Boat Advice for a possible purchase

[Epic]

Hello all,

I am looking at a used 1995 Alumacraft Competitor 170 CS that is in amazing condition. One concern is it has a 2005 Evinrude E-tec 115hp motor on the back. I can see why someone would look to re-power this boat with the condition it is in but I have no experience with the E-tec let alone one from back in 2005. Does anyone have any advice on how difficult the maintenance is. I have heard that indexing the spark plugs is a bit of a pain and I don't know if I trust the once every 3 years or 300 hours tune ups. From what I have seen this is also a very high performing engine and the HP is about max for this boat I believe. I think it is priced a bit high at $11,000 but this boat looks to be very well cared for inside and out. Let me know your thoughts and if there is anything to watch for I should keep an eye out for. I have had a ton of time on other peoples boats and worked on all sorts car engines but want to make sure I am making a good choice as a first time buyer.

 

Thanks in advance,

[Epic]

Just to add most of my outboard motor maintenance experience came from older Mercury's, some even older Johnson's (think 70's) and the first was my Grandfathers little Seagull which I don't even know the year of. It has been a while since I have worked on any, probably close to 15 years or so but have been missing being on the water and as of last year almost everyone I knew got rid of their boats for financial reasons.

[delcecchi]

So far as the boat goes, transom and floor would be on my list to check out on a boat that old. 

 

I wouldn't even know how to check on reputation of the motor.  There just isn't a source of information like JD Powers or Consumer Reports for outboards that I could find.

 

You can get a print out from the engine computer that tells how it is doing, how many hours, rpm ranges, etc, I think.   Check with a dealer.   Be worth having the compression checked etc if you get serious.  

 

2005 was first year of production for 115 etec, if that means anything.  

 

I think I would consider the motor to add little to the price of the package.   If it works, that is great.  And you might get a great deal because of the motor being less desirable.

 

Just to compare, here is a listing from HSO...  You would have to call for a price.  It would be interesting to see price comparison.  

 

http://hotspotoutdoors.com/forums/topic/180716-fs-1993-crestliner-v196-phantom-w-et-150-hp-evinrude-honda-kicker/

 

 

 

[gunner55]

The classifieds on walleyecentral is a good place to comparison shop. NADA has used boat values as well.

[DJ_Slick]

Even if 2005 was the first year of the 115 E-tec, it wasn't the first year of the root of the E-tec system.  Bombardier bought out Johnson/Evinrude, and incorporated the old Ficht injection technology to become the E-tec.  This was in use at least as far back as 1998.

We've had an E-Tec on our Lund Tyee since it was new in 2003 (wow, it's hard to believe our boat is that old!), which I think was the last year you could get a Lund pre-rigged from the factory for a non-Merc.  It has always been very reliable for us, and uses less oil (and so smokes less - almost none, really) than traditional 2-strokes.  The extended tune-up times suggested by Bombardier are real, for the most part.

We've had any service (basically just annual winterization and spark plug changes every 2-3 years) done by a dealer because of the computer controls on the engine.  I agree the engine readout from the dealer would be worth getting a look at, and could tell you if it's done a lot of idling or wide open running to clue you in on its use over time.

 

Our only issue was cavitation when cresting large waves on big water, which we thought was more a product of the boat than the motor.  We changed to a stainless prop and it went away.  Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another E-tec, but I also wouldn't attempt to work on one myself.

Edited April 10, 2017 by DJ_Slick