"Captain Chaos" wrote
I expect with a boat
this age that some repairs may be needed at some point.

Long as you go in expecting that, you probably won't be disappointed. Like
everybody else here, the soft floor would probably have scared me off.
What's the guy mean by the "floor in the engine compartment," anyway? Is
there a floor in the engine compartment, or are we talking mounting rails
and stuff? Wood rot is problematic but not insurmountable if it hasn't
gotten into the transom or hull structure. Somebody suggested a simple knock
test on the transom, which sounds like a good idea. Minor repairs aren't
rocket surgery. Even I can do a serviceable one:
http://users.adelphia.net/~blizzard3/boat/mm.htm

BTW, it appears Dynasty is still in business, making Polar boats for the
Godfrey conglomeration. Not that it means anything as far as getting any
kind of factory support for your boat.
http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturd...23/boats.shtml

I don't plan on sinking a bunch of money into it

It's a boat. You're going to have to change that plan if you intend to keep
and use it. (You're right: rough crowd.)

$3000 will not get you a nice boat at all.

I agree. There may be bargains to be had, but I don't see them nearly as
plentiful and widespread as some have suggested. People pay $3k for a
middling jet-ski around here and more for almost any kind of serviceable
boat. My boat isn't all that nice and I wouldn't part with it for that.