP mid-80s Merc. We're those good engines?

Ok. Thanks. another seller just sent me a video of his motor running. Switched gears too. Noticed water was coming out steadily and strong. Would this be an good indicator that the water pump/ impeller are still working well? thanks!

Another seller said said motor needs a new impeller. What is the approximate cost to replace one on an 80s 20 HP Johnson? And is this something that I can do myself? thanks.

And both of the two sellers I've dealt with were older, retired men. Not to generalize but I get better feeling from these types of sellers. They both owned the boats for many years.

And this is exactly what happened. Sellers were honest and very forthcoming. I had a great feeling about both. I think both boats would have served me well. Your advice is solid and something I've followed with anything I've bought over the years. You know,, generally, who are the suspicious ones. A guy in the Kawartha area has a 16' since May. Fishy guy. You can tell. He never used the boat. They put in a floor and spruced it up a bit. I doubt they had any idea if it was leaking. He claimed it didn't but how could he know? I walked away from it after talking to him on the phone.

Yea, I have learned that now. In the case of the boat with the wonky reverse though, that was the seller not being honourable. He should have had the decency to call me. This boat sat for a long time because he had it listed initially at a very high price. He even apologized to me for having driven all the way there because the ad listed the boat as a 16' and not was actually 14' when we measured it. That was an honest mistake I believe. anyhow ultimately you can sell to whom ever you want but there are codes/rules that we should follow.

Update on the boat buying experience - in a word - frustrating!! i went to see one on mill lake (Parry Sound). Boat was decent but the reverse had issue (as I stated in previous post). Thought for the money too high considering the fix required. Otherwise I liked the boat. I left and the guy messages be back later when I got home and offers it for quite bit less - 30% less. So I message him back and he sold it in the few minutes (to someone who didn't even see it) that passed between messaging. I thought that was pretty classless. He had my number. He could have at least called me since I drove almost 4 hours back and forth. I told him as much. What can you do... then yesterday a boat popped up on Facebook marketplace- called him up and agreed to see the boat today. Looked real nice. I go back to check the ad and it was sold - literally 45 min later. not a great time ti buy... seems like market is very tight for decent boats. They go fast! People buying unseen! Obviously I'd rather see it first but it's hard to get out to these places that fast.. does the market get better in the latter half of summer and fall? I might just wait as this is frustrating!

Was supposed to see a boat very early this morning up in parry sound. But there was high risk of severe t storms. the glass boat I was looking at sold.

Thanks for the contributions folks!

New is ridiculously expensive. I want to keep this to a utility boat so that it should minimize the things to fix. I have kept the extra costs along the way in mind.

Interesting and informative post. Thanks! I will mostly fish smallish lakes so I won't be in big swells. I will hit simcoe though a few times a year as that is my closest body of water. In that lake a FG would probably come in handy for comfort reasons. However I am basically looking at what would be considered "utility" boats (I.e. boats with three benches across with a tiller configuration). I won't be "cruising" with this boat much but the family might come out a couple times per year. It'll primarily be a fishing boat hitting lakes/areas like Balsam/kawarthas, port Severn, cooks bay, sparrow, and some haliburton lakes on occasion... I do like the layout out of the FG and the person I am dealing with has been a gentleman. Both boats seem pretty good at least based on the online ads. I am looking at the aluminum first and he's willing to let me take it out for a spin. An issue the aluminum boat has is that the "motor has difficulty in reverse as it drops out of reverse". Apparently he has to hold his hand on the lever so the boat stays in reverse. Not being mechanically inclined I'm not sure how serious this is but he says it hasn't stopped him from using the boat.

Would like to hear your pros/cons for both! I am considering an aluminum and FG both 16' for fishing and a bit of putting around with the kids/wife... both are tillers. Lakes will vary, some with rocks and logs. I am nervous about hitting something with a glass boat.. on the other had, glass is more stable/solid on the water... what about maintenance ? Other things I'm not considering? Fuel costs? thanks!

Fantastic!

that precise and predictable? In know Algonquin varies by several weeks in many years.. mid-April to mid-May

Hmm.. I wonder if there are mayuaky left....

Loon Lake? I've been wanting to hit that lake. Seems to have a lot of different species... not sure how good it actually is though. I think it's stocked with Lakers...

Hey folks, I'm assuming there's still quite a lot of ice on the lakes up in Haliburton... with milder weather FINALLY here, when do you think ice-out will happen on most smaller and mid-sized lakes? Cheers