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Random Quote: Whether i'm right or wrong i'm still the captain!!
I'm interted in a 83 254 Mako with twin 89 Yamaha 150's. This boat was listed at 19,000. I know the guy accepted an offer for $14,000 but the buyer never came thru. It's now up for $14,900. It has been surveyed, but the potential buyer never paid for it so I can purchase the survey. Cosmetically it needs a lot of work. Much more than what the description would lead you to believe. Pending the survey is good what do you guys think about this boat and what would be a good offer to make the broker. If you go the their website and go to Yachts for sale it's on page 2.
I have the 1987 Mako, 254 with a single Johnson 225HP (yr 2000) that I had re-painted and repowered about 2 years ago. From what I have read, you're going to hate the yellow deck because it's hot.
I had mine re-painted and a new tank installed for about $4,000. Additionally, I had new canvass installed on the t-top, rocket launcher, leaning post and forward bench seat.
I would guess mine would sell between $16-$20,000. I think $14,000 for your boat is a little step based on the hull condition. How many hours on the engines? I don't think I would go above $10,000.
Check out my 1986 Mako Center console that is in the Trader section. It is your price range. I previous buyer had it surveyed a week ago and everthing was great, but then he wanted to re-negoitate the price that we had agreed upon so I pulled the sale.
be warmed older mako's for the most part have bad transom's and stringer issues ... simply ask Ringleader .... if it check's out and is ulgy start low 8k it's easy to go up but hard as heck to go down .....John
MC, I am dead set on having twins. The ledge off Jax is 60 miles. If I were to get this boat I would repower in a year or so. I do like your ride though.
Tickle- I have 10K stuck in my head also. The brown floor I can have painted fairly reasonable. The fuel tank does worry me though.
It is really hard to find a good 25 with twins in running cindition for less than 15k regardless of age(not to say it can't be done). If the hull checks out it might be worth more than 10k, but not a lot more. SEA TRIAL, SEA TRIAL, SEA TRIAL. Make sure you feel safe with the open transom design, especially when drifting.. Make an offer, what's the worst that could happen?
That stringer and transom statement is a load of bullshit. I have owned four Makos from 1977 on up, and none of them had any significant rot problems. Will their be moisture in the transom of a 20 year old boat? sure, but most of them have little to no rot. Ringleader unfortunately was unlucky and got one that had some rot. The ones that are rotted usually had inadequately sealed through transom penetrations.
That being said, that boat is basically a hull only and worth 6-7K max. The engines are 14 years old and worth virtually nothing. I would walk on this setup and find a better rig. It is late in the season, if you wait until October when people need Christmas money, you will steal a boat in much better shape.
I agree with John. Jt's statement is wrong and beside, didn't Ringleader's problems appear after hitting a log at planning speed? What boat wouldn't need some work after that.
The 254 is a great hull and yes you will hate the yellow, not only because it will date the hull, but it does get very hot. I personally would keep looking as I have had some peronsally bad experiences with the 89 Yamaha 150's. The Yamaha rep actually stated that they were freshwater engines and shouldn't have been installed in a salt water application.
Keep looking. I can guarantee that you can find a gem at the right price. I did. It took me two years of watching the market and then five months of looking to buy. Several boats were bought out from under me so you will have to act quick, but do your home work first and get a survey.
There was a 76 254 in my local paper about a month ago. The owner had Mako put a full transom on the boat in 1990, & it had twin 1990 Merc 200s on Gil brackets. It also had a tower with steering control as well as radar. It was cosmetically challenged & hadn't been run in a couple of years. His asking price was 11.9K, & it was on a trailer. Never had it surveyed because it was more boat than I was after, but it seems very solid.
I agree with Mako Madness. My transom didn't rot, termites got it. No stringer problems though and the fuel tank is still good. I have no desire to paint the yellow floor. The original still looks good- alot better than paint would.
"we should be able to make it"
'78 Mako 20cc 150 Ficht
I had one in the early 90's with a 225 Johnson. It ran OK, didn't matter much in the ocean as you couldn't go WOT most of the time. If I remember right it went about 34kts by LORAN (Couldn't afford GPS back then ) Had a rather smallish gas tank by todays standards. Went in the ocean with many a 5 gallon jug in the bow . I didn't mind the yellow, but the huge fishbox drains to the BILGE I kept a plug in it and pumped the crap out with a portable bilge pump until it was relatively clean.
William
1900CC Key West W/ 115 Yammie 4 stroke
Biggest boat that would fit in my garage!
Friend of mine has one and it's a nice rig and ride for an older hull, actually, an excellent riding boat. His is rigged with twin 220 Suzuki's. The one "bad" thing I did not like was the boat did not have a "self bailing" deck. I would definitely add a bilge pump as far forward in the bilge as you possibly can. I can tell you a horror story about a trip we made to the Little Bank and almost sunk while bottom fishing.
Can someone explain to me why the Fuel tank needs to be replaced and if there's anything I can do to check it. I will definitely sea trial and get the survey if I decide to move further. Thanks for the help guys.
At the risk of getting my hand's slaped again . Alum tanks when they have water in contact for long periods of time . will start a breaking of sorts and the Alum is at best .125 (1/8) thick the pitting and corriosion simply eats away till you have fule leaking in the compartment they are placed. IT happens to all Brands not just Mako's about 15-20 years is top's for tanks (Average)....John
JTBurfs advice on aluminum fuel tanks is right on, but also check your fill and vent hoses as some Makos have an aluminum pipe integrated with rubber hoses for the fill and vent. These items deteriate just as the tank does. Debated on replacing mine while doing the tank (they were a b#@tch to get to ) but am glad I did, as they were in worse condition than the tank I removed. 1980 Mako 228 Cabin I am currently completely reconditioning (boat is solid, needs mostly cosmetics). Make sure the boat is structurally sound. It will really depend on how well it has been protected from water intrusion around fittings. Unless the work has already been done, you can plan on spending significant time/money on cosmetics, the tank, and re-sealing hardware and fittings thoughout. I would not place much value on the engines, but Makos are probably the best older hulls built. Good luck, and be-careful, old boats can be a gluttin for punishment addiction.
Yep, Makos have great transoms and stringers... They really do. The problems arise because these boats last so long that they change owners several times. Each owner mounts some different eqipment on the transom (transducers, through hulls, swim platforms, & etc.). Through this process the old holes aren't adequately sealed and the new holes aren't sealed well either.
Now we have a water intrusion problem. The water gets into the transom core and saturates that, then finds its way into the stringers because Mako built the transoms so that they were straddleing the stringers. Not a bad design if you don't intend for water to ever get there in the first place.
Anyways, to make a long story short. Thats what happened to my hull. Too many things mounted to the transom over a long period of time. And too many things improperly mounted (for example the swim platform had screws holding it in, not bolts with BIG fender washers on the inside). When I hit the log, it must have jarred the whole rotted thing loose and the transom really started to show signs of flexure while the boat was under power.
A lack of good sealer is a disaster waiting to happen too. Honestly, silicone has no business being anywhere near water. The stuff sucks. It breaks down quickly and doesn't stick to squat. 3M makes plenty of good products that aren't silicone. Heck they even quit putting silicone in fake tits!
I think everyone else has given good insight into the original question asked by BayShark. I agree too. Keep looking... Like a wise man once said, "Women are like street cars, there's plenty of them in the sea!" Hehe.. I think I heard that on American Pie.
In my earlier reply, I forgot to mention that you shouldn't be too quick to dismiss what jt said in regard to transom rot. In my search for a boat, I just looked at classic Mako number 6 over the weekend, & it had a rotted transom. In fact, of the 6 I've looked at so far, the 254 that I mentioned was the only one that didn't have a rotted transom.
I'm not saying that all of them do, but based on my (admitedly limited) experience, I'd say that a good number of the do. After all, we're talking about 20+ year old production boats. Between the inevitible imperfections that can occur even on good production lines & the things that various owners might do to a boat over the years, there's a lot of chances for rot to take hold. It's a possibility you need to be keenly aware of.
BayShark - where are you located? I have a friend that has an older 25 with twin '87 200 Yamahas for sale. I know for fact that it hasn't been used much, at least for the last several years, and I'm pretty sure not much before then, and still looks really good. He also repainted the deck with a gray non skid. Not sure of the price, but can find out if you're interested. The boat is in NC.
83 Mako 254 
) Had a rather smallish gas tank by todays standards. Went in the ocean with many a 5 gallon jug in the bow 
. I didn't mind the yellow, but the huge fishbox drains to the BILGE 
