Older Makos

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BoatCrazy

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Hey Guys

As the search continues for a new used boat, I have come across an older 25ft Mako, Its an early 70s hull with a much newer motor.

I know to look for soft spots in the floor, hatches and transom. Anything else to look for with these older Makos?

Are they any good? How do they ride?
 
Water saturation of the floatation foam was a big issue with 70's era Mako's. Weight the boat and compare to manufactures published weight. Also if you see a constant drip/discharge of water from the hull drain plug, that would be a clue
 
I have a 1976 20' center console that was in terrible condition. I took up the floor to remove the rotted out gas tank. I removed all the water logged styrene foam. Checked the condition of the stringers, built new bulkheads, had a gas tank made, replaced the floor and fiber glassed in the console. It's a great riding boat, but it took almost the whole winter to get it into decent shape. The hulls are bullet proof and my transom was solid. There is a lot of teak trim on them, so be ready for the maintenance of it. I've had it for four years now and love it.

One other thing, if the floors are the off white/yellow, it gets very hot.

Good luck,

Billy K.
 
The only thing that comes to mind is, I recall looking at a friend's outboard version of an older Mako 25 and noting with the twin 150 hp 2-strokes the scuppers at the transom were very low and relied on Ping-Pong valves that were leaking. There was also a very bizarre mish-mash of all-PVC(!) plumbing under the sole near the transom that was supposed there to incomprehensibly deal with the various cockpit drains back there. It looked like that plumbing may(??) have been Mako original (but I have no way of knowing if that was the case), and it looked like a sinking waiting to happen. And in fact I learned that boat had sunk at the dock at least 3 times over the years.
I don't recall just how old that boat was, but believe it was '80s or possibly quite earlier.
 
+1 on Sandy's pvc worries. My Mako had two live bait wells that I removed the pvc and made into storage compartments. I filled in and glassed over the the thru hulls. Definitely something to check out.

Billy K.
 
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