Looking at purchasing a 1989 25sailfish with twin I/O

[Ricks90mustang]

Hello all. Grady White newbie. Someone local has a 1989 25 sailfish for sale for a decent price. It has twin omc I/O with one locked up. This is the downside to the boat but I feel the price is decent. It’s a 2 owner boat and the motors were in it when he purchased it. Other than the motor everything else is decent for a 1989. Some minor stress cracks and 2 soft spots on the floor. Questions?
Were omc I/o a factory options?
What else should I be looking for with an I/o boat. From what I can see transom looks good around the gimbal housing. Thanks

 

[JeffN]

There is a 25' Grady of similar vintage locally that had OMCs in it originally. IIRC OMC drives of that era were the Cobra units as the stringer version had been retired. Am I correct that it is a motor that is locked up not the drives? Are the motors GM units I don't remember who OMC used as an engine supplier? You should be able to find something to replace your existing motor with but I would be more concerned with the Cobra units. They had a very short production run before being discontinued. I have no idea what is available for parts and I don't think they were all that dependable when new let alone many years down the road. The local owner of the Grady with Cobra units purchased the boat used and spent a lot of money/effort trying to sort out engines and drives, finally gave up and put a bracket on with a couple of used two strokes. Would you be doing the work yourself, if not it might be very cost prohibitive and even impossible to find someone willing to work on the Cobras. I had twin Mercruisers in my '83 25' and replaced them with a single Mercruiser/Bravo I 496 eleven years ago. It has been a very good combination. I too looked at going the bracket/ outboard route but it was less expensive to repower with an I/O. I think I would look at the boat with a eye toward the Cobras not working out. If the boat is a priced right and is good condition it might well be a candidate for a repower. I just don't have much faith in how you will make out trying to make the Cobras viable and reliable. The Sailfish if in good shape, priced right and you are game for a project would be a good choice. Just my opinion.

 

[suzukidave]

that good price would need to be basically free. cheaper to go to a bracket and add an old single 2stroke than the bottomless pit that inboard setup would tend to be.

 

[SirGrady226]

I paid $2,400 for my 87 Seafarer sporting its two 30 year old original outboards, and very nice trailer. Luckily the power heads were in very good condition and the boat affordable to restore doing the work myself. I'm all in at around 6,800.00 now which worked for me. Expect electrical gremlins and corrosion on connections in a boat that old exposed to salt water. Twin I/O's of any age can break the bank especially if you can't do the work yourself. If the fuel tanks haven't been replaced in the last 15 years expect to find issues there. I had a friend that's a certified boat mechanic / tech do a survey on mine before my purchase, his assessment was, if I didn't buy it, he would. I'm pleased with the outcome, but one of the first things my friend asked was whether it had I/O or outboard engines. He said avoid the I/O boats of that age. Hope this helps.

 

[Ricks90mustang]

Thank you for all the replies. At this point I am going to pass on the boat unless there is another price drop. Right now it’s listed at 3k. Sitting on a decent triple axle trailer. I can do the engine work myself but have only done minor fiberglass work. I would have to pay someone if it needs transom work which takes away any type of deal for me. I also read here and elsewhere about the horror stories of the omc’s. Thanks again

 

[JeffN]

that good price would need to be basically free. cheaper to go to

A Sailfish will be pretty doggy with a single 2 stroke I would think.

 

[JeffN]

Probably a good call Rick. I had owned my boat 20 years when I repowered and knew what I had. Looked into a newer used boat at the time which was the popular opinion on the boards but I could not see the logic of buying an unknown boat with 10 year old, or more, outboards. Figured I was in then boat for the long haul so I repowered, the big block has been a great package and match for the Sailfish. In my case it worked out.

 

[suzukidave]

A Sailfish will be pretty doggy with a single 2 stroke I would think.

i think a single 250 will move it fine if you drop the prop pitch down, but true enough. it won't quite be like a cabin cruiser but you will need the trim tabs and cruise in the low 20s.