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Talk me out of buying this sweet boat


jigstick

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Dont let the nay sayers and salt haters dissuade you... a craigs list buy is in my opinion a little riskier because when you start dealing with an expensive item you want a third party sometimes to make the interactions less personal.... the only thing salt use means is check the electrical wiring connections for corrosion and the rest including pitting will be obvious. There are three things to consider...1. hull 2. Engines. 3 Electronics... get a hull survey if you dont know what you are looking for or at with fiberglass... if there is wood involved in the construction at all then that boat is old enough to have issues developing...be thorough and dont let love of the boat get involved... 2 the engines on it are great direct port high pressure injection two strokes every bit as powerful, fuel efficient, and low emission as a four stroke. The reputation on that particular power package is strong, check the net you may not want or need to consider repower... i just bought a boat with evinrude etec 250s and they are two strokes and retail for 22000 a piece...that particular engine was ahead of its time...but do a sea trial..do a compression check, drain the gear lube prior and see what is on the magnetic drain plug and strain the lube to look for metal flakes, small fine shavings ok...metal flakes no good... replace the lube and run the engines for over two hours...high speed low speed and in between..use it how you plan to use it..when done drain and inspect the lube again it will appear milky till air settles out...you are looking for any separation or indication of water in it...be critical of any hull mounted hardware make sure it was sealed well and tap the fiberglass around it to see if there is rot...this particular engine had a forward flush port so easy to flush after use...given the distance you would travel make up a thorough list of everything above you plan to do on arrival and give it to the owner, tell him you expect it to pass everything or no deal... arrive at a price before you go...if he knows you know what you are doing, and there really is something wrong with the boat he probably wont waste your time.... now my post has two hot spots in it that can ignite a firestorm of two stroke vs 4stroke, and salt vs fresh haters and lovers...please resist the urge to attack..I wont engage... peace brother and good luck with your purchase im in the middle of one now if you want to discuss pm me...


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Indeed, Les, indeed there is. I'd love to have Mark on my side when I was ready to purchase. Long distance is tough, but doable. I got lucky with my Lund from Minnesota. It had limited exposure to the salt :lol:.

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When I bought my boat , my insurance company wanted a marine survey done.
I would recommend CaptJohn Banister.
He is in West Palm Beach.
I know it is a 5 or 6 hour drive for him but he travels around quite a bit surveying boats . I was very impressed with the report that I got.
If it helps his phone number is
561-255-4139
www.suenosazules.com


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There’s pros and cons to salt water boats, all the metal is subjected to salt, dry dock or not, I’m a victim of the salt!! I will admit, what I thought I knew and what I knew was $6000.00 in ignorance!! The older cast iron everything boats it ate everything from the inside out, looked like a gem one the outside the only thing I was able to use was the crankshaft and pistons, the rest rusted up junk. The wood on my boat was preserved by the salt. I  would think the guys always around the salt would have there shyt together. I’d do everything in my power to have that boat surveyed from top to bottom and front to back. It’s cheap ins. That your not buying a hunk of junk, take it from me what I have in my boat I could have gone 20 years newer in price. Best of luck to you!!!!

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My first boat was a little Wellcraft CC that began it's life in salt. ALL of the wiring on that boat was corroded inside and out. The connectors were so brittle you could not turn the screw without it breaking right off. The casings on the wire we're dry rotted and the wire inside was corroded. A bit from salt is and can be good, but just be really picky about the survey,etc.

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Last winter, I rolled the dice and bought a Grady White 208 with only 54 hours for 14k out of Boston. It was the same story. It had sat on a rack its entire life. My boat is very clean and that low hour engine is very smooth. I haven’t found any evidence of salt water damage or any type of corrosion anywhere in the boat. I say go for it.


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10 minutes ago, Bozeman Bob said:

Your post on the top of this page states it was sold, bit confused as to why he would send pictures.

 

The ad on Craigslist doesn’t say it was sold. I talked to owner earlier today. Me and another buyer are interested. 

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7 minutes ago, Chowdaire said:

The post toward the top that says he sold it was referring to the trailer, if I’m reading it right.


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 Sorry, looks like he was referring to the last post on page one as you noted. Sort of skips a beat when going to next page ,my bad.

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I can’t talk you out of it. If I could swing it I would pull the trigger for sure. Great looking boat.


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Here is one pic that has be concerned. Can you guys see the crack right where the motor is meeting the hull? Right under the rub rail

8710EBF6-0EB2-4799-9C91-63D69B9E97BE.jpeg

Edited by jigstick
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Very little corrosion visible clearly stored mostly out of the water...i see nothing to prevent a closeup visual inspection, followed by a boat survey, and a mechanic to look at the engines, followed by a sea test, make sure the cylinders are scoped, compression tested and a solid review of maintenance records to the recommended maintenance schedule.  If he is a competent boat owner he should have it all...the distance makes it a challenge though...going through that now myself on a purchase under contract...dont leap before you look close and get an expert opinion if you are not one...

 

dont fall prey to “other people are interested” line of bs...

Edited by Lewis863
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Here’s my ‘too good to be true’ find. I already have this boat in 2002 model with ox66 150, but this one is two years newer, it’s nicer, and has even lower hours and more power. This boat tows well with a full size SUV also. The 208 is great if you want to trailer. There are boats out there if you dig deep enough.

https://www.cooperss.com/asset-detail.php?name=marine&id=1789


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Oh They are out there just gotta poke and look carefully cause there are also nightmares among them ... I just restored a pursuit Denali for a friend... the boat sucked up 15 k real fast plus several hundred hours of my labor ...corroded gas tanks, corroded cracked cooling manifolds were the big ticket items but the labor hours all the pumps and rewiring all switches and it took two years to work through it all straight because of neglect and ignorance...if he had to pay me for my labor he would have been better off sinking it in the ocean and walking away

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