Yes, I'm concerned about any non-obvious damage, and I plan to look
very closely at every visible inch and do my best to evealuate whether
motors, switches, beakers, etc have hidden corrosion. The aquisition
would be approx $30K, and I'd hope that unforseen damage would be
limited to $10-20K. With other fees like trucking, storage, launching,
etc., I'm only hoping to earn $20K. Also, since I'm in the Northeast
and our season is drawing to a close, I may not earn this until next
year.


Get a qualified and ruthless surveyor to go over this thing inch by inch.

Start way, way, low on the bid. It's likely you're the only person who will
want to buy such a boat so get it cheap.

If you're only hoping for a $20k margin, you're not buying cheaply enough. You
should plan to make a ton *if* everything goes right, and that will leave you
some wiggle room if (and when) everything does not go right.

When you resell this boat, you are going to have to disclose that it sank.
Even as a private party. Failure to do this could expose you to a future
lawsuit that might cost you several times the value of the boat. This boat is
like a "rebuilt" car, it will always have a stigma attached and buyers will
expect to get it cheaply.