Looking at 2 boats

Spectre
2002 2.5 Absolutely mint in every way...hour meters read around 420 which seems way off given the condition... owner says ecus show 235hrs (he's second owner) Powerheads were rebuilt at Merc about 110 Hours ago not sure if I am comfortable because of the hours Freshwater Boat locally owned have know owner for years great guy

AMT
2005 300x 135 Hours on Motors Unknown on hull looks pretty clean from pics located clear across country ($5k to get home) Saltwater boat (garage kept)


I like both boats and both are in same ballpark money wise I am sure this topic has been covered here just looking for opinions as I have never owned an outboard cat...

Thanks In Advance

Man thats a tough one. Sorry i cant give any technical help but the AMT we raced was one of the funnest hulls i have ever ran. Handled VERY well and for a thirty footer ran rough water pretty good. Seemed if ya just let 'er eat she would go. The AMT sounds like a better deal because of the year and power but unless you can fly out west to see it i am always leery of salt boats.


On a side note the one we raced was a 2.5 boat and i am not sure what the bigger motors would do to the handling. I always thought Deans was a bit on the light side so a bit more weight wouldnt be a bad thing as long as it was balanced out.

Any pics of the Spectre. I would like to see if I recognize it. I should have rigged it

sorry i do not

If the 2.5's have 110 hours on them, they are either due or just about due for rebuilds.

Depending on what was done on the first re-build...were they re-plated? New pistons? bearings? etc. If only rings were done, costs could go way up this time.

Re-ring only can be a couple thousand per side, whereas full re-builds will be in the $5k-$6k each.

i had a 98 30 spectre w 2003 300x's and a close friend had a late model AMT also w 300x's and they were very VERY similar altho the spectre was slightly faster. Conservative setup, motors deep, 15x32 3 blades labbed ran 107 ...cruising speed was 78 (when the hull packed air) and the X's were VERY thirsty.

Aren't the 2.5's more of a race engine? If he's going to be putting substantial hours on the boat, wouldn't he be better off with 300X's?

If this is the AMT you are talking about:

http://www.offshoreonly.com/classifi...o39990-en.html

The boat is MINT!!!

And no worries about it being in salt water, I doubt you will find any signs of salt anywhere

I don't know anything about the Spectre you are looking at, but I would love to have that AMT

You cant beat 2.5s for punch and power to weight...id go spectre

yes thats it.... I'm leaning that way...nice guy seems legit