Bozeman Bob

Upon further review I looked it up in Buffalo and it auto searched other areas , so it might be in the Finger Lakes /Syracuse/Rochester listings. If possible you want to run a 4" heat exchanger. They are good motors but cant take overheating like a complete cast iron engine. Convert the points as well to a petronix system if not done already,well worth the 125.00 to be done with points.

 There is one in Canindagua sp ,asking 695.00 was listed on Craigslist Buffalo might be in other areas on CL ,in Boat Parts section. I would go that route before dropping 1500 + for a rebuild. The outdrive water impellers should be religiously changed every two years on those motors. As noted ,aluminum head on cast iron block plus overheating that setup is a disaster waiting to happen. Probaly get it for 550-6 at the most.

Google the make and model, specs will show up and the owners manual as well, which also list the capacities. Fish307.com also has a listing with manuals as well.

Patience Grasshopper , took us 8 months before we found the right one. Don't rush it and just settle on one because your tired of looking, which should be 1/2 the fun of it anyway. iboats/yachttrader/boattrader/google/craigs. [which I used to search from New England to Chicago, Detroit had some decent boats last year.]..something will pop up in your price range.

I have seen fresh water engines come apart just as quickly as salt water do. All the surveyors I have dealt with inspect everything but the engine. They leave that to mechanics at your expense to look it over. There is no guarantee they can find everything ,its a educated crapshoot. Who is to say a timing chain isn't on its last breath or a piston ring isn't ready to grenade ? If your searching for the ultimate deal make sure you have saved enough on the deal to be able to replace the engine in the near future and if you don't your more ahead of the curve. Sorry to hear some have had bad results with saltys but I see a whole lot of them being used as charter boats.

Is it a inboard or I/O ? If inboard it could be your cutless bearing which is basically a plastic sleave that goes in your strut and the drive shaft rides on it. If I/0 it could be your universal joint. If you haven't hit anything or there are no noticeable dings on your prop I would pretty much rule the prop out.

www.thehulltruth.com

I would say your only issue is that you probably will be replacing the engine in a few years unless itis a newer one that was designed for salt water use and it was religiously flushed after every use. I would not be worried about the wiring, trim tabs or actual hull. What size/ make of boat and engine ???? To some of the post above, most salt inboards are closed cooling and the actual block is fine running in salt, the exhaust manifolds are replaced every 5 years or so vs 15-20 on fresh water. If it is a open system expect to replace the engine. I bought a salty last year and have had no issues and was about 17,000-20,000 less than what I would of paid if it was a freshy. I could replace both drivelines all the wiring and still be ahead. I would do it again and it was surveyed.

Have you considered the Trojan F32 listed on here. The price point is there, fresh engines , fully rigged and room for your family to spend weekends on. Yes its a older boat but fresh water all its life and the gel coat may be in very good condition, hard to tell from the pictures. Sure would leave you with gas and storage money being way under budget. Don't think your going to find anything [ Tiara-Amberjack] in the 2000's with your budget. Just a thought and it can't hurt to take a look at it.

You should pull the outdrive and run your fingers all around the bellows feeling and prodding for any cracks in it. You can do a little bit of the same on the outside with the dive on, but you really should pull it and inspect it from the inside out. There is a small chance the your shift bellows let go and is dumping water into your main chamber. At any rate the water in there will wash the grease out of your gimbal bearing and wreck your U joints. No there is no vent holes , only grease fittings. Many people store them in the winter with the drive up, that is a no no as it puts undue pressure on one side of the bellows while it freezes, resulting in premature cracking of the bellows.

Take the sol off and have a your local auto repair shop check it. If it is the motor I have two complete working used ones from your era and would sell you one very reasonable. I am running straight inboards now so there just sitting there collecting dust.

The two big post opposite each other are your hot wires that you want to jump. I would just go to NAPA / Auto Zone etc with the old solenoid after marking the wires or just looking at the picture you posted and buy a new one for 15-20.00 and be done with it. Its not a special solenoid just a regular one they used in older cars all the time. Take your hot lead off first,the red cable from the battery and put that on last after wiring up the new solenoid.  I am 99% sure that is your issue and you probably have spent a lot more on lures that are collecting crud in your tackle box if I am wrong.  There is nothing wrong with having a backup if nothing else .

All your up and down power comes from the pump. The other wires are probably for a tilt indicator and have nothing to do with the operation of the pump. You can put 12 volts directly to the pump to make sure that's not the issue. Sounds to me like your solenoid is shot,you can bypass that by putting 12 volts to the other side of where the hot wire connects to verify if it is the solenoid. Basically taking the solenoid out of the loop.

I know a guy that keeps his 31 Tiara in Erie Pa. and is selling it. Boat was set up and kept on Ontario until he moved it two years ago to be closer to his home. Has not posted it for sale anywhere that I am aware of,not in a hurry to move it. PM me if you want his info

Most boats that size,27-30' with twin 350 inboards get 1 mpg to 1.2 mpg for both engines at cruise.

Unless your bellows has a tear in it and let water wash the grease out of the U joint there is no reason for it to be bad. I agree with the above post,the marina should stand behind there work and if you cant replace it yourself then pull the lower unit off and take the drive to a auto repair place ,they can stick a new one in less than a hour and NAPA probably has them in stock.

Put the sub troll at 3 -6 ft and compare your speeds if your asking if it reading correctly.

www.yachtsurvey.com

Blackfin Combi 29 is also near the top of my hit list if you want a bad ass ride, that does both fairly well. The boats I mentioned are more fish machines vs lets make Momma happy and get some glitter. If your going that route then the Tiara is what I would zero in on.

Also Luhrs makes a 29 Open . Carolina Classic has a 28 not sure what it jumps to after that.

Late 90's early 2000's are going for 35-45 grand and from what I have seen of the 2000's they are a lot more cruiser than fisher.The stern area is more for lounging than battling. For that kind of money I would be looking at a Tiara 29 Open and more than likely it will be a saltwater boat. The 29 Opens are as scarce as hens teeth on the Great Lakes. A good survey should eliminate any fears of salt water. Usually the exhaust manifolds will have to be replaced and other than that I wouldn't worry about a boat from saltwater as there almost always a closed cooling system and straight inboards. I usually go to Hudson Valley on craigslist and search the 60 or so surrounding areas and come up with quite a few of them. Blackwatch, Alberemarle, Henriques, Ramapage, Topaz and Bertram also come to mind.

Ended up at Charter Lakes, [Great Lakes Charter Ins.] 597 for the year and it is for Charter boats 1st year they will max you out at 300,000 for liability and 300,000 for and that number will go up with your years of chartering experience moves along. 950,000 for pollution, 300,000 for Uninsured Boater, 2500 for towing 25,000 for medical 20,000 on the hull. A few companies didn't want to touch a charter boat. 1,2 or 3 payments.

What type of boat and size motor do you have,just curious why your quote is almost 3 times what I'm paying.

The boat was insured for 20,000- Actual Cash Value- and a recent survey was attached. 28 ft, twin inboards, chartered. Had a 500 deductible and trailer was not included. 1212 for boat and 261 for liability, 10 unscheduled personal property = 1483 for the year.

For Charter Captians the best Insurance is through Parsons & Toony Agency in Syracuse, NY they use ACE Insurance Co. I pay $523 a year for 1 Million Liability & $200,000.00 Medical per Person on my vessel, Full Replacement Cost of my 1999 Tracker Targa 2000 21 ft glass boat with Mercury 250 hp & Honda 15 hp, $10,000.00 equipment and $3500.00 for boat trailer.Billed over 6 payments as well.

I just got a quote from them and it was about the same numbers as yours and they quoted 1483.00 All I wanted was liability and they said you had to buy the whole package. The liability was 261.00 for the year but was part of the bundle.

If everything was working the way it was wired up then I would buy a new condenser and leave it the way it was. The ground wire is there to ground the unit and complete the circuit. If works when you remove the wire and you don't care ,then go ahead and run it that way .