bayliner
I am looking at an 1989 bayliner 17ft with a 85 hp force outboard motor does any one now any thing about them
Have a qualified marine tech look over the boat BEFORE you buy it!
Have them do a compression check,
ignition check,
check for water in the gearcase,
connecting rod end play test,
and a general look-see and test run on the lake. Just because it runs in the driveway doesn't mean it will perform on the lake.
If the seller is hesitant to let you perform these tests..walk away.
On the Bayliner itself, check the floor for rotting and cracked transom as well as a soft transom. You should be able to stand on the cavitation plate of the outboard (with it tilted down) and see little to no flex from the transom. Steering should also be checked for freeness and loose hardware.
I would stay away from them, the older years are of lower quality and the Force motors are a big ?
We have a 88 bayliner with a force motor (125) Bayliners have a bad rep but they can be restored.
We restored ours and we are allmost done now with it. Replacing all the flooring , fiberglas etc was nessesary but if you have ANY rot in the flooring, you have to take out all the foam underneath it. Its holds water really bad.
Look for weak spots on the flooring and if you think there is one.. its bad underneath it.
Ours has Force125 on it and still runs . But our boat was project boat and we knew its was bad.
If you can avoid a project boat and can afford a newer one. go with that.restoring a boat isnt as much fun as we thought it would be..
I like Bayliners as they are cheap and you can find some that are really nice looking still.
