you make a very good point - one boat I looked at that the owner advertised
as a new engine 3 yrs ago was severly rust pitted everwhere - block, pully,
alternator, etc - turns out he ended up saying he caught a storm wave and
filled the engine compartment up with salt water over the top of the block
before he turned the bildge pump on. then at the end of the test drive
instead of slowly creeping onto the dock, the owner had his buddy jump off
the bow to the concrete dock to tie a line and hit the dock head on...it's
too bad, we really wanted to buy the boat until we went on that test drive -
we ran away from that boat, even though cosmetically it was very
good...mechanically was a nightmare.
john

"Gould 0738" wrote in message
...
Was 1987 a good year for a 21' Bayliner Capri Cuddy?
I've heard that Bayliner boats were not holding up as well for some
years,
while other years are more desirable.


When a boat gets to the ripe old age of 17, the year it was built means a
lot
less than the type of care (including storage) it has received since new.
There
are probably some 1987 Bayliner Capri Cuddys out there in marvelous shape-
not
because they were built in 1987, particularly, but because they have been
treasured ever since.

One of the problems with the smaller Bayliners, and to a degree the
smallest
boats sold by almost anybody- is that a high percentage of the buyers for
these
boats are first time boaters. They would take better care of their boats
if
they knew how to- but they don't. Machinery doesn't get serviced
frequently
enough, or properly.
The boats are allowed to collect rainwater or fresh lake water in the
bilge,
accelerating rot.

Best advice is to look at *any* used boat very carefully. Don't fall in
love
too soon. Get a surveyor to look over the boat, even though some dock
walking,
non-boat-owning geezers will say, "Fer crissakes, its a 21-foot boat!".
Last I
checked, the hourly rate for repairing a 21-footer is the same as that for
a
60, so get that survey before you get all excited.
It's like modern dating- nobody should get naked without a recent STD
test.

(Capri is currently the entry-level series of Bayliner boats, don't know
if
that was so in 1987 or not. The next level up in the current production,
Ciera,
appears to be built to a higher standard. There's a limit to what you can
put
into a boat and still offer it for $9995 including motor and trailer.)