CONTINUOUSWAVE

I live in New Jersey. I will use my boat for angling in Barnegat Bay. I won't go out farther than a few miles into the Atlantic Ocean.
Which boat would be better for me to buy:

• a 2003 OUTRAGE 21 with 2003 Mercury 200-HP OptiMax, 1,000-hours, $25,000
• a 2007 190 MONTAUK with 2019 Mercury ProXS 150, 50-hours, $30,000

Both boats have a trailer, and both boats appear to be in great shape.

The Montauk with the newer modern engine would be more attractive to me.

Con

I would go for the 190 Montauk [for the reasons mentioned above].

boothm14 wrote:Which boat would be better for me to buy

Montauk. Fifty hours is "brand new" on [an outboard engine].

Do not buy the boat with the OptiMax engine with 1,000-hours. That's too many engine hours, and I would avoid the OptiMax completely.

The Mercury OptiMax is a powerful engine, but it is a very complex design. Mercury dropped the OptiMax from its recreational outboard line in 2018, about four years ago. Mercury service shops that are expert on the OptiMax are hard to find, and this will only become more difficult going ahead.

Unless you are certain there is a very knowledeable Mercury local dealership with expert technicians for the OptiMax, I would not buy a 19-year-old OptiMax with 1,000-hours.

While I would select the Outrage 21, the motor included is a no-go.

The Montauk 190 with the Mercury FOURSTROKE engine is a great solution.

We owned a 190 Montauk bought primarily for inshore and near offshore fishing. It excelled in both roles. The optional aft live bait well was a very useful option. We also added two rail mounted stainless steel clamp on rod holders to the side rails. The boat was powered with a 135 HP Verado engine which provided ample power. The included trailer was a Karavan galvanized single axle with disc brakes, it served us well including a tow from the point of purchase in St Louis, MO home to the Alabama Gulf Coast.

The 190 MONTAUK dimensions are

BEAM = 8-feet 0-inches
LOA = 19-feet 4-inches

Compared to a classic OUTRAGE 18 later called OUTRAGE 19:

BEAM = 7-feet 2-inches
LOA = 18-feet 6-inches

Assuming both boats have a similar rounded bow, we can compare the area by just using the length and beam:

190 MONTAUK = 154-square-feet
OUTRAGE "19" = 132.5-square-feet

The 190 MONTAUK has 21.5-square-feet more area than the OUTRAGE "19", an increase of 16-percent. My point: the 190 MONTAUK is a big 19-footer.