The Boating Forum - 1994 wahoo?

Im scheduled to go look at a 1994 17' wahoo cc with 75 yamaha Sunday, and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on them? The asking price is 6500, which seems to be negotiable(includes trailer). The boat would be used mainly inshore. Any comments on the boat, and if i should keep looking or not would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

A guy down the street has one. Looks decent and its powered by a 90 Yamaha. No splashwell, shallow gunnels.... kinda reminds me of either an older Boston Whaler, older Mckees, or a locally built boat called the Makai. All great boats for diving. Sounds like a not so bad deal. Anything here with a 4 stroke sells for $8000. Work it down... you might score.

I owned an '89 for 10 years (powered with a Yamaha 90 2s). Great boat for shallow, inshore fishing. Well built and nicer finish than the Whaler Montauk. Just make sure the internal gas tank is sound.

ptashi1 - 5/22/2008 9:55 PM

Im scheduled to go look at a 1994 17' wahoo cc with 75 yamaha Sunday, and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on them? The asking price is 6500, which seems to be negotiable(includes trailer). The boat would be used mainly inshore. Any comments on the boat, and if i should keep looking or not would be greatly appreciated.

thanks


Excellent boats. I have a '92 16.5 Wahoo with a 90 Merc. The asking price seems fair for that type of boat, depending on condition. It was and is a solid boat that was well thought out, and quality built..
A few things to look for..........This boat depending on its actual setup has an INTERNAL gas tank, which is can be a problem. The tank is probably going to need to be addressed sometime in the not so far away future. I' m not sure if the setup of the boat you are looking at has the built in bench seat , if it does the tank is underneath that and can be fairly easily accessed/addressed. If it is the floor, you will need to seriously decide some things, as it will take alot of work to change it out when the time comes.
The other thing to look at , is the transom, to make sure it is still solid. Most Wahoos didnt have a problem there, but unfortunately I have seen a couple. You will be able to tell, by looking at the seam on the top of the transom and looking for any weeping out of the lifting eyes. As I said though, it wasnt a typical Wahoo issue.
That said, its still an excellent boat worth looking at , and if its in good condition would make it a great boat at a good price

MONSTAWHALA - 5/23/2008 5:38 AM

ptashi1 - 5/22/2008 9:55 PM

Im scheduled to go look at a 1994 17' wahoo cc with 75 yamaha Sunday, and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on them? The asking price is 6500, which seems to be negotiable(includes trailer). The boat would be used mainly inshore. Any comments on the boat, and if i should keep looking or not would be greatly appreciated.

thanks


Excellent boats. I have a '92 16.5 Wahoo with a 90 Merc. The asking price seems fair for that type of boat, depending on condition. It was and is a solid boat that was well thought out, and quality built..
A few things to look for..........This boat depending on its actual setup has an INTERNAL gas tank, which is can be a problem. The tank is probably going to need to be addressed sometime in the not so far away future. I' m not sure if the setup of the boat you are looking at has the built in bench seat , if it does the tank is underneath that and can be fairly easily accessed/addressed. If it is the floor, you will need to seriously decide some things, as it will take alot of work to change it out when the time comes.
The other thing to look at , is the transom, to make sure it is still solid. Most Wahoos didnt have a problem there, but unfortunately I have seen a couple. You will be able to tell, by looking at the seam on the top of the transom and looking for any weeping out of the lifting eyes. As I said though, it wasnt a typical Wahoo issue.
That said, its still an excellent boat worth looking at , and if its in good condition would make it a great boat at a good price
what he said ^^^^^^^^^^^

I had a 90 16 DC with a 90 Johnson...used the boat for 16 seasons. Loved it and had O problems except that I had to rig a auto Bilge pum as I kept it in the water and the weight of the 90 Johson kept the scuppers under...I put a 5 gal bucket on the bow and NEVER had a problem. The boat would and did run in an awful lot of Chesapeake bay slop oh yes it did beat you up but not as bad as the Whaler...yes you did get wet sometimes...but all in all a GREAT boat. Very well build and you could even trailer it with rollers....I can't say enough good. I never had a problem with the integrated fuel tank. Price may be a tad high but I am sure with today's climate...tehy will come down. Good Luck

SCAngler - 5/23/2008 3:50 PM

MONSTAWHALA - 5/23/2008 5:38 AM

ptashi1 - 5/22/2008 9:55 PM

Im scheduled to go look at a 1994 17' wahoo cc with 75 yamaha Sunday, and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on them? The asking price is 6500, which seems to be negotiable(includes trailer). The boat would be used mainly inshore. Any comments on the boat, and if i should keep looking or not would be greatly appreciated.

thanks


Excellent boats. I have a '92 16.5 Wahoo with a 90 Merc. The asking price seems fair for that type of boat, depending on condition. It was and is a solid boat that was well thought out, and quality built..
A few things to look for..........This boat depending on its actual setup has an INTERNAL gas tank, which is can be a problem. The tank is probably going to need to be addressed sometime in the not so far away future. I' m not sure if the setup of the boat you are looking at has the built in bench seat , if it does the tank is underneath that and can be fairly easily accessed/addressed. If it is the floor, you will need to seriously decide some things, as it will take alot of work to change it out when the time comes.
The other thing to look at , is the transom, to make sure it is still solid. Most Wahoos didnt have a problem there, but unfortunately I have seen a couple. You will be able to tell, by looking at the seam on the top of the transom and looking for any weeping out of the lifting eyes. As I said though, it wasnt a typical Wahoo issue.
That said, its still an excellent boat worth looking at , and if its in good condition would make it a great boat at a good price
what he said ^^^^^^^^^^^


thanks for all the responses. The boat dosnt have a built in bench seat, so i was wondering will a survey tell me the shape of the gas tank, and how much more use I would get from it. Also if anyone else has anymore advice, and things to look for when looking at this boat, it would be greatly appreciated.

ptashi1 - 5/23/2008 4:15 PM
thanks for all the responses. The boat dosnt have a built in bench seat, so i was wondering will a survey tell me the shape of the gas tank, and how much more use I would get from it. Also if anyone else has anymore advice, and things to look for when looking at this boat, it would be greatly appreciated.



A survey wont really show a bad gas tank on this boat, unless there is full access to the tank (I dont think there is on this model). , so you can do an actual physical inspection ......Take a look at it, run it and see if you like it first. If you think you are really wanting to buy it, then take a long hard look at what it would take to get at the tank.
I will also say though, that a survey and mechanical on this boat (or any boat for that matter) will probably be well worth it and a good learning experience.

I owned a 1994 21 footer and loved it...performed well in all waters

I grew up on one. It was a great little boat and I like them a lot more than Boston Whalers. With one person ours would top out around 45mph+ with a 90 mercury. The fuel tank is a little small for the boat. The ride good, but don't take it in rough conditions because it will beat you to death and stuff the bow under bigger waves. Ours was not the center console. It was the walk through version. Bilge access left a little to be desired. Other than that it was wonderful and a ton of fun. Thinking about it, I am starting to miss the boat! You won't be disappointed if you get the boat. The only reason we sold it was we wanted a boat that was a little more capable in bigger waves so we went with an older 17 mako.

Thanks again everybody... any other comments are appreciated. if not ill let you know how it goes after i look at the boat.

Thanks!

I have owned 4 Wahoo's, 2 -2100 Offshore's, 1 - 1850 Sportfish, 1 - 1750 Offshore - - Wahoo was a small builder based in Virginia, then they were bought by Robalo, a 1994 is a Robalo made boat. When Brunswick bought Robalo they destroyed all the smaller Wahoo molds because they competed with Boston Whaler. The Robalo R265 is still a boat that is from the original Wahoo molds (26 EFS). In general they had more features than a Whaler and in general they rode softer then the classic Whalers of the time. The construction is different than a Whaler because they left a void in the foam at the gunnels tops and have a PVC drain that runs the length of the bottom to drain moisture. A well made boat, but as stated above because they have built in aluminum fuel tanks and those tanks are constantly in contact with moisture you will have to replace the tank at some point. Is it a saltwater boat? If so the tank will need attention sooner. This is a fairly big expense for this boat. Make sure you also get the boat weighed as the foam will hold water the listed dry weight of the hull is 890lbs. Also Wahoo had some issues with blistering in the late 80’s. Most Wahoo’s are found on the East Coast.

I am not sure if it is true but thought Wahoo was started by an ex Whaler employee and was later sued by Whaler. They were based in Ashton Virginia and a popular boat in the Chesapeake region. The boats are an alternative to a Whaler as they don't seem to command the high prices a used Whaler does but still offer unsinkable construction and a decent quality boat. We just bought a 16'2 side console and will be comparing it side by side to the Boston Whaler super sport 15 I sold my neighbor last year.

Brian