I am looking to buy this boat.  It's a 1975 Larson 1500 Saber and has what I think is a mid-80's 50hp Merc outboard.  Couple of questions. 1)  Does anyone have or have had this kind of boat and if so, how do you rate it's overall performance?  2)  The seller says that he just bought a new battery for it and that the carbs were overhauled last year and that the fuel pump is new.  He said that it had been running fine, but when he recently tried to start it, he heard a clicking noise and couldn't get it to turn over.  What might be the problem with the motor?

With what little info. you have so far, I'd guess that he probably has either a dead battery or a bad battery/starter/solenoid connection. These can cause a repetitive clicking sound when you turn the key. I'd start there and try to get a good deal on the boat as is. But then again, the owner may know this already, and may just not want you to hear the boat run at all. Buying a boat can be a very bad experience if it's not checked over carefully and knowing what things to look for. If it were me, and the boat weren't an absolute steal and if you're not a serious boat expert, I'd try to get the owner to agree to have it checked out at a local marine dealer and run a compression test, check lower unit fluids, tilt/trim fluids, etc. I'd say in 80% of boat deals, this could save a tremendous amount of money and hardship.

By the way, 50HP sounds pretty sketchy when you're talking about a boat that probably weighs about 1400-1600 lbs.  I'd say at least an 85HP would be more suited to that hulls needs.  See if you can find an outboard size reccomendation tag on the interior of the boat anywhere.

I had an older Merc 50 and when the starter went it made a single click when I turned the key. The battery and solenoid were still good thus the click. Not sure if it is a reptitive clicking. You can probably get the starter rebuilt for around $65 if that is it. If you don't mind me asking what are we talking about for a price tag on this vessle? I think you need to be leary of any used boat and particularly so for one that is 31 years old. As fireandice said it would be a good idea to have a marine mechanic look at this outboard. I have trouble getting excited about buying things that don't work and boats that start out real cheap sometimes don't stay that way.  I certainly don't want to rain on your parade, but I do want to make you step back, take a deep breath and think before you leap. Buying a used boat can be an incredible experience...it can also be a real nightmare.

Sounds like a starter and I agree, a 50hp motor is probably too small for that boat. It's very heavy. I wouldn't expect very robust performance out of that boat for sure.

Thanks for the replies guys.  I ended up passing on the boat and buying another one.  Instead, I bought a 16-foot, 1975 Lund trifoil with a 1990, 85 hp Suzuki 2-stroke.  The guy fired the motor up and it sounded, well, like a Suzuki motorcycle, and loud.  Sounded pretty good though.  He recently installed new aluminum heads.  The boat is much wider than the Larson and came equipped with 4 fold down seats and other fishing extras.  My wifes a little nervous because the boat is a little ugly and has some cosmetic blemishes here and there.  Otherwise, the hull is in good shape and the motor is running well.  I would like to patch all the little screw holes in the interior fiberglass and fill in the interior gelcoat cracks and then repaint the boat.  How hard is it to do that stuff, or should I take it into a boat repair place?    

Thanks for the replies guys.  I ended up passing on the boat and buying another one.  Instead, I bought a 16-foot, 1975 Lund trifoil with a 1990, 85 hp Suzuki 2-stroke.  The guy fired the motor up and it sounded, well, like a Suzuki motorcycle, and loud.  Sounded pretty good though.  He recently installed new aluminum heads.  The boat is much wider than the Larson and came equipped with 4 fold down seats and other fishing extras.  My wifes a little nervous because the boat is a little ugly and has some cosmetic blemishes here and there.  Otherwise, the hull is in good shape and the motor is running well.  I would like to patch all the little screw holes in the interior fiberglass and fill in the interior gelcoat cracks and then repaint the boat.  How hard is it to do that stuff, or should I take it into a boat repair place?    

Do it yourself, a fiberglass place will charge you an arm and a leg.  I'd suggest going to

www.iboats.com and go to the forums and register.  There is a specific board there for restorations with people who will help,  and that forum is heavily weighed towards people with runabouts like you've just bought. Good luck.