OT: Anyone in to boating?

[der_wille_zur_macht]

So, two years ago, Dear Old Mom built a house on a small local lake. She has shared frontage and dock space with a dozen homes on her street. Never owned a boat, but now she's got the spot for one. So, she's in the market. She actually needs to buy something this season or else she might not have a spot next year (There are more houses than spots, so if your spot is open for "X" years it goes into a lottery to give other people a chance at it).

I've been (willfully) sucked in to helping her shop. Dock club rules state a max length of 18', and our purchase budget is small (say, $3 - $5k). All she really wants is something to hang out in on the lake, with family and friends. Lots of room would be great.

We've looked at a few older boats - mostly 15 - 20 year-old stuff. Many of the boats in this price range are wrecks, but there are a few that look OK. We looked at this one recently:

http://syracuse.craigslist.org/boa/1802507199.html

It's in nice shape and the motor is freshly rebuilt, though the boat is definitely not "fully 98% restored" as the add indicates. It has 460 hours, the motor work was done at 410. It's got plenty of room. Just seems like a lot of money for a 30-year old boat. Plus, it has a freaking 260-hp V8 in it. Probably about four times more motor than Mom needs to tool around the lake. I'm guessing gas consumption would be high compared to a more reasonably sized motor?

Thoughts? Suggestions? Favorite used boat dealer in the Syracuse area? Sites other than Craigslist or Ebay to find boats on? Things we should look for?

 

[reefman5511]

Not a bad looking boat but possibly a little pricey. There are sites that'll give you used boat values similar to Blue Book for cars.
That boat will fly with a 260 on it. I have a 20' Chapparal with a 225 & it'll do 50 with 4 people in it.
If the guy has a set of "earmuffs" ask him to fire up the engine & let it run for a bit or better yet see if he'll take you out on it. That way you'll know if there are any problems with the cooling system, mom will get a feel for how it handles, etc......

Other good sites for boats are boattrader or boats.

 

[IronMan72]

Boating is one of my other hobbies. I've owned a boat for the last 18 years. IMHO you should be able to buy a well cared for 15 - 20 yo boat in the 17' - 18' range within your budget. The biggest obstacle you are going to have is timing. This time of year there more are buyers than sellers and prices are higher. In another month those people holding out for a premium will start to question their asking price and will begin to drop their prices because they don't want to have to store it for another winter. If you can hold out until then, you'll get more boat for your money.

If she's just planning to tour the lake now and then, while entertaining friends / family then maybe a pontoon boat would be better for her. I am not a big fan of them but my parents owned one on a small lake and they can be very enjoyable.

Some good resources
http://www.boatus.com/guide/b_finding.asp (basic buying information)
http://boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/buying.htm
http://www.nadaguides.com (NADA guides provides used boat values)

 

[IronMan72]

If the guy has a set of "earmuffs" ask him to fire up the engine & let it run for a bit or better yet see if he'll take you out on it. That way you'll know if there are any problems with the cooling system, mom will get a feel for how it handles, etc......

Other good sites for boats are boattrader or boats.

Good point reefman and something I forgot to mention. Always insist on a sea trial. You can't tell much about a boat that isn't in the water. You wouldn't buy a car without a test drive would you? Before you leave the dock, while underway, and before you pull it from the water you should look in the bilge for water, there should be none.

 

[reefman5511]

YGPM

Buffalo area has a ton of boats on the market right now. Pricing right now is very reasonable - possibly the best I've seen it in some time.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Thanks for the info guys.

I think a pontoon boat would be fine for her, but they seem a little harder to find, so a typical 16 - 18' open bow is probably more likely. Going super fast is not a priority, so the Cobalt we looked at is probably more boat and motor than she needs. Though, it's rated to hold 9 people, which would be nice, since we have a big family!

I've looked up a few boats on the NADA listing and sellers' asking prices always seem WAY out of whack with the "book" price, I'm wondering if I'm missing something (at the least, most of these boats come with a trailer, while the book price doesn't include one).

Gary, thanks for the PM - those two boats look nice, but not sure if she's willing to go to Buffalo (3+ hours from us, we're southeast of Syracuse). Though, she's been looking for a month or two and hasn't found anything locally. . .

 

[reefman5511]

Might want to check Rochester out as well on C/L. Looks like there are a number of reasonably priced ones there too.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Will check it out.

What should I expect for maintenance/upkeep requirements? How many hours is typical before major work is needed? The Cobalt we looked at had recently had a lot of engine work, and it had ~460 hrs on it. FWIW he hooked his garden hose up to the water intake on the out drive and started the motor, it started instantly and seemed to run great. If I see another boat with, say, 400 hours on it that hasn't had a rebuild, should I be worried?

I am comfortable with auto repairs and small engine stuff, but boat motors are totally foreign to me. . .

 

[IronMan72]

Most I/O boat motors are based on automotive blocks. Get a good service manual and the work is generally pretty straight forward, especially on the older drives and engines. Generally, well maintained gas I/O's can provide adequate service for more than 1000 hours. Boats requiring major service work much before then could be an indicator of poor maintenance. If the engine was poorly maintained then I'd look closely as the rest of the boat may also have been poorly maintained. I have a 1992 Sea Ray 270 Sundancer with more than 500 hours on the 454 engine with no indication that it will require major service work anytime soon. Of course, the older they are the more cosmetic flaws there will be but that doesn't necessarily indicate poor maintenance.

As far as I/o maintenance you can expect to replace bellows every 4 to 5 years, water pump every 2 to 3 years. It will require winterization annually. Plugs should be replaced every couple years and wires every 4 to 5 years. An oil change should be included as part of the annual winter service as well as outdrive oil replacement.

I sold a 1987 Larson 230 sport cruiser with cuddy cabin last year for $6500.00 It had less than 200 hours on the original engine and was mechanically sound with only minor cosmetic problems. The trailer was included in the sale. As reefman indicated, the boat you linked to seems to be a bit high but boat prices were much lower last year due to the economy.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

FYI, Mom bought a boat yesterday from a local marina. It's a 1995 (I think) Bayliner 18 ft open bow. 3.0l inline 4, around 300 hours. I haven't seen it yet but she brought a boating friend to look at it with her and he said it was in good shape.

I'm driving out to pick it up and bring it home for her on Saturday. Exciting times!

 

[IronMan72]

The first of the two happiest days in a boat owners life. The day they buy it, and the day they sell it. A boat that size will do well with that size motor and should be economical to operate. Hope she enjoys it.
:celeb3:

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

I'm starting to learn that you people warning about the headaches of owning a boat are totally correct. :lol:

It's failed to start at least half the time when someone's gone down to use it. It idled rough. Half the gauges don't work right. And so on. I think we have the starting problem licked, though the (automatic?) choke doesn't seem to work right. And the idle has been smoothed out quite a bit by some tinkering.

But still it's an extremely enjoyable experience to use it, and I'm glad we went ahead with the purchase.

 

[reefman5511]

It's been a great summer for boating. Was out all weekend & took a 1/2 day yesterday to enjoy the time on the water. Just wish I didn't have to tow so many boats in distress that other boaters won't help.