Buying Advice
 

Hi all, first time posting on here.

I grew up with a 23' single screw SeaCraft in the family and it was some of my finest childhood memories.

I'm looking at getting my first "real" boat and would love to get a SeaCraft to fish and explore the Pacific Northwest.

I know I'm going to lose some points here, but the boat I'm looking at is a 1989, not from the good o'l days..

Anyways, I was hoping I could get your opinions on the following boat listing:

""""""YOU NEED TO UP LOAD PICTURES NOT THE LISTING LINK""""" Thank You ADMIN

It seems like it is around 5k overpriced, but it is very rare to come across one of these boats in the Seattle area.

I'd love to hear what the community has to say...

Thanks!

Welcome, Brother! That thing looks good in the pics! The price may seem a bit high, but, like you said, how many more of them are out there for sale in your neck of the woods. I didn't pay much less than that for my 18 in 2010.

Pretty high money on that one.

Looks pretty nice, especially with newer 4S power and a 25" transom. I would make sure the flywheel problems that plagued these engines from that time frame has been addressed. I had a 2004 Yamaha 150 and it's flywheel had to be replaced by the guy who bought it from me. I would think half of the boat's value is in the two newer outboards. Good luck.

Reasonable so long as he has been good to her. For your perspective, I sold a 2003 20 foot in September for 22k with that exact same engine. I will tell you that engine is a damn workhorse. If fluids are changed every 100 that thing will last a long time. Mine had 334 hours the day I sold it. Id offer him 11900.00

More info
 

My bad posting a link.

Here are some images. Hopefully it works...

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1989

Washington State

Listed for $14,995

I know the 150 Yammy had a $2k service this past summer but that's about all I know.

Thanks so much for your thoughts!

I completely agree.
At the yard I work for, we service a 150 yamaha that a local fly fisherman charter guy runs on his Jones Brothers.
Motor purrs like a kitten, and at his last service last year he had over 3600 hours!!!!!
Yes. Three-Thousand-Six-Hundred.
Not a damn thing wrong with that motor.

Oil changes and clean the VST every once in awhile and she'll just run and run and run and run...

Also, Washington State! Sweet!! Used to live in Bellingham!
Watch out for that chop in November.

Nice looking rig. As others have stated the Yammy is a beast, with proper service it will last just about forever.

My uneducated SWAG is that it's worth around $12-13k depending on condition of deck, transom and trailer. No idea what the market is like out west, I assume it's pretty saturated as it is on the east coast.

Best (unsolicited) advice I can give is to go over it with a fine-tooth comb with the attitude of trying to find a reason NOT to walk away from it.

West coast makes it a lot harder to find these boats. With a newer motor and kicker it seems fair so long as deck and transom are good.

I sent you a lead if you are willing to travel to CA Delta. You won't find a better deal on the west coast.

Might you want to get a 23' for the extra abilities ?

As we know.....once in the water, the boat shrinks.

Best of success which ever way you go.......

Hah! Got to account for that shrinkage!

I'd be open (and love) to go for a 23, but am afraid that'll push the wallet too far.

I reached out about the boat down in California but never heard back (now I want a 23 even more).

As an update I've got a tentative deal in place for 12.5k pending an hours readout from the engines and a sea trial.

Excited and nervous...

As an update I went for a sea trial today.

Things didn't start off well as the engine wouldn't turn over and there was quickly water above the deck in the starboard stern (where the kicker sits).

After a jump the engine turned right over. It has between 135 (computer readout according to salesman) to 200 hours on it (gauge reading). It had a carburetor replaced this past summer and the 200 hour service done by a Yamaha dealer. Apparently the boat had sat unused for two years.

The engine ran great and the boat rode smooth. A lot of fun...

So the issues...

1) The engines sat for a few years to the point that the carb needed to be replaced ($2k price tag). Should that raise concern? After removing the cover everything looked brandy new.

2) Part of the reason the boat took on water was because the salesman didn't plug the livewell so it filled with water, adding 80+ lbs to the stern. The scuppers were also clogged with debris. The scuppers do sit below the water line and I've already read several threads on the issue.

3) Steering was stiff. Bilge pump wasn't working.

4) There were some stress fractures in the deck but no soft spots. Looks like the previous owner was set up to do some diving because of the tank brackets and I bet a tank or two slammed around. The transom looked rock solid with the exception of a teeny tiny chip at the corner of transom and bottom that exposed the glass.

Kicker fired right up. A Hook 5 is also included.

The salesman is going to see if the owner will replace the batteries, lube the steering, and replace the bilge pump.

Should these issues scare me? Should I run like crazy or am I good?

I appreciate your feedback.

I’d buy the boat for the engines BUT I wouldn’t buy it unless you want to do a lot of work to the boat itself. Needs ALOT of TLC and trust me that transom and floor are wet even if floor doesn’t feel soft

Wait... is that a carbureted 150 Yamaha?
Not fuel injected? I may have to recant my previous endorsement.

My recommendation is to stay away from the carbureted Yamahas (and Mercs of the same vintage with yamaha blocks).
In my experience (as a boatyard mechanic), they're nothing but trouble.

If you want a truly "no drama" turn-key boating experience when you use the boat, yamaha carbs are not the way to go.
Unless you literally use the boat everyday and buy Yamaha Ring-Free by the gallon those carbs will gum up and your performance and reliability will go down the tubes.

I 2nd that on the carb yami. I thought it was a FI engine. That’s what mine was and it was bullet proof.

My bad... The carb work was on the kicker. It's fuel injected.

I'm going to go for it... The SeaCraft adventure begins!

I'm off to go get lost in reading Fellowship postings about solving my below waterline scupper issue.

Thanks all!