Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

[americanmcss]

Hello all. I am in the market for a fishing boat (rather a boat to be used for fishing). I have noticed that there are a lot of two different kinds of boats for sale in the $2000 market. There are many older boats around here like late '70s seaswirls and bayliner discovery's often setup with old Mercury o/b. They seem to be in decent shape but with old boats you never know until you tear them apart. The other kind of boat is the newer late '80s to mid '90s bayliners and such with the Force O/B attatched. Most owners claim that they run well and pump water just fine, but seeing as this would be my second boat purchase (my first being a little bit of a disaster) i kind of know what to look for now.

I have heard that the force motors are typically better served as anchors rather than actual O/B's. Are newer force units better than say an older Merc?

 

[aspeck]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

That is a loaded question, because you are asking for an opinion and "everyone has one."

With that said, my opinion is the older Force motors are best served as anchors. The ones made by Mercury are slightly better. That is not to say that some people don't have them that function well, but for the most part I would stay way clear of anything that says Bayliner or Force on it.

Last night a friend came home with his first boat ... a 16 foot Bayliner with a Force engine. I just shook my head and sighed. Felt bad for him, but that wasn't the time to tell him so, he was so happy. Hope that warm fuzzy feeling lasts.

 

[pelletman]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

I would take the opposite opinion of "aspeck". But then, I am also an individual who would rather own an old John Deere lawn tractor and keep it operating, than buy the newer garbage. IMO force motors are well worth the $$$ because of their simplicity and availablity of low cost parts and assistance from communitty members on the internet. If not for the net, my answer would be different. I am new to boat ownership and have owned a 1989 125 hp and 1990 120 horse unit with few problems on either. Its all in the maintenance. Previous owners didn't know what they were doing. eg one thought his starter was bad - turned out the gearcase was ruined due to no lube.
People often tell me to ditvh the "anchor" and buy a real motor. When I have bought 4 times the hp and # of engines for the same $ with
little mechanical problems. I often tow new guys in. They all fail.

 

[SkiDad]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

only if it the previous owner did regular maintenance.

 

[americanmcss]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

I knew this was a loaded question. Kind of like comparing car manufacturers. I guess I was looking more for individual experiences with the motors themselves and not necessarily opinions from people who have heard things. I can understand why they tend to get a bad rap. They were lower end motors typically sold on lower end boats to people who really werent great with servicing and maintenance and probably didnt care as long as the thing started when the key turned.

I will not be buying anything that "needs minor work", nor will I buy without first taking in on the water with the owner. It will then be tuned up this winter before real use next spring.

 

[JB]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

I tend to agree with pelletman. They are old technology, simple and easy to maintain IF they have been cared for, and parts are available. Expect to maintain it yourself. It is a very rare wrench who will work on it, and the ones who will will have to charge you enough to buy another one.

I wouldn't pay the same price I would for a JohnnyRude of the same vintage. I have no logical reason for that except that I would expect to be able to sell the JohnnyRude for more.

 

[dst87mcssac]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

Do a compression check on any Outboard Motor or any Engine that you purchase used before purchasing the unit. I would not run from a Force, but I would run from a Bay Liner.

I hope this helps,

Donald

 

[americanmcss]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

Do a compression check on any Outboard Motor or any Engine that you purchase used before purchasing the unit. I would not run from a Force, but I would run from a Bay Liner.

I hope this helps,

Donald

Ah yes a wise move.

 

[afarrens]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

my 84 force runs like a top, and is easy to maintain. opinion - users run mechanical devices, user ruin mechanical devices, not the other way around.

 

[pnwboat]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

If you have some basic mechanical abilities and don't mind working on the motor, then the Force engines might be a good thing for you. A lot of boat shops won't work on them. Replacement parts are relatively inexpensive but you have to order them on-line.

You know what they say.......One man's trash is another man's treasure.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

My BAYLINER.is an 88 it has twin Forces.
Both are as good as the maint.I pull on them!!!
ANY motor will fail.No matter how much you pay for them.
And no matter how good you take care of them.
At any given time the stator can fail or a coil will go.
Last boat I had,replaced 2 running Forces with a Mercury 225 EFI.
WORST mistake I ever made.
Thought I was gonna cut my maint. in half.
In fact,It ran good for a week then the regulator in the vapor sep.went bad.
Then the fuel pump$200 then the other pump.
EVERY mechanic I talked to said they NEVER EVER go bad.Mine did??
Then the thing started doing this and that and I finnaly sold it for parts.

EDIT

Lots of Force and Bayliner fans here.
Fact I've owned 5 Bayliners 32/28/28/21/21 Good boats.

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

'86 Bayliner w/125 force owner here.Both needed some work due to previous owners neglect. I have more than I payed for now.

 

[emoney]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

Mid 90's Force owner, so I guess that makes me "a little better" off, lol. Truth is, the ONLY difference in a used outboard is who owned it. Any time someone wants to argue that point with me, I just have them count the number of open "repair threads" for each make. You'll start to see a pattern rather quickly. Every make & model can and will break. Every make and model has it fans (like me). And, like anything you ask about on this internet that Mr. Gore invented, you'll find a LOT of folks that have never owned one personally jump in with a myriad of opinions about them. I've had Mercs, Jonnyrudes, Yamahas, Chryslers & Force motors. There is not ONE single manufacturer better than the other, in my opinion, because they can't control who owns them after they leave the factory. Funny thing about Force engines, however, is that there seems to be quite a few people who believe drunken monkeys must have been involved in building them. Oddly enough, however, they were made in America and last I heard, they did NOT in fact, import any type animal to be involved in assembly.

You're buying a $2000 boat with an outboard....Caveat Emptor

 

[emoney]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

BTW, I know where there's a lot that has 2 WAC boats, one is a Bayliner Trophy and the other is Wellcraft (I think). Both are late 80's boats. The Trophy has a 90hp Force and the Wellcraft a 115hp Yamaha. Both boats are exactly the same price. According to this dealer, they're worth the exact same. Probably because they are both pretty rough looking. But if this particular dealer thought there was a huge difference in a 25 year old boat/motor, I'd be willing to wager he'd be asking for it. This guy has been selling used boats for 30+ years. Just an observation, nothing else.

 

[catfishcarl99]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

well ide tell you force suck but since i get my parts dirt cheap off ebay and this is how it runs--

i guess ide be lying.

 

[catfishcarl99]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

and lying.

 

[catfishcarl99]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

and lying.

if it has good compression and idles your in good shape. as long as the PO hasnt neglected it they should be as good as any. i keep wanting to get an 85 for my 1989 17' spectrum "bayliner co" but the 50 runs so darn good i cant let it go. went fishing tonight and caught 10 catfish out of her. runs like a swiss watch.

mine ran pretty good when i got it but would die on ocassion when going from WOT to N. but after a new coil and a used carb it idles now and hasnt died once this year on me till i turned key off. i even had my impeller fail a few years back and cooked the head paint about to black. was blue. bruised lol. and it did blow gasket. ordered a new gasket from iboats and it fired right back up. running strong since. ive added a light to the buzzer i had to replace too so i got a visual and a noise warning if it gets hot again. you can actually see the "idiot" light at the first 3 seconds of this vid. looks like its on but its just the sun.

 

[catfishcarl99]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

one more. before i learned how to install the pizzer on it. and before the idiot light.

 

[catfishcarl99]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

its not my fault they only allow one vid per post.:facepalm: last one i swear. this was some vid i was doing when steelspike was helping me on props getting the most speed out of my O/B.

let the force be with you. just check it over first.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Are Force O/B worth the $$$ ?

Good job Carl!
And the other Force/Chrysler fans.