I need help folks. I'm new to boating. I purchased a 12ft v hull put a nissan 9.9hp outboard on it took it out once and decided to sell the boat, wanted bigger. So I found a 16ft grumman gmt 20 is this boat any good? I ended up replacing all of the flooring, the kid I bought it from was a total burn out. It has a 50hp Mariner from the 80's. I mainly need help with the motor are these any good? Is it a 2 or 4 stroke. He did fire it up it seemed to run fine but I wasn't impressed with the gas tank set up. I got the boat for a really good price so I expected to put some work into it. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave

what do you intend to use this boat for?

Water Ski?
pleasure rides?
fishing?

all of the above?


reason I ask is it will help answer the right question, and it sounds like you went from a basic V type johnboat equivalent to a bigger pleasure model,

50HP on a 16ft aluminum boat? Yikes. (ETA: Okay I looked at a few pics, possible console or windshield, floor, pedestal seat... a good deal more weight)

If its from the 80s it's a safe bet it's 2 cycle.


That's how boats work, assuming you stick with it. You start small and then want/go bigger and bigger. And at some point you start to miss the smaller ones and you work your way back down.

quote:

That's how boats work, assuming you stick with it. You start small and then want/go bigger and bigger. And at some point you start to miss the smaller ones and you work your way back down.

I just sold a 24 foot pontoon and went back to a 17 foot bass boat. It's got all the room I need, plus the gas mileage is much better.

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Huffman:

quote:

That's how boats work, assuming you stick with it. You start small and then want/go bigger and bigger. And at some point you start to miss the smaller ones and you work your way back down.

I just sold a 24 foot pontoon and went back to a 17 foot bass boat. It's got all the room I need, plus the gas mileage is much better.

but it won't fit 10 people.

The basic question should always be, what is this boat's purpose?

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Huffman:

quote:

That's how boats work, assuming you stick with it. You start small and then want/go bigger and bigger. And at some point you start to miss the smaller ones and you work your way back down.

I just sold a 24 foot pontoon and went back to a 17 foot bass boat. It's got all the room I need, plus the gas mileage is much better.

but it won't fit 10 people.

The basic question should always be, what is this boat's purpose?

My wife and I fish a lot. We rarely take anyone else with us, and when we do it's our 4 year old nephew. We'll go out and fish a while, then pull up on the beach and swim, then fish some more.
I never liked the pontoon very much. No trolling motor, no livewells and it's like a big sail if the wind is blowing. Plus I can't put it on the trailer alone. The bass boat I can.
Also, it's much easier to tow than the pontoon, and I can keep it at the house instead of down at the barn uncovered.

It depends on your purpose. The engine depends on condition. What compression does it have? if it runs fine, change the fuel filter, plugs, lower unit gear lube, impellor, grease the shaft and run it. Grumman has always made a very good aluminum boat.

I plan on using it as a fishing boat. It will have a console again. My wife and myself usually but I do have two grown kids that will come out occasionally. I kind of thought the engine was kind of over kill but there's a fair amount of weight. Motor seemed to run OK. I'Lloyd get some pics up when I have a chance. Thanks for the help so far keep it coming.
Dave

I had an 87, 16ft Fischer SV2 with a 50hp Johnson on it (sold it to buy a new Ranger so the 4 of us could go out in comfort). It'd do around 32mph with just me and gear in it.

Almost positive it's a 2 stroke. Fixing the older motors is getting tough - if the powerhead has last this long it's likely going to last a lot longer - assuming you use the correct mix. Stuff like lower units and carbs though... they're getting harder and harder to find. Even with not hitting anything if the forward gears in the lower unit are the originals - odds are you'll be replacing them before too long. I went through two sets in my johnson (over 10 years) before selling it. The second time I went to replace them the gear sets were not longer found so I ended up putting on a used lower unit that was in good shape.

Be careful replacing the floor - the weight (and cost) of sheets of marine plywood add up fast. My fischer had a raised aluminum floor which was probably lighter and definitely more rot resistant.

Be careful with moving stuff like batteries/gas tank around - its easy to affect the center of gravity on those smaller boats causing performance issues - leaning to one side for instance or porpoising when on plane if there is too much weight in the back.