Boat for Puget Sound: 210 OUTRAGE or 18-foot aluminum

[slidedudeski]

[Moderator's note: this thread was begun in a non-boating forum. The thread has been moved to THE GAM for discussion.]

Q1: for use on Puget Sound, between a a 2004 210 OUTRAGE or a HEWES SPORTSMAN 18-footer, which boat is the better choice?

Q2: in chop will a HEWES SPORTSMAN 18 be too "bouncy."

Q3: is 1,200-hours of run time on an outboard engine too many hours of runtime?

BACKSTORY

The HEWES boat is made of aluminum. The engine is a Yamaha [partial model number of 115XA] with 1,200-hours that is mounted on a bracket. The HEWES boat is more enclosed [than the 210 OUTRAGE boat]. The asking price is $28,000. The boat is near to me.

The 2004 210 OUTRAGE has a Mercury engine[of unidentified model designator and model year] that does not have a turbocharger, is rated 225-HP, and also has 1,200-hours of run time. The 2004 210 OUTRAGE boat is not near me.

[jimh]

Q1: for use on Puget Sound, between a a 2004 210 OUTRAGE or a HEWES SPORTSMAN 18-footer, which boat is the better choice?

If I were faced with this choice, I would prefer the 2004 210 OUTRAGE.

The 2004 210 OUTRAGE has a Mercury engine[of unidentified model designator and model year] that does not have a turbocharger, is rated 225-HP, and also has 1,200-hours of run time.

I would like more details about the outboard engine in order to assess the value of the outboard engine in the asking price for the boat.

First, I do not believe there are any outboard engines that use a turbo-charger. Outboard engine exhaust passages are generally cooled with water, and the wet exhaust would tend to make using a turbo-charger less than ideal. So the notion that your engine does not have a turbo-charger is really of no use in helping readers determine what the engine's model designator might be.

Your original designation of the engine model designator as "f" was not possible as that model designator that has never been used by Mercury Marine for an outboard engine of 225-HP.

Q4: what is the model year of the Mercury engine?

Q5: what is the model designator for the Mercury engine?

Q6: as Puget Sound is saltwater, does the Mercury engine have a "saltwater" designator?

[GoldenDaze]

These are very different boats. The Hewescraft Sportsman 180 is a light 1200 pound boat (empty, no motor) with a 10-degree deadrise at the transom. See https://hewescraft.com/wp-content/uploa ... ations.pdf for specs. The Outrage is several feet longer, 2700 pounds, and while I'm not sure about this model the Outrages typically have an 18-20 degree deadrise. These things will give the Outage an enormously better ride in chop, but at a cost -- the Whaler's engine is essentially double the horsepower and will burn essentially double the fuel. Plus it may need a larger tow vehicle, and all the related things that go with a larger, heavier boat.

I think the bigger question is about your expected use. The PNW is typically rocky, not sandy. If you're going to beach your boat on rocks or think you might occasionally bounce over or off of them, the aluminum hull will prove more forgiving.

At 1200 hours I don't think anyone can say much about the engines. Corrosion kills engines more than hours. A 20-year-old outboard that has been well-maintained may have another 1000 hours left in it, or it might be 5 minutes away from catastrophic failure. You'll need a mechanic to evaluate it and tell you, but even in the best case at 20 years the reliability probably won't be what it once was and I'd plan on a new engine in the next few years. After all, these are probably both saltwater engines.

[fno]

Get the 210 Outrage. Bulletproof and takes on more than you can.