MCF

I have used a short shaft on several boats, including a starcraft with a similar set up to your Crestliner. You are not using the kicker to put the boat on plane, so shaft size is irrelevant. I concur with Ray above on wavy days it will the prop will come out of the water. Your short shaft will always hold its value and use it while you wait the proper long shaft if you eventually choose to upgrade.

I concur with the above statement-it is also critical that you get the anti-freeze circulated through the engine and make sure there are no hidden areas where water gets trapped. Otherwise you are looking at major dollars in engine block or manifold repairs.

more information: http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article581857.ece

Sold 12/10/11 1987 Mercury 90 Hp Long Shaft with power trim has blown power head. Motor will turn a little than lock up. Taken to local Mercury dealer who figured it was a connecting rod-was not pursued any further. Oil injection was functioning up until that point. Good lower unit, power trim unit other motor parts. Motor is good cosmetically. $750.00 or best offer-at the moment still hooked up and on the boat. Serial number OB152836 model number 1090727 Motor is located in Dunkirk NY

Spent this weekend fishing the upper basin, Dewittville bay, Mayville shore, west shore in front of Camp Merz. All kinds of perch, sunfish etc. Using worms fishing just off the bottom in 12-20 ft of water. Would be a good last of the season trip to take a kid on and enjoy.

bump

The V-4 Evinrudes and Johnsons may have been the best motors ever produced, and parts are readily available. I have just purchased my first four stroke this summer, a used 90 Mercury, it is sweet. I have a couple small evinrudes from the 70's which are great motors and will probably run well for another couple decades. OMC and Mercury tweaked their two strokes over the years so they are still relatively fuel efficient. OMC got in trouble when the bankruptcy hit and produced a lot of bad product from 1999 til the ETEC era. Costs were cut and corners were cut as well.

Use your head in terms of thinking safety and don't take unnecessary risks, pick your days and you will be fine.

price reduced

Make sure all the connections on the path from the motor to the controls are connected they might have loosened up and that will cause it to beep-had that happen to me. I would also fill the container on the engine also-my Mercury would start to beep with a lot left.

I think you are going to find DFI means some type of direct fuel injection which is the way the industry is going as well as the auto-industry(cars like the new Chevy Equinox and the Cadillac CTS)

based on my own experience on a similar sylvan-top speed mid to upper 30's.

Not too early to start thinking about what to do with you boat at haul out time this fall bump

to help the poster out he is just outside of Buffalo-area code is 716

Hurricane Agnes June 1972

The biggest problem you face in fishing the Dunkirk area for walleye in September and October is the wind. Some years you are lucky if there are a few days that you can get out that matches your schedule for getting out. Have been around the lake here for over forty years.

Others will disagree but a 9.9 will work. Have used a 9.9 on a Grady White 23 Gulfstream(the wide body one) and it moves it all over Lake Erie easily. From the pictures it appears that you could mount the motor as is on the transom to the left of the big Evinrude.

I am not sure you are going to gain a lot outside of an improved ride by moving up one foot to the Bayliner, even though it is a nice boat. The 20-21 Bayliner outboard will give you more room. Having had a 22 Sylvan aluminum for eight seasons, it may also be a good option for you-the Islander is similar. I towed the Sylvan with a s-10, so a modest tow vehicle like a small pickup, mini-van or suv could handle it.

had a boat that was in the 1300 range-55 lb gave it plenty of power and ability to move around. Working off a single battery is a lot simpler.

bump 7/26/11

There are guys that use center consoles on both Ontario and Erie. The biggest problem with a center console as opposed to a boat with a windshield is a center console is a great boat for the days of July and August with weather that we are experiencing now. But being unprotected it can make for long days in spring and fall. I have owned and used a center console aluminum in the past, which was 18 ft. and have a friend who I fish with who owned a 19 Sylvan CC fiberglass. The beauty of the center console is it gives you maximum room. Parker makes a great boat, I would not be afraid to purchase it for great lakes fishing.

Outside of the obvious-fuel issues-if you are getting full rpms and only 10 mph is the rubber hub in the center of the prop slipping?

From the pictures boat looks like a clean low hours boat as described..

Force is based on the old Chrysler outboards from the 1970's and 1960's which I believe was South Bend in the 50's. There was no constant upgrades like the Johnson, Evinrudes and Mercurys. My uncle had outboards from the early sixties and easily would burn 30-40 gallons on a good water ski day with it. Ray is in the ball park-figure 1 gal per hour at troll-would not be afraid of purchasing it, just take an easy cruise in and out to the fishing grounds.

Not having seen pictures-first thing is the motor needs to come out and then pull the inside structure away from the damaged area. Hopefully it is contained to the small area surrounding those cracks and it would be a matter of cutting out the damage and replacing that section with new glass or an appropriate substitute material. Often times the failure is the surrounding area around a transom drain or where something has been bolted thru and not sealed properly.