CONTINUOUSWAVE

[I am a l]ong time reader of this forum but first time participating. I'm in process of purchasing a 1988 Montauk 17 with its original Mercury 90-HP outboard. This will be my second whaler; my first was an 2009 130 SUPER SPORT.

Has this community any advice on anything I should look for specific to [a 1988 MONTAUK 17 or 90-HP Mercury] engine while surveying it. The boat's owner reports the boat is in near-perfect condition, engine runs great, and the only concern with boat is [the combined sidelight lamp] doesn't work.

I am eager for feedback and to start participating here more often.

Re buying a used 1988 Mercury 90-HP two-stroke-power-cycle engine:

--that is a great engine; it is a good design, and gives good performance;

--to assess any used outboard engine see

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/outboardCheck.html

With any engine of that age, i.e., 28-years-old, you should look closely at all the rubber components such as the fuel hoses, oil hoses, rubber-insulated electrical cables like spark plug wires and their boots. The fuel lines in particular should be looked at for possible decay due to ethanol. If there are any gray color and somewhat metallic finish external fuel hoses from external tanks, get rid of them. They are notorious for delamination of the inner liner of the hose due to ethanol effects. Consider getting a new primer bulb.

In particular with older Mercury engines check the electrical components like the alternator, the rectifier, the voltage regulator, the switch box, the stator(s), and the general electrical wiring. Be prepared to replace some of these. Often the aftermarket parts from vendor CDI are available and perhaps may be preferable to OEM.

As for the boat, the most important considerations are:

--that all the original parts are there--the rails, the console, the seats, the many little fittings that will be expensive to replace

--that the boat does not have a lot of extraneous holes drilled into it from gear that was mounted that you will be removing

--that the condition is good; there are 100,000 MONTAUK boats out there so you do not have to buy one that is a wreck and restore it; it is much easier and more enjoyable to just clean and polish a new boat to get back to good shape than to have to completely restore it from near disaster.

Re the non-illuminating combined sidelight lamp: the cause could be any number of things, from easiest to hardest to fix:

--burned out lightbulb in lamp; replace lightbulb

--blown fuse; replace fuse

--corrosion on lightbulb or lamp socket; use WD40

--bad electrical connections to lamp socket; clean wires and reconnect--carefully as insulation will be brittle

--bad switch contacts on navigation light switch; use WD-40

--broken wires between lamp and console; pull in new wires; see FAQ. <http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/FAQ/#Q4>

More advice on electrical problems: do not dismiss an electrical problem as something simple to fix. They can get complicated. Many years ago I bought a boat with twin engines. The boat was in very good condition. The engines both ran very well. The seller noted, "The one engine's tachometer is a bit flaky." I figured, no problemo--I could fix that with some WD40 or a new wire connector. Haha--joke was on me. About $800, a year later, a complete rewiring of a lot of the boat, and weeks of work, I finally had both tachometers working.