hey thanks for all the info!
i actually am talking to a guy about trading for his mako with a little work on it. I am new to all of it, and the mako seems to suit my needs (purely rec).
any more advice on what to look for?
Examine the edges of the o-ring grooves very carefully as they are easily nicked and damaged and when that occurs leaks can occur. That is probably the major weakness with the Mako. It can all be fixed but new nose cones, mid bodies and aft sections all cast about $180 each and it can get expensive fast.
DPV repair does excellent work on them, but a basic rebuild is around $400, motor winds are about $400 so it is not impossible to spend $1000-$1200 to totally refurbish one. But if you go that route, it will run faster and better than a new one from Oceanic costing twice that amount.
But while most Makos seem to get listed in the $700-800 range, condition is everything and a scooter in that price range can be a steel or be a really bad investment. Unfortunately they almost never sell for less than that even in poor condition and at the other extreme, it is hard to get more than that out of one that has been rebuilt and upgraded.
Stock Makos have a dual reed arrangement and if one fails it may still work but performance can suffer. Some Makos have been modifed with dual relays for higher reliability in tech applications. I have one of each and I am not sure it really makes a difference.
I have heard the motor compartment is good to around 400', which is good news as if it floods the water will rust the shaft and armature and that gets expensive. Check to be sure the motor/propeller turns freely and check to ensure the propeller blades track straight and are not rubbing on the shroud. When you press the trigger, the prop should spin up with virtually no vibration - if they do the shaft is probably bent.
The stock mako clutch is good for about one stoppage and many have been upgraded with a aluminum/delrin clutch that is much more durable and that is pretty much a must have item with the hotter 1000rpm motor wind. Anderson connectors on the leads between battery and motor are also desireable on a hot wound motor as an extended run with full prop pitch can cause the stock connectors to heat and melt.
Most Makos are stored standing on the shroud which works fine provided 1) there is no water in the motor compartment (if there is, it will pool in the shaft/bearing area and quickly rust it, and 2) the surface is flat and not pressing up on the proppeller hub. Many people store makos on their sides and the downsides there are that it puts more stress on the battery holders, and you have to have a cradle of some sort to prevent the scooter from sitting on the shroud and over time deforming it out of round. So you pretty much have to pick your poison.
If you get one, invest in the neoprene cover from DPV repair. It will protect the o-ring grooves and gives you some more buoyancy and trim options. Ideally your scooter should be very slightly buoyant at the surface and neutral at depth and float more or less in a level attitude. There are several battery options available from various suppliers and the batteries it has make a slight difference in run time, but can have a large impact on buoyancy and trim. Due to the variosu battery possibilities, some makos are negative in fresh water and neutral in sea water with no weight, some may require 5 lbs of lead to get neutral in freshwater and aboiut 1.5 pounds more in sea water. The good news is that batteries are comparatively cheap and available everywhere.
A well tuned Mako with a hot wound motor will keep up with anything else out there to the limts of the battery (perhaps 40-50 minutes continuous on full pitch, a bit over an hour with intermittent use or if you step the pitch down to 6 or 7, and it is fairly easy to maneuver - not as agile as the X scooter, about on par with an N19 and easier to maneuver than any of the heavier long body scooters.
The angle of the handles on the older Tekna scooters are more comfortable for extended runs so if you can find one, retrofit it to your Mako. But even then the N19, X-scooter, etc have grips with 90 degree angles that are much more comfortable and offer a bit more leverage, but with a properly adjusted tow harness it is not a major limitation. I don't know anyone who still uses them two handed as they are far more fun and easier to use with a tow harness.
Makos are used less often in tech diving now due to the 180'-200' depth limit, the care needed to prevent damage to the o-ring grooves and the availability of scooters with larger battery capacity and/or newer (and really expensive) battery technology offerring longer run times, but they are still a very capable scooter when properly set up and they are a lot less expensive than the newer designs that are available.
no knockoffs
