I have a chance to buy an older welded aluminum boat very cheap.
It is a 19.6 ft. 8 ft wide beam flat bottom also twin 35 gallon fuel tanks, enclosed bow with access from the deck hatch and in side the cabin. The cabin is enclosed on three sides and open to the stern kind of low and all aluminum. It was a Yukon river boat the cabin looks like a lot of Yukon river boats do. It was used around the minto area, I was told. The trailer works but is well used and rusted,nothing that can't be fixed.
The engine is a 1983 135hp Johnson 2 props and a lower jet drive unit. Runs very good and looks clean under the couling.The age of the engine is the only thing that bothers me.
Should I keep looking or buy it and replace the engine when it is done.
Thanks for the help
Erich
Buy it. Village folk are practical people that know their boats and buy specific ones for a dayum good reason. Dump the Johnson and replace it with a Yamaha 4-stroke in the 75-90-hp range. You don't need a 100+hp engine to push a 20ft flat-bottom to respectable speeds. A 50-60hp would be satisfactory. If you need a little more power to push a heavy load, change the prop to a different pitch.
A riverboat without a cabin is just a miserable place to be during long trips.
