posted 03-26-2010 11:01 PM ET (US)        

Checking craigslist religiously for the past few years, I've seen some nice Outrages come and go. Most of the nice ones were expensive and far far away from me in the S.F. bay area. Rarely did I ever see the much coveated 89-93 models in good shape for sale at all.

Tuesday morning of this week...I think it was Tuesday...fellow CW member "irishcreamer" emailed me a link to a fresh Craigslist ad. 1993 Boston Whaler Outrage 22, $13,500.00

Next thing you know, it's Friday and I have a new boat! Here are the details:

1993 Outrage 22'
1998 Mercury 200 Offshore EFI w/ 667hrs
- All cylinders 145-155 compression
On the test run today she ran about 30mph at 3700rpm and had plenty of pick up. Didn't not try going much over 5k as we didn't know what redline was and owner never pushed her very hard. I know now it's 5800 and I think she could probably reach it. We cruised 3 adult men and about 2/3 of a tank.
- Dual axel galvanized trailer, good shape, 5 new (a year or so old) tires, Kodiak stainless steel disc brakes.
- No bottom paint
- Bait Tank
- Year old $1000+ removable crab pot puller w/ foot actuated on/off switch
- 3 automatic bilge pumps
- Leaning post w/ rod holders
- Stand alone FF and GPS units
- Full custom cover, barely any wear.
- Boat was kept under full cover and under side awning at owners house.
- Dual batteries w/ switch, in console.

The boat is in GREAT shape. I would give it a 8 or 9 out of ten. A coat of wax and she'll look like she just came out of the showroom. Barely a spider or stress crack to be found.

Needless to say, I am one happy Whaler man! Here are a few quick photos I snapped today.

[IMG]http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/2606/p1000266.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/1690/p1000267c.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/9922/p1000270.jpg[/IMG]

Two questions I have. First is I want to take off the side "WHALER" lettering. I'm worried though that the gel coat coloring behind the letters will be very different from the rest of the hull. Anybody have any insight as to whether I should peel the letters off?

2nd is about the engine. Boat hasn't been used since November. He said he started the boat a week ago for a min to make sure it ran. We started it, fired right up but lots of smoke. Normal for a cold 2-stroke. But smoke kept up and the engine died after a few min. Like it was being over choked or something. Cranked, it started and ran and died after a min. Rough idle, lots of smoke.

He was genuinly surpsised and asked if I had time to go to the mechanic to check it out. I did so we went. Mechanic hooked it up, put her in neutral and added some throttle. Started engine, fired right up and seemed to clear out. Back off to idle and it ran fine, a lttle heavy on the smoke but not too bad. Mechanic claimed fouled plugs and maybe bad gas from sitting.

Check compression which was excellent. Then he did a service, new plugs, new lower unit oil, new fuel water seperator. Said engine was fine.

On the test run this morning the engine exhibited the same heavy smoke condition when first started at the dock but never died. Let it idle for a good 5-10 min, launched and slowly got her up to plane, no problems. After a 10 min or so of running we slowed down again to idle, much smoother and now normal smoke levels.

Ran some more, idled for 5-10 min no problems at all. Hooked the boat back up to the trailer and went to owners house and flushed maybe an hour later, engine seemed fine.

Any thoughts on this? I'm just assuming it was a bit of stale gas in the motor that had to be burned off. Is this a common thing with the 200 offshore EFI series motors?

posted 03-26-2010 11:18 PM ET (US)            

What an outstanding boat at an outstanding price. A clear example of what can be had these days in this market.

The stickers will come off with ease. Use a hair dryer over the vinyl as you peel it off. It will take a couple good compoundings with a wheel and waxing before the shadowing is mostly gone from the letters.

posted 03-27-2010 12:50 AM ET (US)            

Oh, forgot to mention. The previous owner bought the motors used as a pair. The other motor had some kind of failure though I don't know what.

posted 03-27-2010 08:46 AM ET (US)            

Beautiful boat at a fair price.

I am most impressed with your ability to wait for the right boat to come along.

Congrats.

posted 03-27-2010 09:50 AM ET (US)            

As Jeff said, the decals will peel right off with a hair dryer or heat gun set to a lower temperature.

The trouble is that there *will* be a color difference and probably the gel coat will be raised as well if the boat was ever stored outside, though judging by the cleanliness of the boat, I wonder if it was garage kept.

To even have a chance of getting the shadows to go away, you need to wet sand them with hard block to level the gel coat before buffing the topsides out.

Even if you are not 100 percent successful eliminating the decal shadows, the boat will be vastly improved.

When I bought my last Montauk, the very first thing I did when I got it home was walk into my shop, get my heat gun and peel the WHALER decals off the sides.

posted 03-27-2010 12:22 PM ET (US)            

When we bought our boat it had a name in very large letters, in the same location as the WHALER logo on your boat. The first winter I had it in the shop I wet sanded and polished the finish. Of course, the first thing that had to happen was remove the name.

The lettering came off easily with an inexpensive heat gun. The rest was the wet sanding.

One might think that you wet sand the area under the lettering more than the surrounding area, to blend the two shades. Actually, the lettering protects the gelcoat under it from the sun, so it is darker than the surrounding material.

If the boat has been polished regularly over the years, you may be able to feel that the material under the lettering stands "proud" of the surrounding material. As Tom indicates, this area would require the block sanding.

The combination of the material under the lettering being darker, and the fact that the material under the lettering may be slightly higher, is what makes the lettering area visible after the removal of the logo.

Just after the refinishing I performed on the gelcoat, one could just barely discern that lettering had been on the boat. After one season of use, no lettering shadow was visible.

posted 03-27-2010 12:26 PM ET (US)            

Can you post some picture links to how the pot puller is mounted in your boat. A friend of mine and I just bought a puller, probably the same brand as the one that came on your boat.

I have a plan on how I want to mount it in my Outrage 22, but would like to see how yours is mounted.

Thank you,

posted 03-28-2010 02:09 AM ET (US)            

Tony, I do plan to make the Rendezvous and the 22 should be there with me. I think I will fish the Salmon opener in Montery off of my friends Montauk. The boat also came w/ Penn electric downriggers...gotta see if the things work. They are freggin heavy! Wish they were Scottys.

As for all of this wet sanding business...it sounds scary. Sandpaper to the gelcoat of my boat? Is there a tutorial somehwere here on how to do this properly? I do have Porter cable for the polish/wax steps.

posted 03-28-2010 06:49 AM ET (US)         

Why do you want to take the "WHALER" letters off? They appear to be in great shape and are period-correct for this vintage. Your concerns are accurate...there will always be a shadow once you remove the letters. You can hit the hull with a DA sander, compound, glaze, and wax all you want....if the boat is in the right light it will only amplify the color differance and will always bother you. Leave it alone....at the end of the day, the gelcoat has seen the elements for 17 years.

posted 03-28-2010 09:07 AM ET (US)            

Awesome. Congratulations! GREAT find/buy.

posted 03-29-2010 12:38 PM ET (US)            

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d137/jmartin-/DSCN0002-3.jpg

It's on a Scotty swivel base and uses the Scotty power plug in.

posted 03-30-2010 02:37 AM ET (US)            

If you look on the side of the gunnel by the forward rod rack you'll see the mount. There is another mount on the floor directly below that the puller slides down into and then locks in place with pins.

Under the gunnel is a quick disconnect for the foot operated switch.

http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/Triton_38/1993%20Outrage%2022/ ?action=view¤t=P1000271.jpg

I spend the weekend swapping out electronics from my 18' Outrage "Salmon Sucker" to the new 22'. Not yet named, but so far friends have suggested the S.S. II

Here is a ridiculous driveway shot. I'm sure my neighbors love me...but you gotta do what you gotta do right?

http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/Triton_38/1993%20Outrage%2022/ ?action=view¤t=P1000273.jpg

http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/Triton_38/1993%20Outrage%2022/ ?action=view¤t=P1000274.jpg

What I've noticed thus far. The 22 looks humongous on the trailer. Everybody that has seen the boat has said "Oh my god, this thing is huge!" at least 2-3 times if not more.

Looking down at my trusty 18 from atop the 22, it looks really small. I remember looking at my Montauk from my 18 feeling the same way.

Lastly, once the 22 is actually in the water, it doesn't really look that big anymore. Go figure.

posted 03-30-2010 05:51 PM ET (US)            

Talk to you soon.

posted 03-31-2010 09:38 PM ET (US)            

Thanks for post back on the pot puller.