Godfrey SanPan with Mercury 4.3 I/O

[k9trainer]

Hi Folks,
Great site...lots of good info....
My wife and I are looking to buy a 2004 Godfrey SanPan 2500RE. It has a Mercury 4.3 apha1 I/O engine (190hp). Engine has only 50 hours on it...???
Never had a Pontoon before, but have had lots of other boats...

I will take it our for a test run soon. Anybody heard anything about this boat and engine....seems to be rated fairly reliable.???

Thanks for your input...

k9trainer
Lake Roosevelt , WA

[badmoonrising]

Welcome ! The Merc 4.3 and Alpha drive is a very reliable unit. Only drawback is cramped maintenance and you have to winterize if you're in an area that drops below freezing in winter. You'll love it.

[curtiscapk]

Welcome aboard K9.

There are some Godfrey users on the forum, hopefully they will chime in.

Don't forget we love

[dockholiday]

Had a sanpan for over 10 years. Very well constructed, it was a solid boat when I sold it. Much more plush than what I have now. Don't know much about the IO's but have not heard anything bad about the mercs.
doc

[mike]

Welcome to the site! I have heard good things about the SanPan...

[captain kurt]

[quote=
"k9trainer"]2500RE. It has a Mercury 4.3 apha1 I/O engine (190hp).[/quote] I've got the same powertrain.I've been doing alot of reasearch on winterizing,maint, props,ect. just bought the boat in january. Winterizing it was easy.The fuel filter not so bad to get to. Easy access to the oil filter. I got alot of feed back on the 4.3 and Alpha 1 All good.I enjoy doing all my own maint. You can pay someone to winterize it runs arround $ 250. It's running on a 2001 Permier 250 RE magestic 25 ft Tritoon. Can't wait to launch it soon. Let us know how it feels.Check WOT out W/RPM

[mass toon]

My thought, will it be lower in the water because it has a heavier engine? If so be careful about prop damage. Depth gauge might help? Good luck, Sanpan's great

[buddy19520]

SanPan is part of Godfrey group - Aqua Patio, PartiKraft, Sweetwater and SanPan are the tin boats, and they have a bunch of glass boats too. I've generally thought that they were a well built boat, and should last you many years.

The 4.3 is the same engine that I had in a 1995 Mariah bowrider. I did not have an hour meter, but I know that I put a lot of hours on it. My idea of boating is to launch, drive for two hours and retrieve the boat. Not a lot of sitting around when you are in an 18' pointy nose boat! I had no problems with the engine with one exception - the gimbal ring. If you test the boat, and the steering has a lot of slop, that is one sign of a worn gimbal ring. It cost me about $1800 five years ago to get it fixed. Good thing about the engine is that it is basically a car engine, so most guys feel okay working on it. Props are easy to find. You should also have power steering standard - it makes the boat much easier to steer at higher speeds (over 20/25 mph).

Fifty hours is nothing on an '04. I have an '07 outboard and have about 170 hours on it.

Sounds like a good boat if the price is right.

Philip

PS - In North Carolina, we get sub-freezing weather but it usually warms up during the day. During the four years I had the boat on a lift at the lake, I never winterized. I could take the boat out on those nice 50 or 60 degree days that came up throughout the winter. I would keep two drop lights burning and never had a problem. Keep two lights going in case one burns out.