Looking at a 1996 20" Procraft, need input

[LSL Angler]

I'm looking at a 1996 Procraft 20' that has a fuel injected 200 hp Mariner engine. Wanting to know if anyone has had either the boat or the engine and if there are any problems that i should look for. Both live wells are at the back of the boat behind the passenger and drivers seat. Is this the normal set up. Seems like every time you catch a fish you have to run back to put it in the livewell. I think it only has a 65 lb thrust trolling motor which now adays seem under power. Any information would be helpful.

[Jigging15]

We ran Pro Craft's for several years when I was bass fishing. We never had any issues other than the normal stuff everyone has with any boat. Can't speak for the Mariner as I have never had one. That is the normal live well setup for most glass boats. My last couple Champions had a live well upfront. Sure was nice when fishing alone but was tough to keep fish alive in it. Boat ride would beat them up pretty good up there.

[Cray]

Same thing 15 said. Mariner is just a Gray merc. So you can pretty much compare it to the merc for problems or reliability. Big thing is are floors soft and is transom solid. Get serial number on motor, PM BigRiverMarine on the board and he can check on motor for you.

[SeaRay]

I thought Yamaha made some of the Mariners?? Kind of a joint venture between Merc and Yammy. I never knew who made which motors. Heck my Merc was made by Tohatsu.

[Cray]

A lot of the smaller Mariners were made by Yamaha. They kinda crossed over at the 50/60 HP models. Anything above that was built by Merc. And yes a lot of the newer Mercs in smaller HP are built by Tohatsu along with the Nissan. Lot of the bigger Mercury motors are built by Yamaha to Merc specs.

[canebreaker]

I'm glad you corrected it from title to message.
I was trying to figure out what you wanted a 20 inch boat for.

[wolfmanjack051]

Decent boat, but Tracker marine quit making them in 07, parts will get harder and harder to find.

[kazualobzerver]

Some good advice here from others. Greatest risk is the outboard, it is after all 17 yrs old. If it's been run regularly that's a lot of hours. If it hasn't been run for long periods of time and has sit idle that's not good either. Darned if you do and darned if you don't. The boat you can evaluate a lot on your own and with advice from here; transom, floors, stress fractures, etc. The engine is the risk, the 2.5L platform was used in various, not all, 150, 175, and 200 HP models over the years ranging from the very early 90s all the way into the late 2000s, it is one of Merc's best over the years and lots of experience to draw from. Lots of them rebuilt over the years, i'd look at the headbolts to see if they've been removed or replaced. New powerheads are ok, rebuilds for the most part are problematic more often than not. Spark/fire, lower unit, water pressure/impeller are also important things to get checked. Large bore 2 stroke outboards are basically overgrown Weed Eaters and subject to inconsistencies and unforeseen maladies. Getting a clean bill of health from a qualified marine technician is recommended to stack the odds in your favor but it's still no guarantee. What I tell people when looking at an older big horsepower engine, if it goes down, maybe through no one's fault, can you justify spending almost as much to repair the engine as the entire boat is worth? If you can then it's potentially a good match for you, if not look elsewhere. Plus I'd never purchase a boat like this without an extended test drive 45-60 minutes, don't have to run it wide open all that time just lots of running at low and high rpms, lots of planing off, lots of starts and stops. PS, stay close to the ramp. :o PM me if I can help with a recommended marine dealer in your area or anything else, good luck.

[hardhunter2]

Some good advice here from others. Greatest risk is the outboard, it is after all 17 yrs old. If it's been run regularly that's a lot of hours. If it hasn't been run for long periods of time and has sit idle that's not good either. Darned if you do and darned if you don't. The boat you can evaluate a lot on your own and with advice from here; transom, floors, stress fractures, etc. The engine is the risk, the 2.5L platform was used in various, not all, 150, 175, and 200 HP models over the years ranging from the very early 90s all the way into the late 2000s, it is one of Merc's best over the years and lots of experience to draw from. Lots of them rebuilt over the years, i'd look at the headbolts to see if they've been removed or replaced. New powerheads are ok, rebuilds for the most part are problematic more often than not. Spark/fire, lower unit, water pressure/impeller are also important things to get checked. Large bore 2 stroke outboards are basically overgrown Weed Eaters and subject to inconsistencies and unforeseen maladies. Getting a clean bill of health from a qualified marine technician is recommended to stack the odds in your favor but it's still no guarantee. What I tell people when looking at an older big horsepower engine, if it goes down, maybe through no one's fault, can you justify spending almost as much to repair the engine as the entire boat is worth? If you can then it's potentially a good match for you, if not look elsewhere. Plus I'd never purchase a boat like this without an extended test drive 45-60 minutes, don't have to run it wide open all that time just lots of running at low and high rpms, lots of planing off, lots of starts and stops. PS, stay close to the ramp. :o PM me if I can help with a recommended marine dealer in your area or anything else, good luck.

This man knows his stuff!

[LSL Angler]

Thanks for all the great advise. I have not went and looked at it yet because it is an hour away from the house and I wanted to get as much information on it before I went to look at it. As Kaz said the motor is the big chunk of the boat and if that goes how much do you stick back in it. This is the third owner and he is asking $7400 for it. He said that the engine and lower unit was gone through this past fall at a cost of $5000. The jelcoat looks excellent like it been garaged from looking at the pictures. I don't know if i want to go that big of engine but it seems like every boat has a 175-200-225 hp now. Thanks again for the advise.