First time posting...would like some advice on a boat.

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donutman

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Greetings Gents!
I've been trolling for a long time, and absorbing as much info as I could.
I'm interested in this Jon boat and was wondering what red flags pop up in your eyes? I've been wanting a Jon for a while so the girl friend and I can explore some places my deep V Tracker cant go, but yet have more range than our bass buster with a trolling motor. I know in Texas you must have your trailer registered, yet he say's it doesn't have to. He said I could take it to my own mechanic and have him give it a once over. He also seems very confident in this boat. But the "sell quick & cash only" got me wondering.
I've been saving up for a while so I could buy good graph for my Tracker but then this popped up. He's a little negotiable on price but what are the red flags?

https://texasfishingforum.com/forum...80/Re_16ft_Lowe_boat_15hp_mariner#Post8189580

Regards
Dave
 
Ask him to take you out on the boat and let you test everything out. If he won't do that for you I would try looking for another boat. It will also let you know if that boat is the right width, size, etc for your needs.
 
Taking a ride with him is good advice. Find out what year the outboard is. Stop in at a title transfer place and ask about titles and registration in Tx. They see these situations everyday. I can only tell you what La. requires, which does you no good. Also, the price seems pretty high to me. I would offer about $1700 and walk away if he didn't take it. Of course, I've been accused of being cheap before, too.
 
Talked with the guy last night. He didn't really know much about the boat. Looks like the boat and motor are 88-89. He had bought it in June to take his kids fishing and wants to move into a center console. Hasn't done anything to the motor himself but said the previous owner had just had it checked and tuned. He did mention that he had screwed the new flooring into the ribs of the boat. Isn't that a no no? I could have sworn I read some where that putting screw holes in the ribs would ruin the structural integrity of said rib.
The earliest we could go for a test drive would be about two weeks from now the way our schedules work out, so we'll see what happens with that. I'll have to crawl up under it and have look for patches and JB Weld too. Was just thinking, if I buy this boat, I could use it while I do a remod of my deep V Tracker.

Thanks again for the input guys, I do appreciate it.

Dave
 
I think $2800 is on the high end myself. But I'm not in Texas either, and location changes things. Sometimes drastically. That's a $1500 rig around here.

I personally don't like the electric anchors. Always seem to be in the way. I see a fish finder in the front, mounted to a piece of plywood. Fish finders are great, however I think the way it was mounted is a little cheesy. Perhaps the wood is just sitting there on the deck. Hard to tell from the pic. The mariner isn't a bad motor but there are better ones out there. Personally speaking, I'd be looking for at least an Evinrude/Johnson-preferably a Yamaha. But that's personal preference. The Mariner is the "better" of the mercury line. I sold them for a few years before moving into Yamaha exclusively. We seemed to always have a Merc/Mariner in the shop. Rarely do we see Yamahas and there are many more of them around here than there are Mercs. But like I said, Mariner isn't a bad motor at all. Just a little odd to me (well most of them) since I'm used to evinrude and Yamaha. My old boss used to always say that they were great motors unless they had a problem, then they were trash. I've had a few....9.8's, 15, 25, and a 90 triple. The 90 was the best of all of them until after I sold it to a friend who never seemed to be able to use it without some sort of problem. I never had to do anything to it when I owned it. The 9.8 was great until I started messing with the timing trying to get more power. Killed the powerhead. Also had a problem with the foot. I didn't have the 15 very long..6 months at best, but it ran well. The 25 was a duck boat motor that was used up before I got it and it was even more used up just before I scrapped it. Used to have to carry extra parts if I ran up the river. Oh and a paddle.

Currently own a 25 Yamaha 4 stroke and could not be happier. Cost me $100 + the parts I added to it (recoil starter as a backup).
 
Do you guys realize Yamaha made alot of Mariner outboards(somewhere earlier 70's to early 90's)?
Anywhere from 2hp to a 60hp,just thought I'd throw that out there.

As far as the boat package,seems alittle high but I'm not located where your at and not sure how bad you want a boat.
 
2500 would be too high for my area as well. As far as the mariner goes, I've only been around 2 of them. Both 25hp and both took a lot of abuse from my brother and a good friend. They both held up and ran great, especially considering the abuse they took.
 
Thanks for all the great advice guys. Much appreciated. I PM'ed the seller and told him I was going to pass on this one. I had called the TPWD asking about the non titled motor and was told "He can not legally sell, trade or give the motor away with out a title in hand." Guess I'll keep looking.

Be safe, have fun...

Dave-0
 

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