Purchasing first Hurricane Preowned

m0nicasage

We are purchasing a pre-owned 2011 Hurricane Sundeck 201 I/O . It does not have a fishing package. When we purchase it can we take it to an authorized Hurricane dealer and have fishing seats installed and possibly a livewell also? Also, we have only used and owned outboard engines as well. How difficult is it to maintain and use an I/O? Sorry so vague... LOL... Thanks in advance... Pam

cjjjdeck

Welcome to the forum!  And congratulations in becoming a Hurricane Owner!

The SS201 is a great boat, especially with the larger bow deck area which makes it great for fishing.

Most dealers should have no problem installing the seats.  I believe the livewell location from the factory is the small storage area in the step up/down area located at the bow.  Many people use this as a cooler when not functioning as a livewell.  I know it is hard to access that area as many things are installed before the upper deck and hull are finally assembled.  Although a dealer might do the install for you, you may want to consider using a portable livewell as a less costly option.

As far as the I/O goes, you service it at the same intervals as an outboard.  If you're in an area that has freezing winters, there is a winterizing process you must go through to make sure all water is removed from the cooling system and the drive lubrication is usually changed at this time as well to make sure there was no water intrusion into the drive.  Also, every year you need to inspect the bellows, a seal between the engine drive and the transom, to make sure it is not dried out or cracked.  I/O systems have a device called a "gimbal bearing" that stabilizes your engine and drive that outboards don't have.  This bearing needs to be lubricated every season and inspected and/or re-aligned and/or replaced every few years.  Since you are just buying the boat and it's 4 years old, I would make sure someone qualified does an thorough inspection of it (and the rest of the boat as well!).

I have owned both propulsion systems and don't have a strong preference of one over the other.  I do like a few benefits of the I/O, like:

Being able to have easier access to systems under the deck due to a large hatch cover opening (ex: Engine components, bilge pump, fuel system, transducer, batteries, fresh water system, livewell pump, etc.)

Full length swim platform (great for watersports/toys

Usually reduced engine noise (but I've heard some pretty quiet outboards)

Hope this helps!

m0nicasage

Thank you for your response.  

cjjjdeck

Quite welcome!

When you get your boat, be sure to go to the thread

"Love your Hurricane?  Then show it off....." 

at the top of the forum page and post some pictures!

m0nicasage

Had the motor checked at an authorized Mercury dealer!  The motor had only 89 hours instead of the the 150 the owner thought.  It is amazing to sit down and go over the fault codes the engine exhibited throughout its life.  Every alarm, shutdown, and battery issue was recorded.  RPM's were divided into the number of hours the engine was ran at.  So glad we had it inspected!  Well worth the money, and piece of mind.