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Hey All, 1st post here!

Early spring I purchased a 1997 Outrage 20 Crosstackle with a beautiful Jade Green hull and original 1996 Merc 200 EFI. This color was a factory option but the original owner had the white hull Awl-gripped.

This was a sporadic Craigslist buy after being boatless for several years. This is my 2nd Whaler, 1st was a 1986 Montauk which I loved. That was a dry comfortable boat even in seas I shouldn't have been out in.

My thoughts so far on the Outrage 20:
- The ride is super comfortable. It's not a dry ride through, not like my previous classic Montauk.
- With the comfortable ride, it handles heavy, the steering response seems slow for a 20 footer.
- The 200HP Merc EFI runs great but planning in anything but calm seas requires a lot of throttle with 2 adults and 2 kids on board. It feels underpowered. I wonder if a different prop might help? It currently has the original aluminum merc prop. Maybe a better prop would improve steering response too?
- This is my 1st boat with hydraulic steering. Thanks to Google I figured out how to bleed it and now it's feels great. A ratchet strap to hold the motor in place and long piece of tubing leading back to the console make it an easy 1 person job.
- The cockpit self bailing drains lead out horizontally, not downward. With 2 or more adults at the stern on the same side water enters and begins filling the bait boxes in the floor. The pump empty's these in less than 5 minutes but it requires everyone on board to spread out a bit so the drains sit above the waterline.
- Because of the cockpit drain system I'm uneasy about leaving this boat moored unattended for any duration of time. I've read other online posts regarding folks taking on water in heavy rains.
- The electronics on this thing are awesome. The 20yr old Furuno GPS is amazing. This was big $$$ back then and way ahead of its time. Takes mere seconds to acquire a signal and the processor is faster than current "affordable" units from Raymarine and such.
- Filling it with fuel is a challenge. Filling on the trailer requires carefully choosing a pump where the ground is level and definitely not pointing down a slope. A few degrees down in the bow and I can't get it more than half full without fuel dumping out the vent. Also when trailering down slopes I've watched fuel dumping out the vent. I'm wondering if something is wrong here?

One oddity I'm trying to figure out is the Sureflo pump in the console. It appears to be a washdown pump but searching around it it appears BW calls this a sump pump. It's currently inoperable but I plan to replace it. I'm curious to know where the 2 hoses leading into the tunnel go? There is a through hull strainer on the port side in the stern, could this be the exit? Maybe for pushing water in the forward portion of the hull out the throughhull if gravity can't move it into the sump?

If anyone has experience with one of these boats I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks,
Steve

(please follow guideline #1 at the top of this page and use the full 4 digit year)