---

Any advice or tips for finding a good used motor? I've tried the obvious Craigslist, ebay and calling dealers but there seems to be a limited amount of used 250-300's on the market. The season is here and I am beginning to wonder if I will see more or less used motors come available...

---

use a craigs list search engine like search tempest'

---

bcoastal, still have my two 200's for sale. One working, one not.

Duf

---

Thanks duf but I am going the single engine route. It's for a 25' and Im really looking for a 250-300. I just sold the 200's that came with the boat.

I havent been able to find a good one over the past couple months using craigslist. I called a bunch of dealers yesterday and they are no good either. It just seems like nobody really gets rid of a good motor.

---

Keep an eye on The Hull truth - they pop up there ...

---

bcoastal, give Victoria Marine a call. I was in the back of his shop and he has a number of older motors, and i didn't look very hard either. Owners name is Bob, and he can be reached at 361 5755881.

duf

---

Thanks duf. I called him and he does have a guy with a opti 250 that is 1 year old. Only thing is though he thinks the guy wants a pretty high price for it.

There is a guy here in houston who has a 2008 250 optimax with less than 600 hours. He wants 6500 which I think is a fair deal.

I did find that there are a lot of good deals on the hull truth. I'll keep looking.

---

$6500 for a six year old Mercury OptiMax 250 is a VERY good deal...assuming it passes a buyer's inspection by a certified OptiMax mechanic. It would be a very good fit for an Outrage 25

---

I called him today and seems like the opti has very long string of problems that stemmed from the previous owner hitting something and stripping the gear case.

One thing that I thought was strange was that the run history has been deleted from the motor... Is this common? I have never heard of that before and it threw a red flag...

---

Wow - a bright red, and very large flag! I guess you have to give the seller points for honesty.

Tim

---

Yes, I agree. Caveat emptor.

---

Found a 2009 250 Yamaha for 10k with all controls, gauges and prop. Only negative is that it has 2700 hours. Is coming from a dealer that took it off a sheriffs boat that upgraded to 350s. 2700 hours seem to scare me but they told me I could expect to see 6k hours of life out of them...

---

Wow, a lot of hours bcoastal, especially when one of my 200 blew a piston with only 260 hours.........

Duf

---

sounds like a lot of risk to me. I know that they 'probably' maintained the crap out of it, but that's a lot of wear and tear period. can they provide maintenance records ??

---

Yeah, I've opted out of that one. I'll keep looking for the next month or so. If I dont find one then I might have to buy new.

---

I' m looking for a 70 for my 15 footer. In the past I have found some good low hour outboards up in the Great Lakes States. Fresh water and short boating season. No luck yet with the 70, I might even take a trip up there. If you have to have it shipped, I have had good luck with U-Ship

rich

---

I'd be willing to travel to pick the perfect motor, but would hate to get there to find out it's not what I was expecting. After dealing with Craigslist and other online ads I wouldnt doubt someone would try to pull some crap like that.

---

Last month a seller on Craigslist misrepresented a motor, the pictures were taken at the time he bought it, before he trashed it. I traveled 3 hours each way to check it out. On Craigslist its "buyer beware"/ I have bought a few inexpensive motors on E-Bay, They were as I expected, but after that recent experience I'm abit gun-shy now.

rich

---

Found a 2003 225 yamaha 4 stroke w/ around 400 hours. Do ya'll think that is enough hp to push the boat?

---

What boat are you repowering? if it is a 25' I would go with twins instead of 1 of them. My 27' goes great with 2 200's, but I wouldn't want any less than that.

---

The Yamaha F225 is good for about 42 MPH on a Revenge 25 Walk-Through so it should be good for about 44 on an Outrage 25.

I have twin 150s on my Revenge 25 Walk-Through and I would like to repower with a single 250 which I think is the ideal power for the classic 25 foot Whalers. That said, I know two guys with Revenge 25 walk-Throughs with Yamaha F225s on them and they just LOVE that combination.

---

I was told by a Yamaha tech that some early f225/250's had corrosion issues between the powerhead and leg. I think it was 2002-2003 or perhaps 2003-2004? The issue only affected these for one or two model years, but I'd suggest confirming the engine you at looking at is not of the generation which had this problem.

---

A search on "Yamaha dry exhaust corrosion" will find you the info you need.

Tim

---

Interesting that it only takes 1 225hp on a 25' outrage to push that boat the same speed as twin 200's at WOT push my 27'...I guess there must be a LOT of weight in that extra 2 ft...

---

There's also about 2 feet more in the beam if we're talking classic 1980's I think.

---

A classic 25 foot Whaler is rated for a maximum of 300 HP.

The Whaler 27s are rated for a maximum 600 HP.

A 25 with 225 HP is at 75 percent of it maximum.

A 27 with 400 HP is at only 66 percent of its maximum.

So at those power levels, the 27 would seem to be underpowered, not the 25.

---

The 27 is two feet longer (duh) but isn't it also 2 feet wider than the 25? That width probably makes more difference than the length.

Tim

---

That's it! *slapping forehead*

Hull design is the same, just wider and much heavier.

---

Ok a good friend's mechanic called me today with a lead on a motor that he maintains. Its a 2008 Suzuki 250 that has 2500 hours. 1500 hours on a "newer" powerhead about 2 years old and about 150 hours on the lower unit. The motor is coming off a guides boat. The guy wants 4500 for the motor. The mechanic can rig it with prop, controls, tach for 3k. He has lots of experience with whalers and services many guides in our area. How does that sound?

---

$7500, all in, for a 2500 hour motor?

Caveat emptor.

---

It sounds like too much. I don't know much about Suzukis, so I'll leave the $4500 figure for someone else to comment on. But I would not buy an engine from commercial use. It's got to be rough. It's already been rebuilt once.

But $3000 for the rigging you describe is a rip-off. A prop is about $400 max (assuming you can't find a good used one for less),
A tach is about $100 max, and the control box and ignition harness should be about $400. $2100 to rig the engine is ridiculous.

---

I've personally owned three 25' boats, Mako 254 (235 Evinrude), Mako 250 (Twin John 200), Wahoo! 2600 (Twin 200 Mar) and the only boat that seemed like a dog, was the single. I think DUF got it right with Twin 150's, even used ones if you can find them. If you are going to deploy a high hour motor make sure its YAMAHA. My friend bought a 1200 hr F350 and it has been flawless for the past year. He spent $13K

---

I would like to avoid the twins vs single discussion. I feel it is proven this boat can run very will with a 250 and many comment that a 225 will push it into the 40s. is there a reason yamaha outperforms all other motors at high hours?

---

James is dead wrong about the single vs. twinon a 25 foot Whaler. BIG difference between a 25 foot Whaler and a Mako 254, Mako 250, Wahoo! 2600 or a Whaler 27. Apples to oranges.

I've spent time running an Outrage 25 with a Yamaha 250 HPDI and it was superb. My own Revenge 25 has twin Mercury 150s and it's fine but would be better with a single 250. I also have run a near identical Revenge 25 with an E-TEC 250 and it was only 2 MPH slower than my boat.

As mentioned earlier, I've also run a Revenge 25 with a Yamaha F225 and it does not leave much, if anything, to be desired.

---

I can see your point Tom. I guess my mind (and opinions) are slanted to performance. If I was choosing a high hour motor, I'd buy a Yam based on some good info I know of a few comparisons I saw like this: the motors all ran same hours and performance profile. The F350 sold for $12K, and was a little older than a year at the time.

http://i1320.photobucket.com/albums/u...bdbcf1.jpg

---

Took a picture of the boat yesterday.

http://s1244.photobucket.com/user/bco...d.jpg.html

---

Dang, I was panning on getting rid of my 300 Optimax with all rigging but not until the spring. 600 hours and zero problems. I'd be happy to get 9K for everything. Oh well, not the best timing but that's how it goes.

---

That is the problem I'm seeing. Nobody wants to repower in the middle of the summer unless they're having problems.

---

Went to the boat show today to look at motors. I'm really leaning on going new after looking at used motors since Jan. There were no Honda dealers at the show but I really like the bf250. There is a dealer close to me who can get me out the door for around 23k rigged which is less than the quotes I got for the yamaha 250.

---

I have a 2007 Yamaha F250 available. Complete with guages, wiring harnesses and factory battery cables. 30" shaft length and left hand rotation. 2200 hours. $8,300 via wire or cash in person. Can ship from 92627 in a factory crate. I have forklift available to load on my end. No prop.

Motor has been checked out by our local ceritified Yamaha service center (and is currently there on a stand waiting for its new owner). ECM and compression tests available.

No exhaust corrosion issues on the F250s, btw.

---

bcoastal, what kind of quotes are you getting on those Yamaha 250's? I am going to have to get a couple of them myself this year for the 27. I am curious what they are going for down there on the coast around Houston, I think that is where I am going to do business with these due to the boat being in Freeport. Has anyone mentioned a price break for getting 2 of them at the same time?

---

Ok, this new engine bug it getting me too hard now. I'd love to work something out on mine if your interested. No problem doing a test drive on the weekends to see how it runs. Like I said, the engine runs great but I'm ready to upgrade.

---

What's the best way for me to get a hold of y'all now that pm's have been taken away?

---

If it is definitely a personal matter, then click on their name and that will bring up their profile.
If that member does not have their email hidden then you can click on their email and send them your personal request.

---

If you are interested in my motor, feel free to call me at (310) 403-8205 cell.

Thanks,

Shad

---

Marklively@ymail.com or 713-501-5205. Looking forward to hearing from you.