A friend is considering this boat
Mako 223

What should he look out for? I told to have survey done but prior to that expense is there any O/B tell tale signs of trouble to look for? He wants for island hopping on Maine coast, not so much for fishing.

Thanks,

I had a 19 Mako and loved it. It was a great bay / flats boat but not a dry running boat. That might not work well up north. Mine had a 150 Merc, a 175 on that has got to be WAY under powered unless it has twins. My neighbor has a 201 with T-top, 200 Merc and is lucky to get > 40 MPH.

The late 90's OMC's were generally not of the best quality, however I do have a 150 (Same Block) on my Edgewater that has been fine.

Things to look for are the VRO oil injection. The older VRO was variable 150-50:1 and caused problems. It was replaced with a straight 50:1 and seems to be fine. Neighbor had the magnets on his flywheel come loose and destroy his stator. Another had a broken driveshaft, powerhead to lowerunit.

If the price seems fair, load 4-5 people in it and see if it will get on plane.

Thanks, all good info to consider