Boat purchase help please

need you guys & gals thoughts on this boat my son is wanting to purchase, it is his former boss and he is wanting 6500.00 and I just dont have a clue. I am waiting on my son to tell me the model of the boat and motor, I wanna think he said the boat was 18ft and the motor was a 200 son said the boat was a 95 and the thought the motor was also,boat has new carpet and the guy extended the deck on and just did all new electrical on it but not sure what that consist of. I know you cant tell a lot about it but thought I might see ifn anyone could help me out on this

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It sure looks clean. Lot's to be said for a boat that's been taken of plus he knows the owner which is even better. I think I would ask for a sea trial and do compression check and see how firm he is on the price and go from there.

Good lookin rig. Mid 90's model

A friend of mine has a Bumble Bee bass boat and he has it set up for crappie fishing. It is a good boat.....real smooth ride.

like yikess said the first thing I would do is a compression check, then run it, then see how firm he is. Bumble bee is not a bad boat, not top of the line, but not bad.

If everything checks out, I would go 6000 for the boat.

Oh yeah, find out about TM and electronics if you can.

thanks guys, will fill in any details as I find them out, on the water test wont be a problem as the guy lives right on the water, will have to take it to my work to test the compression, the only thing I told my son was that most likely that motor is gonna like gas and the boat has a 32 gal tank and he would be out pretty good each trip if he fished it much but hey its his money and I cant tell him what to do, only advise him and ifn any of you got sons you know about how much of it they listen to :)

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http://www.***************/crappie-f...o-v-bumble-bee

Most 18' boats arent rated at 200hp...Bumble has a fast reputation so they may have put em on there but I had a 18'5' Skeeter and its max was 175 my 20' has a max of 200 but that sure is a clean boat... Only boat I seen in that shape that old is Duckhunter's..

alway heard a Bee boat was good and fast, you're right on liking the gas if he runs up and down the lake.

you are right maachuu...that motor will love the liquid gold. If you (actually your son) can keep his foot out of it and run about 3/4 throttle it helps a good bit on the gas usage

The Mercury XTI is known for 2 things: fast speeds and drinking gas. The XTI was built as a legal racing motor for the BASS boys. Most of those motors have a racing gear set-up in the lower unit.

Sorry, XRI. Mercury also made a XTI. These motors came out before the EFI's. Ask your son what he thinks the "R" stands for? Racing=Sucks gas.

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Originally Posted by crappiholic

Sorry, XRI. Mercury also made a XTI. These motors came out before the EFI's. Ask your son what he thinks the "R" stands for? Racing=Sucks gas.

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thanks crappi, but my son is 23 and if I mention racing then will for sure buy it :)

XRi is a fuel injected motor though. Looks very clean and well taken care of. Think Bumble Bees are a little more narrow than most of the same length - they did that to get a little extra speed to compete against main line boats. Also think they built them a little lighter for the same reason. Good boats, but not top of the line. Only one I've ever been in had fiberglass compartment boxes that squeaked and popped when you stood on 'em. Turned me right off. Not sure if that was specific to that make or model though.

For a 95 model motor, I'd consider disconnecting the auto oiler and pre-mixing my own.

Bottom line...for $6500, I'd pass. More can be had for the same price, I think.

Wannabe...

WB, you know what fuel injected means? The gas bypasses everything and goes straight to the plugs. EFI made it a little better. The fumes and leftover gas is recirclulated. They still love gas. What is suppose to be the best motor for fuel usage?

I'd want to see how they extended the deck. Folks can do some strange things.

Pretty sure the fuel injection on the XRi is computer controlled, but agree the EFI Mercs were an improvement. XRi has a good rep for dependability though, as does the EFI.

Straight up fuel consumption hp for hp all else equal, as I last understood it went to the Optimax. Not sure how the SHO would fares in that mix, but I'm sure it's close to the top. Real world performance though, the 4 strokes win.

Wannabe...

my sho is doing pretty darn good on gas and just recently hit break in

At 23 he is gonna most likely run the snot out of it but if he would cruise about 40 or 45 the fuel milelage wont be that bad as long as he gets it trimmed out good. I have an old black max 200 on the same size boat, maybe a little smaller, and have been surprised that it doesn't do too bad. Will certainly fly if it's like any of the Bumble Bee's I have been around.
I too am of the same mind as WB, did I really type that, think for 6500 he can find more boat. Hope he'll be pleased no matter what he decides.

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Originally Posted by Rees Guide

At 23 he is gonna most likely run the snot out of it but if he would cruise about 40 or 45 the fuel milelage wont be that bad as long as he gets it trimmed out good. I have an old black max 200 on the same size boat, maybe a little smaller, and have been surprised that it doesn't do too bad. Will certainly fly if it's like any of the Bumble Bee's I have been around.
I too am of the same mind as WB, did I really type that, think for 6500 he can find more boat. Hope he'll be pleased no matter what he decides.

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thanks rees, bout got him talked out of it, hope someone on the board comes up with one that I will feel much better about him buying, I am strongly suggesting that he consider a 70 to 90hp and a boat like Feelay had, he really liked the layout of it and I did also, when my son and Feelay both were able to fish up front and the boat handled it great, I was impressed but him being a youngun he looks at HP and speed and well I know how I was

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