Motor help

[PHIL]

Hey guys. I'm looking to buy a 2003 Sea hunt C.C. with an Evinrude 225 ficht outboard with about 250 hours on it. Motor is also a 2003. I had the serial # run at a marina , and came back with no warranty claims. Just a little concerned about the ficht motor with the earlier issues. I know since Bombardier bought them it was an improvement, but should I be concerned with this motor at all?  

[Hunter 2]

Maritime Matt is the guy for your question. He knows all about this subject.  He owns Task Marine

[Maritime Matt]

Phil,
This motor should be a Bombardier Evinrude Ficht. One thing is the computers for these motors, if they need replacement, must be sent out for repair/rebuild and they are quite expensive. Don't hold me to this but I remember $800-#$1000. Spark Plugs are quite expensive as well and must be installed correctly. These motors are hit and miss. Keep in mind they are what put OMC out of business,although Bombardier may have tweaked them some what. Many dealers will not work on them. We do. I just serviced a 175 the same year and sea trialed it. Almost could not tell it was a 2 stroke. Do your homework on the net and do not purchase it without a Seatrial and check out. Keep in mind as well the cost to replace that motor if it goes, in other words buy it at the right price.
Matt

[PHIL]

Ok. Thanks Matt. I did a sea trial and it ran great. It's smooth and is fairly quiet. It has 260 hours on it, and I ran the serial # at my friends marina. It came back with no warranty work done to it. With that being said, it seems to have had no problems up until now. So many mixed reviews on these motors it's driving me nuts. I'm going to purchase this boat and hope nothing goes wrong. Thanks for your input.

[wb]

lots of reading on that subject here-

Boating Forum

the embedded search function is not so good, but if you use Google to search just that forum it works pretty good

[Andys Delight]

I have done alot of reading up on the Ficht's when I was looking at one as a possible replacement for an older boat.  The EMM's are notorious for overheating.  It's imperative you keep your cooling lines to the EMM clear of debris.  If it goes it's gonna be costly.  Then again what isn't these days on an outboard.  I have an HPDI and generally speaking if you so much as fart in its direction it will cost a grand to fix.  From all that I've read up on Fichts, most agreed that if the computer didn't go early on then it wouldn't later on.  The problem is it's hard to find mechanics that work on them. 

Here's a good thread illustrating the hate for Fichts along with many owners who swear by them.  Keep in mind Ficht's are a real bear on resale value, and you should be getting a solid discount if you do decide to but the boat.

http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/402267-evinrude-ficht-outboards.html