14' w/15HP Mariner

[Lunker777]

Hey everyone... I just went to look at a 14ft aluminum boat. The motor he has is a 15 HP Mariner. The guy is asking $1500 for boat/trailer/motor.

Its a nice boat. The guy doesnt know the year of the boat, and he doesnt really remember when he bought the motor( he bought it new ) I would say its probably about 10 years old. Afriend of mine said that if the boat ahs a plug, it shouldnt be more then 20 yrs old ? i dont know how true that is, but this boat did have a plug. The only hang up is he has NEVER winterized the motor. He leaves it on the boat all year round.

Now with that being said. The motor looks brand NEW... he took the cover off and there was no signs of oil or anything that shouldnt be there.

he has had the boat out once or twice this year i think he said and when he started it for me, it fired ( VERY EASY ) on the first pull.... gave it some throttle and she ran ( to my knowledge ) like a top !!!!!! I couldnt hear or see anything out of the ordinary ! He estimated about 15 hrs on the motor. I havent had a water test butI think the motor is in really good condition. He just changed the bottom end oil too !!!

 

I dont know guys ... what do you think ????

[cranks bait]

My grandparents used to have a boat and motor when I was a kid. I was always the one that put it away. Unplug the gas tank and shove it in the corner of the garage. In the spring, it was the opposite, put motor back on boat and plug in the tank. Never winterized and always worked. Johnson 6 horse. Even after 4 years of no use it fored up with one pull.

 

Two strokes are great for not having to do much to winterize. That's one of the reasons why I bought an E-Tec!!!! I'm guessing that this would be a 2 stroke that you are looking.

[boatman]

The plug thing is not true. I have boats from the 1950's and 60's that have plugs. I'd bet most outboards don't get winterised. I wouldn't worry about it. Only problem I see is the Mariner badge, but that's just me. $1500 is probably reasonable.

Edited August 25, 2008 by boatman

[Chris]

Hi, I wouldn't worry about the Mariner badge. if it's from the late 80's early 90's it's basically identical to a Merc only in grey. I had a 20 hp Mariner for 14yrs. and never had one problem with it. First start of the season never took more than 2 pulls. I always tried to winterize mine, but there were a few years I didn't.

[holdfast]

Sounds like a good deal but a piece of mind would be have a mechanic do a compression test. Also check the gear oil to see if it has water in it. If it wasn't winterized, and something went wrong, chances are it would be a cracked bottom. BTW I bought an old Yamaha 9.9 and cost me less than 100 dollars to have it checked. I told the seller that I wanted it tested first.