It sounds to me like time maintaining the boat, not money, is you major
issue. Of course you don't want to spend more than you need to and everyone
has a budget, but it seems that you are more concerned about time spent than
money spent. ~ If this is the case, I'd suggest you get a smaller & newer
boat with fewer problems. The bigger the boat the bigger the problems. Boats
with hot-water heaters, DC and AC electrical systems, twin engines, fresh
water storage tanks, etc. etc. have a lot more to go wrong with them than
smaller boats. Of course, if you want and/or need all those things then,
well, you need them. But you might at least consider if you'ld get more
enjoyment out of a smaller boat.

Boat prices are a weird thing too. Some here have suggested that the reason
the price on this particular boat is so low relative to others in it's class
is because it has more problems. That may well be true. But my (limited)
experience indicates that used boat prices are very different than used car
prices. In the car market it's pretty clear what the car is worth and what
the market will bear. In any given area there are probably 100s or 1000s of
cars very similar to that one. With boats, it's often not that way. With
boats, the owner often gets to a point that he just wants to sell, and the
price really isn't as big a factor.

Boat partnerships. I shared a boat with a guy and it works out fine. We
didn't even know each other that well before we did it. But I think our case
was unusual. Sharing a boat with someone is a tricky thing. Who pays for
what? If something breaks when he's out, is it his fault or do you share it?
When you use the boat and leave some stuff on board at the end of the day,
will he get mad you didn't clean it back to perfect condition? I'm not
saying it can't work - just think it through.

Again, I'd say consider a smaller, newer boat that you can own all by
yourself. It might be a better chioice for you.

Gary





"sfcarioca" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hey all,

I've been researching the right boat to buy with a buddy for about 4
months now. We are on the cusp of a purchase of a 1999 26' Bayliner
Ciera 2655 boat with 350 hours on it. We've had the survey, agreed on
the price, and all we need to do is sign the paperwork. I feel we're
getting a very good deal on it, and no other boats of the same year and
model on yachtworld are listed for a lower price.

But after learning from the seller all the things that have gone wrong
with it in the last 3 years (replaced starter, a couple of pumps,
props, other piece of the outdrive,) I'm getting cold feet. Already a
bilge blower broke since we first saw the boat and needs to be fixed
(might be minor, like a fuse or switch problem) and the water heater is
showing some rust. A couple of other things have broken (speedometer,
wipers) and were never fixed. In addition we need to paint the
outdrive because we're keeping it in the water (hull is already
painted.)

From what I've seen in other boats, this boat is in average shape for
its age and boats just simply have these kinds of problems. I think
I've come to the conclusion that boating is for people who would enjoy
spending a lot of time working on their boat themselves and
troubleshooting these kinds of things. Since I was hoping to have
something that generally worked and would let me spend a lot more time
enjoying the boat rather than arranging to get it fixed, I'm thinking
of backing out on the deal. I figure that these things to fix that
often crop up, in addition to arranging for regular maintenance (zincs,
oil change, scrub bottom, paint bottom, etc.) would take almost as much
time as I could spend out enjoying the boat.

thoughts?