[guest]

wondering how many years of trouble free operation one would expect to get out of an outboard??

specifically i have a 35 HPjohnson i bought it in 1995/96 it was a 96 model, so ive gotten 8 good years out of it.. recently, the impeller went - no big deal a part of normal wear & tear... then 2 days later the power trim switch went..again an easy fix...

I dont get to use my boat too much, but when i do, i dont want to be burdened with unreliability.
plus i fish in a remote area of maine yearly.. i do not want to risk a breakdown...


so what is the year range before most consider a new or upgrade? 5? 8? 10? 15 years?? never??


The prices on motors now are ridiculious.. i was quoted 6000 for a 50 HP 4 stroke 4 cylinder motor by mercury.. plus about 1000 for install and parts... they only offered me 1200-1500 trade on my johnson. I paid around 4500 for the johnson.

I have not shopped around at all and am not ready to make a move right now anyway... but should i be considering a new motor?

as ive mentioned before, i am pretty much a mechanical feeb - by my own choice mostly... so reliability is important to me..


as a side note.. im dissapointed in johnson being bought out by bombardiere...
nothing wrong with our neighbors to the north, but most of the small johnson dealers all switched to other brands... so in reality, the only other american made & produced motor would be merc?
again no offense, i know honda yamaha ect make great motors... but i want one from the US.

 

[MowHoward2210]

s_j,

I've never owned and outboard or a boat for that matter, so I can't answer your main question.

I cant believe the prices on the new units! If you don't want to spring for a new one, I would follow the maintenance schedules by the book. Maybe you could have a qualified boat motor mechanic tear it down and check the tolerances for wear, and then maybe have him go over it at the beginning of each season? I know that would be expensive, but so is buying a new unit.

Do you have a trolling motor? Might be handy if your outboard conks out.

 

[guest]

oh yeah.. the trolling motor has bailed me out more than a few times... (including this weekend)

 

[MowHoward2210]

Keep that battery up!

 

[guest]

youd have to see my trolling motor.. its on the front of the boat and the prop is almost totally gone.. not from hitting bottom.. mostly from getting banged when the boat is beilng loaded or moved or covered.. but i had to disconnect my gas motor sunday and use the trolling motor with barely a prop to get across the lake.. thanksfully it was a small lake..

the prop has probably < 20% prop left.. both blades are pretty much broken down to the shaft.. i was amazed it even moved the boat..

:furious:

 

[MowHoward2210]

:lmao:

Be sure to bring paddles where the paddle is still wider than the handle.

 

[Fusion1970]

Depends on alot of things. Is it or will it be used in salt water? Depends on maintenance, how it's ran, etc. My first boat (bought in 1989) was a 1959 16' Sea Fury with a 60 HP Gale Soveriegn.

It was a little tired, but after I found the crack in the fuel line, it ran great. 30 years is not too bad!

Greg

 

[Live Oak]

I am still using the 1971 Johnson 50 on the back of my Boston Whaler 13-6. Runs like a champ. :thumbsup:

 

[Ingersoll444]

well if you use it once, or twice a year in salt water, kiss it good bye. Boat motors like to be run. Lots of use, on fresh water, shes still a pup and probably has a good 20 years left. New motors ARE pricy, no doupt. My first boat was a 65 starcraft 17 footer. Had a 90 HP Evenrude V4 on it. Nice motor, but was a 65 also, and was just not dealing with the salt water well. I had priced a new one, and was ! Ended up getting a used 21 footer with a sterndrive for less then a replacment motor would have cost.

 

[guest]

motor usage:


mostly fresh water - 99% of the time. last year i only got out a few times.. but usually i get out at least once a week (10-15 miles worth) and for a week i put a ton of miles on - 150 or so when i go to camp...


maintained pretty faithful, always winterised and oils changed...

 

[Live Oak]

A big life extender is a fresh water flush IMMEDIATELY after each salt water use. Never leave the lower until down in the water when not in use for extended periods.