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Location: MN | Looking for opinions on the following.
I have an old boat (Ranger) and motor, both from 1990. The boat is in great shape and fishes well. The motor has had some recent issues but nothing I don't feel can't be solved with a short term fix; I think I could squeeze another season or two out of it.
I am debating if it is worth repowering a boat with this age? The boat is paid for. Long term I don't want to stay in this rig as it feels small for the waters I fish. Seems like it's a crap shoot to find a good/reliable used motor and the only other option is to buy new. I doesn't seem like a good decision to put a 2009/10 motor on the back of a 1990 boat. What are your thoughts? |
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Posts: 2384
Location: On the X that marks the mucky spot | I'd look for a newer used motor if you want to keep the boat. www.bassboatcentral.com has a lot of people that sell motors 2-5 yrs old. Otherwise broom it. There's lots of good deals out there right now in both the new and used market. |
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| I'd look for a good used motor too. Check with all the dealers within an hour or 2 from you and you might be surprised what you can find.
or just fix it and keep it another year or 2 then sell the whole rig. I wouldn't suggest repowering with new unless you know you are going to keep it 5 or more yrs |
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Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | Keep what you've got and run it till you can get a whole new rig. Why spend money for a different motor if the old one will still run OK? You won't recover the $$$ when you dump the boat. But if the old motor is not trustworthy then I'd upgrade to a new one in a heartbeat. Used? Mmmm.. I don't think so.
If you fish a ton getting a new motor would save you thousands in gas, but if you are just a normal weekend warrior you'd need a lot of years to make it pay. Are you going to keep the old boat that long?
I went from a 1991 Johnson 150 FastStrike on a 1991 deep V aluminum to a 2010 E-TEC 200HO on glass and the 200 uses about .6 the gas the old 150 did. I didn't upgrade for the fuel reason though, I just didn't trust the entire old rig any more for long vacations. But I was shocked at how much better the new motors run. No comparison at all. The old motors are just plain garbage compared to the new ones. It's not the old motors weren't good in their day, they were! The new ones are just that much better. |
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| If you want to keep the boat for several more years, repower. If not, fix it and tough it out until you sell the whole rig. |
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Posts: 480
| Mak, I just went through what you are going through. I bought a new 4 stroke for my 680T (1990). I think it's a good decision, my boat is in really good condition and the size still fits into the lakes I fish. Sure I'd like a bigger boat someday, maybe if I'm lucky I'll win one. Duff |
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Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | Mak51 - 1/28/2010 9:11 AM
Long term I don't want to stay in this rig as it feels small for the waters I fish.
Right here, 'nuff said. Fix/rebuild what you've got and run it until it's dead. If you don't want to stay in you hull, and you've got motor issues, it's time to buy a new (new to you) boat. A repower will never pay for itself unless you get it for an absolute steal. A repower is a sound investment when you plan to stay in that boat for a long time and get your money's worth from it. I just repowered last spring when my two stroke blew, because I want to be buried in my boat when I die and the $17k investment will pay off in my using for the forseeable future.
Keep the motor running as best you can, and start boat shopping.... |
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