Newbie with 1st boat question!

[2.5liters]

Hi, I'm looking into purchasing a new (to me) boat, and really like a 1997 19ft quantum 190xfs (fish and ski). The layout is perfect and it seems to have been taken care of. It has a 2 stroke Force (mercury?) 120hp outboard. Boat will be used for wakeboarding, but also just putting around.
My questions are:
Am I better off going with a 4 stroke, or does it matter?
Where can I get info on this elusive manufacturer (is it any good?)
Is the motor any good, I've heard less than nice things said about force.
The owner claims it's a "Force (Mercury)", what gives?

He is obviously asking too much, but I think I can get him down to about $7000.
He has no paperwork for the boat maintenance reciepts, or o/m manuals.
So for my price range and of this size, are there better alternatives?
Here's the boat:

http://spokane.craigslist.org/boa/1765320426.html

Thanks to all !!!!!!!

 

[cr2k]

Re: Newbie with 1st boat question!

Apparently the boat was sold as the post was deleted. I didn't get to look at it but no matter $7000 seems a bit (lot) high for a 14 year old boat of that type.
I am not a force fan. The HP is way overrated. Put a 120 force and a 120 Merc or Yamaha side by side in equal boats and the force will look like a dog with a bad leg.

I would stay away from the Force, especially a white one. The black ones were Force/Merc. For wakeboarding you will need a tower.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Newbie with 1st boat question!

Others with more knowledge will chime in soon, but I believe the older Force outboards were made by Chrysler and the newer ones by Merc. I assume this is a glass boat? If so, that motor seems a tad small for a nineteen footer. Only way to know for sure is to water test it though.

 

[2.5liters]

Re: Newbie with 1st boat question!

Thanks for the reply, Looks like it is gone, but not so much a loss for me. Surprising since he was asking $2500 over nada with no paperwork.
Are sea ray 176 bow riders any good? Can you add a tower and wake board behind them? They seem kinda small, but look well made with good mechanicals, any opinions?

 

[DJ]

Re: Newbie with 1st boat question!

You ar asking VERY broad questions.

There are very few bad boats out there. However, there are a lot of owners that treat boats badly.

Condition, condition, condition.

For me, personally, I would stay away from:

-Force.
-OMC Stern Drives
-MerCruiser 470's.
-MerCruiser TRS drives.

Again, that's just me. It's not that those products were bad designs, it's just that support for them is dwindling.

 

[109jb]

Re: Newbie with 1st boat question!

You ar asking VERY broad questions.

There are very few bad boats out there. However, there are a lot of owners that treat boats badly.

Condition, condition, condition.

X 100. My boat is a good example. It was a pile of crap with a good motor. The hull was solid but it needed an entire gut and replace job done, which I did. On vacation last year we happened to be 2 cabins down from a guy that had the same year and model of boat as mine (1988 Sea Ray Seville 16' outboard). Like I said mine was a piece of crap because the previous owners never took good care of it. The other guys boat looked showroom new and was all original. He told me he owned it since new and he obviously took extremely good care of his boat. I have seen all brands of boats like this. Even a well cared for Bayliner which is considered an entry level boat would be a better buy that some of the neglected "better" brand boats. Don't get hung up on a brand name. Condition is far more important.