Need some advice on a boat. I am looking for a 17 foot Open Bow fun/ski boat. I found a nice Donzi with an OMC motor and Cobra outdrive. I know Merc Cruiser I/Os are good, but don't know about the OMC/Cobra. Does anybody know anything about them?

Boats I was out this weekend with Pete Melvin on his 22ft power Cat twin 55hp hondas nice boat.
I was bugging him to get me hooked up on the really cool boat he and Gino designed.
http://www.morrellimelvin.com/page52.html

On any boat,,,I would consider how close and friendly the dealer or the parts person is....nothing worse than needing a part that the local guy has to order. Typically boats get looked at the day or two before the trip and a screwed up part stops you in your tracks.

OMC has been around for awhile....but I have no stories or BTDT on Cobra.

I like Merc outboards and stern drives....will never buy another Mariner...even though Merc makes them.

You never have too much power. Always get a boat big enuff for friends and when they go with you tell them up front...the ride comes with clean up chores at the end....no helpee washee, no next tripeee tickeee....

OMC had some financial problems awhile back. I don't know the outcome, but I read that OMC was buying some of their engines from Suzuki Motor Corp.

OMC , Volvo/Penta and Merc were all good drives.

Treat it like you would any used car buy. Get the best deal and if from a dealer get him to warrenty the engine and drive for 2 seasons.

How many hrs on the power plant?

How long has it been sitting?

Check the gel coat for spider cracks. These can weep water into the hull.

Service records?

If it has been sitting on a trailer, check under where the rollers contact the hull. You can check this when you take it out for a test drive and if goes on/off the trailer. Check for cracks. If the boat is too heavy for the rollers there will be marks (cracks) in the gel coat.

Private sale? Go to the dealer who serviced it to see what was done and if there is/was any problems with it.

Engine....have your mechanic to a compression test on it. See if it is within specs.

I have an 1987 Century Mercruiser I/O and have not been stranded once in it. The OMC/Cobra combo is forgein to me as I have never worked on one but I would suggest the forums at iBoats.com before you buy anything. They tend to have info about the little common problems that a seller or dealer will never tell you about. What year is the boat you are looking at? Nothing depreciates faster than a boat so I would recommend against buying a new on the lot one, unless you are one of those "gotta have it new" types. If you are looking for a fish/ski I would look at Sea Ray and Four Winns first, Chapparal second, everything else third, and Bayliner last. They have had some "thin glass" issues that are epic on some of the forums. If you are going for a ski/family fun boat you can't beat a Malibu for value to build quality.

OMC - ( Johnson, evinrude, mariner, OMC, who knows what else ) went tits up---havent heard anything about a restructure---

Buy a water squirter.....jet boat....nothing to really go wrong 'cept when you loose power you have no steering, but what the heck

('79 Bahner Squirter w/650 HP Big Block...varoooom)

I own and maintain a 95 20' Sea ray bowrider with a TB injected small block chevy and mercruser Brovo I/O. We dock it up at lake Arrowhead and run it over 100 hours a year. If you are going to use the thing, do your homework and get something you can have fun and worth maintaining. A low profile or "deadrise" V hull is not much fun in lake chop. ( maybe if it's got a hemi)

Mercruser Alpha's are good -BrovoI and II have external water pickup pumps - easy change out of the rubber pump impeller every 100 hours.

An engine in a boat is constently under a load- like always driving you car uphill.

My Buddy Rob Jonson owns a 17 foot Donzi - I will ask him. I would not own an OMC as I heard parts are NLA or expensive. Call your local marine service and ask. Remember, no salt water, and look for total hours. Outdrives are expensive like 5,000.00 bucks. Look at the gear oil in the outdrive- drain some and see if it's milky then run! The Cobra engines in OMC I believe are based on a Ford small block.

Boats are a pain in the ass to work on and can be a money pit- you think we have isues with teeners...DH

We have a 19Ft VIP Victory Deck boat similar to what you have described.
Open bow/walk thru design. It's powered by a OMC-4.3 - V6 coupled to a OMC Cobra outdrive. Bought it used & we've had it for years. No problems whatsoever.
The OMC 4.3 V-6 is essentially a Chevy engine with a different p/n crank & cam than you would find in your chevy blazer. That's because the marine version makes it's torque from way down at 1500 rpm's up to about 4k to deal with water resistance.
We've heard all of the sayings. Second happiest day is when you buy your first boat. 1st happiest day is when you sell your boat...
Don't believe a word of it. I say the second happiest day is when you buy your first boat and the 1st of many happy, fun, relaxing, skiing, tubing, fishing, exploring days you'll have on your boat. And if you have kids - it's even better. Great family fun.
Go 4 it!!!

I agree that Malibu boats are a great fun/ski/pleasure boat. My '98 sportster has been a great boat, (once i finally got the carb rebuilt correctly, it only took 3 tries cause the p.o. never put a fuel filter on it.)
GM 350, weber(carter, edelbrock,quadrajet,all basically the same) carberator, parts are plentiful.
Before i got mine, i would go out with a friend in his glasstron '17. Great boat, till the out drive tore up. My opinion is the fewer moving parts, the better, that's why i like the inboard.

donzi's are cool, but i remember hearing something from an owner about swamping while reversing. transom cuts into the water. check it out