Should I stay away from buying a used boat with an OMC motor/outdrive?

[CMarquand]

I am currently searching for a new used boat to upgrade from my 70s era 16' trihull. I plan on spending in the neighborhood of $6,000 for a 20' to 23' cuddy cabin which will be used primarily for fishing in freshwater but occasionally in the ocean. I've consulted with a boat salvage yard owner and he said to never buy an OMC because they have lots of problems. The boats I am finding tend to be from the 80s or 90s, I've seen a Chris Craft and a Seaswirl that sparked my interest. The problem is that the 88' Seaswirl was super clean and well maintained with only 474 hours on it BUT it had a very clean OMC I/O. The boat is being sold for $4,800 which seems like a good price if the motor is reliable. Can anyone say anything to convince me OMCs are worth buying? By the way, for the sake of argument the mechanic said the Chevy engines with Volvo Penta outdrives are the best and Mercruiser was the second best I/O. Thoughts?

 

[boobie]

Re: Should I stay away from buying a used boat with an OMC motor/outdrive?

The only problem with those older OMC's, it's getting harder to get parts for them. Back in the day they were good units. JMHO

 

[southkogs]

Re: Should I stay away from buying a used boat with an OMC motor/outdrive?

? another hitch with the OMCs is that it's gettin' harder to find Marine shops to work on 'em. You'd have to be your own mechanic most of the time.

Welcome aboard.

 

[Tnstratofam]

Re: Should I stay away from buying a used boat with an OMC motor/outdrive?

If you aren't very mechanically inclined, or if you don't have a good place to work on your boat you should check with your local boat repair shops to see if they have a qualified OMC mechanic. If you are mechanically inclined and have a good place to work on your boat then this site has imho the best OMC do it yourself gurus on the planet. Whatever boat you buy get yourself a good service manual. If nothing else to be able to do the basic maintenance yourself. My cobra outdrive and chevy engine work great. Even though parts are getting scarce for my drive system I love the hull design of our boat, and will keep her even if it means a repower down the road.

By The Way.

:welcome:

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Should I stay away from buying a used boat with an OMC motor/outdrive?

Stick to Volvo and Mercruiser.

 

[wrench 3]

Re: Should I stay away from buying a used boat with an OMC motor/outdrive?

If you can go a little newer, after 1993 OMC was using the same drive as Volvo Penta. They were both produced in the same factory.
There is the largest selection of aftermarket (cheaper) parts for the Mercruisers.

 

[old islander]

Re: Should I stay away from buying a used boat with an OMC motor/outdrive?

The older OMC parts are not only hard to find but VERY expensive when you can find them. You will have to find a "seasoned" Mechanic that has been around the block a few hundred times to work on it. Try to stick with the Merc stuff. Parts are a plenty. So are Mechanics.

 

[redneck joe]

Re: Should I stay away from buying a used boat with an OMC motor/outdrive?

Sterndrive Engineering has a adapter plate for mounting a mercruiser leg for when the OMC goes bad but i think you would be better starting with the mercruiser.

 

[Walt T]

Re: Should I stay away from buying a used boat with an OMC motor/outdrive?

They're like the old Detroit Diesels 71s and 50s series. When they work they're great. But guys who can work on them are dinosaurs and are retired so they only work for the latest fishing tips or the newest flies. I recently sold my old gauges for running the racks on those old Detroits. A young kid bought them. There's hope yet.

 

[wrench 3]

Re: Should I stay away from buying a used boat with an OMC motor/outdrive?

They're like the old Detroit Diesels 71s and 50s series. When they work they're great. But guys who can work on them are dinosaurs and are retired so they only work for the latest fishing tips or the newest flies. I recently sold my old gauges for running the racks on those old Detroits. A young kid bought them. There's hope yet.

Setting up those old Detroits was a real art. I think we're running out of artists because I haven't found anyone who wants to by my tools. I also have the tools for rebuilding the stringer drives. I'm really starting to feel like a dinosaur.

 

[Lou C]

Re: Should I stay away from buying a used boat with an OMC motor/outdrive?

All good suggestions, you can find nice boats with Cobras on them still but the issue is if you are not into learning how to maintain them, it can be tough to find someone who knows how to replace and set up the shift cable which is very important. I learned how to do this myself with the special OMC tools and my 26 year old shifts beautifully. But for someone who wants to get in the boat and go and be able to find service easily, either go Merc or Volvo depending on which make has the most or best service shops locally.
BTW, a Cobra can be converted to a Volvo SX (if Chevy engine equipped) pretty easily, but the SX drive is costly. Make life easy for yourself. Go with what is available and popular.

 

[redneck joe]

Re: Should I stay away from buying a used boat with an OMC motor/outdrive?

if you go OMC learn all about the Hastings method.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Should I stay away from buying a used boat with an OMC motor/outdrive?

Can anyone say anything to convince me OMCs are worth buying? By the way, for the sake of argument the mechanic said the Chevy engines with Volvo Penta outdrives are the best and Mercruiser was the second best I/O. Thoughts?

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.... Would ya buy a Chevy that you can get parts for, or a Rambler that ya Can't buy parts for,...

OMC has been Outa Business for Well over a Decade now,...

That Mechanic is Right,... Chevy power is the only way to go,...

Chrysler dropped outa the marine business back when Iaccoca took over,...

Mercruiser dropped Ford in the '70s, Volvo followed suit in the '90s,...

Chevy parts are plentiful, 'n reasonably cheap, not so the others,...

 

[CMarquand]

Re: Should I stay away from buying a used boat with an OMC motor/outdrive?

Wow! Thanks for all the helpful info. everyone! It looks like I do in fact need to stay away from the OMC, I don't want do deal with difficult to find parts or hard to work on motors.

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.... Would ya buy a Chevy that you can get parts for, or a Rambler that ya Can't buy parts for,...

OMC has been Outa Business for Well over a Decade now,...

That Mechanic is Right,... Chevy power is the only way to go,...

Chrysler dropped outa the marine business back when Iaccoca took over,...

Mercruiser dropped Ford in the '70s, Volvo followed suit in the '90s,...

Chevy parts are plentiful, 'n reasonably cheap, not so the others,...

 

[Lou C]

Re: Should I stay away from buying a used boat with an OMC motor/outdrive?

Actually it's only an issue of parts availability. The Cobra drive is actually easier to work on in terms of impeller and bellows replacement than the Merc Alpha. If you have the special tools the shift cable adjustment is easy once you have done it. If OMC was still in biz no contest I'd never take a Merc over the Cobra....
But for a non mechanic... Go with the flow...

 

[ssoper]

Re: Should I stay away from buying a used boat with an OMC motor/outdrive?

Actually it's only an issue of parts availability. The Cobra drive is actually easier to work on in terms of impeller and bellows replacement than the Merc Alpha. If you have the special tools the shift cable adjustment is easy once you have done it. If OMC was still in biz no contest I'd never take a Merc over the Cobra....
But for a non mechanic... Go with the flow...

Plus 1

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Should I stay away from buying a used boat with an OMC motor/outdrive?

If OMC was still in biz no contest I'd never take a Merc over the Cobra....

I would take a Volvo SX over a Merc Alpha if those are your 2 choices.

 

[hordos]

Re: Should I stay away from buying a used boat with an OMC motor/outdrive?

I bought a boat with twin OMC Cobra drives 10 years ago. I use the boat for fishing and touring the inside passage on the west coast and have had no problems with them. A good sea trial is important, I would`t be afraid of one. If you want to do a lot of skiing and water sports than I would look at a Volvo drive because of the harder treatment.