I�m pretty set on an 18-19 foot Skeeter or Ranger and would much prefer a Yamaha over mercury. My goal in this first boat purchase is not to have a complete money pit. The main reason I�m not looking at 20� boats is it seems like half of the boats listed have a new or rebuilt powerhead. I�d rather go slow and not have to pay for a rebuild then opt for a 75mph rig. But then it has me taking it a step further and thinking would a carbed 150 v-max be the ultimate in simplicity and reliability even if I give up some fishability going with an 18�? Over a 19 with a 200hpdi or even a 18� with a 175 HPDI. Don�t have SHO money for a toy.

Their all good motors if you care for them properly and service them regularly. If buying used they take it to an authorized service center to have the motor inspected and a compression check done. Well worth the $2-300 they will charge. Some key tips is don't use cheap oil if its a 2 stroke, let the motor warm up before going full throttle and every once in a while ring it out to keep the carbon from building up. Also if its going to sit for several weeks at a time then use marine stabil in the fuel.
Good luck in your search.

Buy an 18� boat with a Yamaha F150. Best motor ever made.

They're all a [censored] shoot... Just have it checked out whichever way you choose to go... Dan

I don't understand why I hear bass rigs blow heads all the time when I very rarely hear of it happening in saltwater rigs. Running a motor for more than an a hour at a time at full rpm is not uncommon in salt and it seems the bass guys run less then 10-20mins at a time. I have owned 2 motors over 200hp and put close to 600hrs on each, never had a problem out of either and I ran full rpm 85% of the time.

More motor is always better imo, especially if you want a 20ft bass boat. Get the max rating and have a professional prop it right for you. Something I see a lot on the lakes is folks not letting their motors get to operating temperature, they fire it up, go to the dock, turn it off, park truck, get in the boat, fire it up and WOT. Gas loses octane, especially if the boat is stored out doors where it experiences fluctuations in the environment. Keep tank full, keep the boat inside, change your water seperator every 3 months, don't let gas sit more than 4 weeks, use factory recommended additives. Use the best Oil you can get and change it early, not at the last minute. Never had a motor in a repair shop ever and I am hard on motors. But I spend lots of time inspecting and caring for my motors, when you are 40-50 miles from the boat ramp, that motor is your best friend.

I've owned yams, mercs, rudes, hondas and tohatsu. My pick would be an yammy 150 and up.

^^^this is the biggest killer of outboards^^^ Going ballz out on a cold motor which is all too common with bass fisherman. What I have to disagree with is keeping the fuel tank full to prevent fuel from degrading. No sense in running around with a full 50 gallon tank if you're only burning 10 gallons a week or less. Put in what you plan on burning with a bit extra and use marine stabil. Its worked for me for the past 30 years.

I will certainly have a compression test done on anything I end up buying but still wonder if less tech is better when you don�t really know the history.

Less tech, moving parts, less to go wrong. It makes sense. I am all for advance motor design though, 4 cycles have been around for a long time, the onboard computer helps fuel efficiency and less pollution. EFI/DI has all but eliminated the motor not starting because it was sitting to long. The warnings make it near impossible to overheat a motor, over rev it and so forth, the PC monitors a lot and will keep the motor safe from the operators inexperience.

I have close to a half mile of no wake between my marina and the main body so mine has time to warm up going out and cool down coming in.

As for keeping the tank full I do it to prevent moisture from entering the fuel tank, the void in the tank is susceptible to condensation build up. So less void, less chance for condensation. Storing boat inside slows octane loss, less environmental changes.

I would not buy a carb motor. they are constantly not running right, hard to keep right, warm up badly start worse etc. there is nothing better about a carb motor. My last boat was a carb motor and I had it 22 years and spent a lot rebuilding re syncing the carbs multiple times and it still NEVER started warmed up as good as my new pro xs.

I broke a piston in my motor because it had debris in one of the thermostats causing it to stay cracked open so despite my smartcraft showing 100 degrees temp that one side was less..so hammering on a CAST piston engine that is not warmed up will often cause it to break the top ring land off.. thats what happened to mine..

luckily (joking like crazy here) I was only on day 3 of a open ended trip 17 hours from home on lake Falcon..

My experience with carbed motors is that if you let 'em sit with ethanol fuel in them then you can expect to have carburetor issues pretty danged regularly. Since I put my motors on a non ethanol diet, they have been very reliable. Currently have a 2001 Yamaha 90hp and she is just flat awesome. Starts and runs like a dream everytime I pull her out of the garage.

I too am looking for my first bass rig. You guys as well as others have said to get the motor checked out and have compression test done.
I'm sure an appointment with the service shop would have to be made and I would have to depend on the seller to get it to the shop for the appointment.
Is this correct? Just trying to figure out the best way (from you experienced guys) on how to get the motor checked out.


TX_Nupe

What about motors with rebuilt or replaced powerheads? Would that be a deal breaker for you?

TX_Nupe

Im in Wylie I can check motors and if capable and can do download on motor