bigvincent

Well I might have found a GREAT deal on a 1998 36 outlaw. Just wondering if anyone has some first hand experience with them and could lend me some advice/stories. I have gone through the forum and couldn't find many inks on a 36 Baja, read the 'History thread' which was awesome.

The boat is a repo that has been somewhat neglected. Majority of the interior is covered in mold...engines turn over (502's). No real damage to the hull.

Just qurious what cruising speed is, top speed, handling? What she would drink per hour. You know the generic stuff and if anyone has more details i would really appreciate it.

Thanks

obnoxus

my 2000 has 502 MPI's with headers and the arizone speed and marine kit on them and see about 70 . with labbed 24's

3500 rpm is 45 mph ish,,,, when I run 26's my cruise goes to 50 at 3500

expect about a gallon per mile

If memory serves,,, I think the 98's had a bulkhead issue,,,, im sure more will chime in on that though so dont take my word for it.

its a big ole pig, and not the faster thing around,,,, but everyone else is jealouse of the cockpit and cabin room.

we love ours

bigvincent

Thanks for the info...and yes she is def big! A bulkhead issue, hmm I need to do some more digging. This has the SST pkg, do you know what was different besides graphics?

obnoxus

just an apperance picture,,,, may have upgraded guages,,,, but nothing performance related

Dock Holiday

I am a little bias I’m sure because we love our 36. The hull is a solid and proven hull with plenty of room and an excellent ride. It is heavy and has never been know as a fast hull. I know of several that can and do run in the 90’s but it takes BIG horsepower.

The number one problem I saw with Baja on the 36 and others was that they offered the offshore stringers and motor mounts as an option. Many dealers that ordered them for inland lakes opted for the standard stringers and motor mounts to save money and reduce cost. Then when the boat changed hands and was operated in rougher conditions there were failures which made the brand look bad. That would be my number one concern when selecting one to buy is making sure it has the offshore stringers and motor mounts. I’ve attached a picture of mine so you can see what they look like. There will be an angled aluminum mount on the side of the stringers. If the motors are just sitting on top of the standard type mounts then it will cause you a problem if you boat on big lakes or offshore. Second is that you need a really good survey or at least have the hull checked out totally for water and rot by a really good fiberglass guy. I know that someone like Kevin Brown at Lakeway in Ohio could go over that boat and tell you real fast the overall condition and if the hull is solid.

On a repo you can expect that if they could not make the payment that they could not service it. A new interior done right will cost several thousand dollars and if you have to go in the outdrives or the engines that gets expensive real fast.

With 502’s I would expect the boat to run in the mid 60’s speed wise and you can expect somewhere between one and two MPG depending on how you operate it. At wide open throttle it would probably burn around 30 gallons per hour per engine.

Factor what you will have to spend to bring the boat up to par and add a little extra to cover the unexpected. Then if that figure plus the purchase price is under the cost of a boat in good condition on the market you will come out okay and will bring another boat back to life.

Good luck and let us know if there is anything else we can help you with.

bigvincent

Thanks! Those pictures are great, and I will be heading back this week to double check mounts and stringers. I will try to grab some pictures too. Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it.

Quinlan

iTrader: (1)

Dock what did you paint your bildg with? I have the 575s out and am cleaning up the bildge.
Thanks, Q

Nichols92

Would this issue be the same for the 33's? What was the issue? Rot or??? We are leaving to purchase ours at the end of the week

Dock Holiday

You are sure welcome. I hope it works out for you.

Gelcoat
Kevin Brown at Lakeway boat repair completely sanded it down with the help of Dave and Adam at XT and then they covered it with gelcoat. I have used the white Bilgecoat paint that you buy at West Marine before with good results but you must have it completely clean and free of any oil or it will bleed through.

Dock Holiday

Gelcoat

Here are a few more pictures.