I’m in the market for a new to me boat and wanting to purchase in the next few months. I’ve been looking into Bass Cat and Phoenixes in the 2010- 2014 range, and I’m 85% towards a Phoenix. One issue I’m running into is the overwhelming number of Pro XS 2 strokes with blown power heads.

I can’t tell you the number of ads I’ve seen that go, “...2013 250 Pro XS with 300 hours and 125 on the new power head”. It’s extremely alarming, and most of the boats I’m looking at are powered with the motors.

Any advice on what to look for or stay away from? I’d love a 4 stroke, but not many of the boats in my price range (30-38k) have 4 strokes.

My theory on blown power heads. Bass fisherman love to go full throttle on a cold motor. Let that motor idle and come up to operating temp then run it as hard as you want.

if possible look for one that the owner kept good maintenance records on. lack of maintenance is the biggest issue with any outboard.

most opti's require fuel injection treatment such as quickare and or quickleen. (just like a yamaha) and servicing the injectors.
they also had issues with the air pump which caused alot of problems. pay attention to the engines and they will run along time.