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I recently found a 1978 21' Outrage that I am going to buy, pending an evaluation of the engines. The boat is complete, has most of the original pieces and parts, and appears to be in overall good condition for being 28 years old. It is powered by a 2000 150 hp Mercury Optimax a tandem axle keel roller bunk trailer (probably original to the hull, not pretty but in decent shape).

In reading the past posts and searching online, I have a fairly good idea what I should expect to find, and what I should be looking for on a boat of this vintage, but could use some more advice/help.

The hull has some chips and scratches, and is missing some gellcoat in a few spots on the edges of the chines above the waterline, but no obvious damage to the hull below the waterline. It has been bottom painted in the past, which is in fair to poor condition. The hull has not been painted, and the gellcoat is quite faded, but is in decent condition. The interior deck has been painted.

On the interior, it appears that most of the penetrations have been caulked/sealed over the years. There are not any major cracks in the sides or in the deck. The floor over the tank feels solid, but looks warped at the front and rear. I believe that it does have the origonal fuel tank. The boat was repowered in 2001, and the transon top edge has a fiberglass repair across the entire rear edge. The transom appears solid and doesn't flex at all when picking up on the engine. There are no other stress cracks or obvious damage other than the ugly repair job to the top edge. All of the older penetrations have been sealed. The tru hull drain is missing it's brass liner tube at the sump drain; the wood feels damp but is not soft at all.

I am going to have a local mechanic check out the condition and compression on the engines. Are there any major problems to be concerned about with the 2000 150-HP OptiMax? Will the mechanic be able to check the hours on this motor? I do not know a thing about Mercury engines, have always had OMC's on my boats. The console has a supply of Mercury brand gear fluid and oil, so I assume that it has been run with the OEM recommended fluids.

I had been looking for a "newer" classic outrage, but the condition of this hull and the newer engines are what attracted me to this boat. I have read about how rough these ride, but I am moving up from a 1987 Montauk, so I imagine that this boat will have a similar ride.

I would appreciate any pointers or advice at what else I should be looking at.