Any opinions on this?

[Lootas1]

Mildly considering a mini-house boat with a Volvo Penta AQ130, outdrive Volvo 280. 125hp 4 cyl gas. Had only one I/O boat in the past that had a 350 engine and a Volvo Penta outdrive. This little job is in a 16 Cruise 'N' Camp boat which I think could be fun to run the rest of the summer until Rosario gets a solid transom. Owner says it runs great in a 1975 boat. Thoughts?

[ChuckB]

Jerry: Cant't beat the engine/outdrive combo. Got pic's?

[McSkagit Tim Jones]

Volvo AQ130

Jerry,
Is this a push rod engine or overhead cam? All the push rod engines are raw water cooled. The overhead cam engines use fresh water cooling because of aluminum cyl. head. Pretty good engines and good economy.

280 drive is very good. Prefer to have hydraulic trim and tilt as opposed to electro-mechanical drive tilt which can be problematic.

Good luck....
Tim

[Lootas1]

Not much in the way of pics. I was thinking of getting a boat to use for crabbing and fishing the rest of the summer since Rosario is waiting for a new transom. Came across this funky rig on Bellingham craigslist. I thought it would work great for us and we'd sell it in the spring when Rosario was ready to go again. Becky says "no way". Thinks she knows I just might find it too much fun to part with so here's the link if anyone else is as crazy as I.

http://bellingham.craigslist.org/boa/2522086963.html

[Lootas1]

Thanks Tim. I know almost nothing about the engine. I sent email to the owner and he said it is a great little boat. That's about all I know about it except what you can see from the two pics. Not too far from you by ferry. Maybe it would make a nice dinghy for the Saratogan

[Skagitguy]

Jerry, I agree with Becky ! Get Rosario fixed and let someone else maybe have the problems. Why don't you buy Marty's 8foot Achilles. You would be miles ahead on the purchase price. Chuck

[Lootas1]

Aw, common Chuck. That Cruise 'N' Camp would be just the thing to take to Chelan. We could sleep aboard with the dog and still have room. The Achilles would be great but I fixed up an old dinghy this summer and I sold off all my small outboards. Have had two inflatables in the past and they were a lot of work to inflate, deflate, transport, etc.