Merc Optimax

[Gadgetman]

I am considering buying a friends 1900 Pro V with a 200 Merc Optimax on it. Any feed back on this engine? How about this boat set up? He also has a merc 9.9 4 stroke as a kicker. Is this way more engine than this boat requires? Currently own a 17' Crestliner and this will be my big step up, but am wondering if this is a bit too much boat. Had been looking at slightly smaller new ones but would end up spending about the same as I can buy his for.Does anybody have a web site in mind that would hlep me determine a fair price for my usedboat and his used boat. There must be a "Blue book" for used boats available some place. Any help would be appreciated as neither one of us wants to take advantage of the other. One last thing, he is very anal about his stuff and I know the boat and motor have been taken care of very well.

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I fish, therefore I am.

[This message has been edited by Gadgetman (edited 03-17-2003).]

[Guest]

Sounds like a sweet boat, something I would love to own. I've fished in a boat just like this, and fished next to boats exactly like this (1900 w/200 Opti). It will go around 55mph +/- and handle great in rough water. You are fine with this motor on this boat.
What year is the motor? Back in '99ish there were a few problems with the big block (225) Opti's, but I think the 200hp was, and has been a very good motor.

It shouldn't be "too much boat" if you run a 17' already. It will handle much better on the big lakes than a 17' for sure.

[JP Z]

Gadgetman,

it gives the blue book on boats.

[This message has been edited by jpz (edited 03-17-2003).]

[curt quesnell]

Gadgetman,

I LOVE Mercury Motors....

That said. I wouldnt buy a 99, 00, 01
big block Opti without running the serial number of the motor thru Merc. How do you do this? I dont know for sure. Call Mercury or a dealer and find out how.

This will either be the best motor you
could every have or the worst. Checking
the history of the motor will tell you
what you need to know. If there has been
any work done on the motor you can find out
when and what was done.

Get the history of the motor and have great
piece of mind.

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Curt Quesnell
NorthCountry Outdoors Radio

[Gadgetman]

JPZ, thanks for the link. Looks to be one of the possible solutions to the price issue,tho it doesnt give any info on outboard pricing. I have a new question to pose to you guys. Which unit would you rather have, a lowrance LMS 350 or a Lowrance global map 2000. both have the chip in them that allows them to be both a gps and also a depth sounder

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I fish, therefore I am.

[This message has been edited by Gadgetman (edited 03-17-2003).]

[Xplorer]

You can also run the stuf thru nada dot com, they have an outboard pricing option also. I would also suggest if you get serious about buying it to have it put on a computer at a Merc dealer. They can tell you exactly how the engine was run, how many hours at WOT, and how it was broke in.
Take Curts advice, there have been hundreds of threads on walleyecentral boat/motor forum about those years big block opti's issues.
Xplorer

[Guest]

Once you go black (merc) you never go back!

Get a hold of merc like they said. You will find out how many hours, how many times the prop came out of the water because they can tell how many times the RPM's were sky high. Just make sure you call it in.

Good luck with your boat youll love that motor!

[Gadgetman]

Dumb question, do I need to get the motor in to a dealer and have it hitched up or can I just get the serial number and call merc? Someone told me that a lot of the problems with the early opti engines was related to a thermastat and running too cold. Any truth to that? This person claims that a different thermastat fixed the whole problem. My friend claims to not have had a lick of trouble with it. It is a '98, and has been to Lac Suel 3 times for a week each time.
So I think it has been broken in fairly well instead of just running on small waters in central MN.Has never pulled a skier with it so wouldnt think that the engine would have seen excess rpm. Says it has about a 200 mile crusing range at about 35mph!

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I fish, therefore I am.

[kjgmh]

If you bring the boat in to a Merc dealer they can read all of the info off of the computer. It tells you alot of info. Also they can run the serial number through Merc and see if there are any service bulletins that affect it. They can also check if any warranty work has been done to it. The running cool problem is minor and is mainly to help the plugs from fouling in certain situations. If you e-mail me I would be glad to run the serial number. [email protected]

[Gadgetman]

You've got mail. Thanks for the help, really appreciate it.