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Boat buying advice

Farmdog

Farmdog

the 'Traveling Can' started here
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Location
Iowa, the one w/o 'taters
I'm thinking of buying a boat. Something used, 18 feet or so, open bow type, mainly for tow the kids on a tube or skis.

What are the things to look for or look out for structurally, motor, drive wise?
 
Pay attention the condition of the floor, transom, the upholstry. Look the hull over for chips in the gel coat or cracks. Start the engine and see how easily it goes in and out of gear. If you are looking at stern drives, you might wanna stay away from omc cobra drives. omc isn't in business anymore and most of my boating friends say that parts are starting to become a pain to find.
 
Get something year 2000 or newer - most boats this vintage will not have any wood in the hull / transom.

Test drive and make sure it runs well up to WOT for an extended period and has good water pressure. Take it to a respected shop to have them look it over and don't forget you need a solid trailer to move it around.

Get the owner to thow in some things like life jackets, skis, ropes, tubes, etc so you don't have to buy them to get on the water and enjoy right away.

Stress cracks in fiberglass are not unusual , don't worry about them but do look for deep cracks particularly around the transom. A couple chips in the gel coat aren't much to wory about - I'd be more worried about the condition of the prop - which should be stainless not aluminum and have no nicks in it or atleast only a fcouple tiny ones (tiny is head of a pin size)

Buy bigger than you think you need and only buy something that has the max HP motor on it - otherwise it will be underpowered and not worth much on resale.

The initial cost of ownership is one thing - the maintenance and accessories / insurance and fuel is what can cost quite a bit on going.
 
you want advise, if you dont like spening lots of money, then dont buy a boat. a boat is not one of those things you cna through in the water and take off in. they require a lot of work and time for upkeep.

also driving a boat is very different from driving a car, for one there is no brake so it will take time to get used to docking and the such. most states require that you have a licence to operate a boat whick is another thing to look into. you must also have insurance and have it registered. most people neglect these costs so i would look into that.

i lover boating and miss it since we sold our boat. the solution is to find people that have boats and become frindes with them and go out with them. it eliminates all of the above.


as far as what to look for. look as maint. schedules. make sure the regular maint. has been preformed. look for major damge to the hull. in boats you will tend to see a lot of spyder cracks that is very common. i agree with most of the above but disagree with some of it.
as far as years, boats, if well maintained will last a long time, specifically hulls. if you are looking to find a good deal i would look at older hulls, that are in excellent condition with newer motors. motors will crap out before the hull does. the motors are what cost hte big money. so i would recomend spending a little more upfront and buy somehting with a relatively new motor even if it is on an older hull.

look for structural damge like spongey floor and rot. specifically look near the stern because that is where the water will pool up. hope this helps i could write for hours but it is time for class. hope this helps a bit.
 
^^^^^ I agree the best advice is to not buy one. you will use it at first and it will sit and lose value afterwards. My boat was the worst purchase we made.

Everybody you know will want to go and won't kick in. It will become just an expense
 
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Ragindiesel said:
^^^^^ I agree the best advice is to not buy one. you will use it at first and it will sit and lose value afterwards. My boat was the worst purchase we made
Click to expand...

See, I'm looking to buy from someone who has already taken it in the shorts. I know I may not use it much so I'm including that into the equation. Please keep it coming.
 
I have an 84 Stingray with an OMC sterndrive. It was a good boat for about four years and then I wrecked a ball gear by not putting the drive in the water completly while launching a skier. $600 later I put it back on the water to test only to find out I sucked water into the block somehow and now the engine siezed. The engine is being rebuilt (maybe not my best decision) to the cost of about $1500. And once I put new plugs, wires, distributer and any other incedentals it will be at least $2000. I say all that to say this: you could get lucky with a used boat or you might go boating for 10min and have it break. The key is regular maintentence, pay to have it winterized, pay someone to service it so that you can just enjoy it when you want to. Oh, and I would buy something at leat 2000 or newer:thumbsup:
 
I have a 93 Chaparral 19' bowrider and love it - its got a soft floor, but it did 4 years ago when we traded for it and its still holding up. it has a 4.3 V6 in it... runs well to this day and has been a blast - will run near 50 mph on calm water with the family and gear.

It seems the basics have been covered in this thread... and if you're buying from a buddy who's had to put lots of $$$ into the boat, and now its running well, then you know what you're getting... really not much to look into.

just remember, the shorter the boat - the rougher the ride on medium to larger lakes.. they just don't cut through waves like the larger boats do.. that is unless you get an older boat with a Deep V hull.. those suckers cut like a knife thru butter.

Outboards are nice because they can be run all year long without having to winterize them... but they do get in the way of having a swim platform or general entry into the boat from the rear..

I love our boat and do'nt regret the purchase one bit... just bought a bimini top for it this week, so going to be able to get out during the middle of the day and not get burned to a crisp!


all we've done to our boat in the years we've had it is get it winterized every winter which includes draining the engine of any water, fogging the cylinders, and changing the lower unit gear oil, changing the engine oil and filter, and 2 new batteries
 
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First I would look to buy a boat that has no wood in the construction.

Wood will rot, and is not a good material for building boats.

I would get as new as you can. I would get at or very near the max HP for the hull. I would also want EFI.

I guess cause I live on the lake, mine gets used alot. I put about 70 hours each year on my boat.
 
I have a tahoe 220 deckboat. If you like room check on a deck boat. My wife and I love ours. You can carry around 12 people and still ski or kneeboard. Mine will run 50 mph with 3 people in the boat. it has a 305 v-8 in it
 
one side point on props. lakes down here way down, buddy lost a lower unit with a SS prop. the repair shop and I told him an aluminum gives more and COULD, could prevent some extensive damage. any opinions on that and if inboard check when bellows changed, boat shop fees are HIGH.
 
I have a 19' deep V aluminium with a 115 hp Mercury OB, it gets up and goes but it's not the greatest on rough water ( too light ) it bounces off of waves at speed a fiberglass boat is heavier and will cut the waves better. My boat is one of my pure pleasures in life, I wouldn't trade it for any thing but another boat. Good luck with your search.
 
I should have a mod close this thread. I found one way to quickly after asking for advise. Only got it in the water three times last fall before getting to the field which was followed by winter. Seems like all I could have wanted though. Go away winter!
 
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