good or bad ficht evinrude motor

against the wind

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hello all.. can anymore share their opinion on a 2000 ficht evinrude outboard.. im getting mixed reviews about these motor.. thanks
 

billyttpd

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Ive never heard anything good about a FICHT motor. I had one experience with one on a friends boat. We had to drop anchor on the Maurice River to keep from drifting into the NJ State Police dock. Electronic issues. After a mosquito rich rest on the hook we were able to fire the motor and limp the remaining 3/4 mile the dock. He had it repaired and the bill wasn't cheap. Apparently you can now spend some coin on a sensor overhaul but it isn't cheap and when done the motor should run a lot better.
A friend who rigged boats at Enos Marine in Gloucester MA (Honda dealer) said when the FICHT came out weeks later they figured what it was an acronym for, First In Channel Hailing Tow.
 

seasick

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Some motors have great reputations for reliability and longevity. That one isn't on the list.
 

Finest Kind

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I put a pair of 175 FICHT's on my boat when I first re-powered from the original 200 Evinrude carbed motors...not a good experience.
Quality control was spotty during the time they were made. Had a blown lower unit on one motor and blown powerhead on the other within the first couple of years. Got disgusted and repowered again in 2007 to the ETEC's (basically a revised upgraded version of the FICHT with the bugs worked out) and have been VERY pleased...1500 hours on them so far without any issues and still running great.

However, IMO if that year 2000 FICHT is still running and has at least a few hundred hours on it, it's one of the good ones. It will probably be good to go for many years further if you use the Evinrude XD50 (or XD100 for maximum protection) oil ONLY, and do your routine maintenance religiously.
 

against the wind

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thank u guys for ur input i appreciate it... the reason why i was asking was ,i am in the market for a 97 -2000 208 adventure ideally with a yamaha or honda on her. I found one by owner but it had the ficht motor on it. i knew the earlier years had problems, but i thought by 2000 they worked it out.. the owner is asking 13,500 for a 1998 with hardtop and trailor :hmm :hmm
 

Finest Kind

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against the wind said:
thank u guys for ur input i appreciate it... the reason why i was asking was ,i am in the market for a 97 -2000 208 adventure ideally with a yamaha or honda on her. I found one by owner but it had the ficht motor on it. i knew the earlier years had problems, but i thought by 2000 they worked it out.. the owner is asking 13,500 for a 1998 with hardtop and trailor :hmm :hmm

Go to the Bank, withdraw $12,500 cash and go see the man with cash in pocket.
Tell him you are interested in the boat but can't pay more than 12.5K because you are worried about the bad rep of the Ficht....
When he sees you are serious and have the cash ready for him he won't let you walk, especially if that boat has been up for sale a while already.

Now you just saved $1000 to help pay for any potential repair expenses the Ficht MIGHT cause down the road...but as stated before, it probably will be fine.
 

Harpoon

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I would consdider that boat to have "no-motor". Also consider the 3-4 hours it will take to remove it and sell for parts.