1987 21b Marathon OMC 43 IO

"Thanks to all that offered ad

"Thanks to all that offered advice on the boat. I do have a couple more questions being new and all, if it's ok. How much maintainance is involved, let's say year to year and aprox. cost in parts. Also, what are the things to look for to head off trouble. And, after looking at the cost of some of these parts, WOW.....am I or could I be biting off more than I could chew, getting in over my head. Like I said before I've been around old junky boats forever, 99%outboards and a few inboards. But I'd like to get something that I can enjoy. I don't mine getting dirty and I am mechanically inclined....but I've heard horror stories concerning outdrives, especially from commercial waterman. Now that said, a commercial guy is going to be way way WAY harder on equipment than most any pleasure boater/fisherman. Cars, trucks, boats anything mechanical has to be serviced and taken care of, I know that.
DO outdrives such as OMC last, are they considered dependable? More or less than an outboard or inboard? Are they a heavy maintainance item?

Any other advice or comments are appreciated.

Thanks, Mike "

"Boy I sure hope I get some op

"Boy I sure hope I get some opinions and avice here. I like this boat alot but, like I state above I am a newbie as far as outdrives go.

Couple more questions:
U-joint life, inspection, when, how, sevice life?
Gimbal Bearing- What is it and replacement frequency?
Is the "interrupt" for shifting really neccessary and if so, why?

No need to be specific on details or anything like that, I'm looking for opinions and experiences, etc.

Thanks,
Mike"

"Congrats on the "New to Y

"Congrats on the "New to You" boat Mike!
Please try and get yourself an original OMC factory manual for it, check eBay often.
Also refer to this link, Stuart has written a ton of good info about the Cobra and some of the shifting issue's and adjustments plus other tips, print this off if you can. http://www.hastings.org/~stuart/cobra/

Most pull their drive each year and check/grease the u-joints and inspect the gimbal (gease it as well but drive doesn't have to be off for that) and check engine alignment. The gimbal basically supports your drive shaft between the drive and the coupler on the engine.

The ESA (electronic shift assist) really helps for shifting out of gear. The gears get locked together and they are hard to separate but the sudden drop in RPM takes the load and then they come apart much easier, also keep your RPM's at idle as low as you can 600-650.

You will get different opinions on the OMC Cobra but most will agree it's a very good drive if properly maintained."

"Thanks for link!
BTW I have

"Thanks for link!
BTW I have not yet bought the boat. I am however able to do that now. I just want to do as much research as possible and find out what I am getting myself into before I jump in with both feet.
Thanks,
Mike"

"Ok...sorry if I was a bit pre

"Ok...sorry if I was a bit premature, guess I remembered your earlier post about this boat and I just assumed you went and bought it. Let us know if you have any more questions!"