First time boat buyer
 

On Apr 3, 8:21*pm, "JimH" wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in messagenews:62vav3hrs12mhg4flvgip01ffq1k4olpje@4ax .com...





On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 16:53:41 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

On Apr 3, 7:37 pm, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 15:47:12 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:
On Apr 3, 3:41 pm, "JimH" wrote:
"Robert M. Gary" wrote in
...
On Apr 3, 9:29 am, John H. wrote:

Make sure you get a chance to have the boat and engine inspected
before
plunking down your money!

Everyone says that as a kind of CYA. However, in truth paying $800 to
inspect a boat that is otherwise pretty new and been maintained (with
documentation) by a well-known shop may not be best bang-for-buck.

-Robert
==============

It cost me $385 to have my 20 footer surveyed. The survey included
the
structure, mechanics and a compression test on the engine.

I would never buy a used boat without having it surveyed.

I'm no expert, but I bought both of my boats without a survey or a
"sea trial" The prices were right, and I'm no expert, but I can check
stuff out fairly well. Been well satisfied with what I have.

Tim, didn't your boats cost less than a survey would have?

Seems to me you got a pretty good deal on those guys!- Hide quoted
text -

- Show quoted text -

Yes, they did. i feel quite fortunate. I did buy them off ebay, and I
did ask some questions. But the neat thing abotu it is that i didn't'
bit more than I thought I could afford to lose. I mean, even if they
were dissapointing, I *could have scrapped them out and sold off the
parts for more than I gave for them.

Actually i feel prettyproud of myself. the little 18' Chris was
1500.00 USD and has been a blast, even if a bit small. The cuddie is a
77 Marquis 23' and even though cosmetically it was a bit lacking, via
polish
( no chalk) and needed a slight bit of cosmetic wood work, the boat is
solid as a rock. engine oil was not new but reasonably clean, filters
looked great. no oil in the bottom of the hull. I gave 1281.00 for it,
dual axle trailer w/surge brakes and all. Even with paint flaking off
the trailer I could tell the trailer had been well kept because it had
new brake lines and master cylinder installed in a moderately recent
time frame.

The boat;s 350 GM starts easily, doesn't smoke or flutter, and runs
absolutely great.

John, I think I did well, and that means that it helps make up for
past blunders... LOL!

good karma?

You can find good deals on eBay and you can find crap on eBay.

I konw of a guy who bought a Ranger 518 off eBay for a decent price -
not too high, not too low. *He looked the boat over before closing the
deal and the first time he launched, the boat started shipping water.
Turns out, the seller had run the boat up on a rock and split the hull
right where the bunks were on the trailer.

You gotta be carefull on eBay.

I am sure deals on cars and boats were found on Ebay..............but I am
also sure there are buyers finding they purchased lemons and got stuck with
the *deal*.

Purchasing a boat (or car or other high priced items) sight unseen is
something I would not do.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Well. Jim, again my philosophy is don't bid more than you can afford
to lose. Be cautionally optomistic, and don't jump the gun on an item.
there's always plenty more where those come from.

First time boat buyer
 

On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 21:21:10 -0400, "JimH" wrote:

Purchasing a boat (or car or other high priced items) sight unseen is
something I would not do.

I agree with that unless the price is so low you can afford to scrap
it and walk away. I would also not buy without a sea trial even if I
decided to skip a formal survey. You can learn a lot on a sea trial
if you know what to look for, not necessarily true for a first time
buyer of course.

First time boat buyer
 

On Apr 3, 10:30*pm, JG2U wrote:
On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 20:50:11 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:

*Mrs.E. rarely asks me to
do stuff anymore. *The honey-do list has been outsourced.

Eisboch

Tell me how you accomplished that. *Be specific. *I have to know. *:-)

Jack

$$$

First time boat buyer
 

"JimH" wrote in message
...

"Tim" wrote in message
...
On Apr 3, 6:02 pm, "JimH" wrote:
"Tim" wrote in message

...
On Apr 3, 3:41 pm, "JimH" wrote:





"Robert M. Gary" wrote in
...
On Apr 3, 9:29 am, John H. wrote:

Make sure you get a chance to have the boat and engine inspected
before
plunking down your money!

Everyone says that as a kind of CYA. However, in truth paying $800 to
inspect a boat that is otherwise pretty new and been maintained (with
documentation) by a well-known shop may not be best bang-for-buck.

-Robert
==============

It cost me $385 to have my 20 footer surveyed. The survey included the
structure, mechanics and a compression test on the engine.

I would never buy a used boat without having it surveyed.

I'm no expert, but I bought both of my boats without a survey or a
"sea trial" The prices were right, and I'm no expert, but I can check
stuff out fairly well. Been well satisfied with what I have.
=====================

Glad it worked out for you so far Tim. I look at a survey as a bit of
insurance and a good second opinion.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

That's a good thought, now that I re-read my post I feel that I may
have seemed a bit arrogant to the OP, which wasn't my intention. I
would deffinately agree that being a first timer with little or no
knowledge of the craft they wish to by, then a good, independant
mechanical survey may be just the ticket. But I would suggest that one
should really pick oput the best they can find in the price line they
can afford, almost as if it is to be "the one" THEN have it
researched. otherwise a eprson can survey them right down the line and
do nothing but waste a lot of their time and money for the existing
owners benefit.
================

When buying used..........I have always walked away from boats that were
cosmetically neglected as it told me the owner really did not take pride
in caring for the boat, which also translated to the mechanical systems
and power train.

I also walked away from boats when the owner could not produce maintenance
records.

Those are the easy things to flag. Structural is another and a good
surveyor can be your best friend when it comes to finding a structurally
sound boat.

Compression testing the engine(s) is also a good indicator on the worth of
the boat.


I bought my last boat without survey. Did do an in water test. Since it
was owned by the sales manager for a large car and truck dealership, the
maintenance was most likely done without paper work. But was an extremely
clean boat and did find any major corrosion and since the only thing in the
boat wood was the floorboards, there was not a lot of structural flaws that
could hide. He did have the last repair on the pump for new seals. But I
put another 700 hours on the engine before I had to change it. But I am
also very familiar with inboard engines.

First time boat buyer
 

On Thu, 03 Apr 2008 23:30:14 -0400, JG2U wrote:

On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 20:50:11 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:




Mrs.E. rarely asks me to do stuff anymore. The honey-do list has been outsourced.

Tell me how you accomplished that. Be specific. I have to know. :-)

It's pretty simple here at Rancho Cracker Box Palace.

I'm a putz and everytime I get involved in a project, I always end up
at the hospital with some kind of injury.

She eventually gave up and now hires professionals to do the job. :)

She relented about twelve years ago when I wanted to redo the roof.
Everything was going along fine until I managed to fall off the roof -
fortunately into some overgrown bushes, but I still broke my wrist.

Other than doing the lawn every spring and fall, she hasn't asked
again.

First time boat buyer
 

On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 19:09:58 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

Well. Jim, again my philosophy is don't bid more than you can afford
to lose. Be cautionally optomistic, and don't jump the gun on an item.
there's always plenty more where those come from.

Keep your powder dry - always good advice.

First time boat buyer
 

"JG2U" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 20:50:11 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:




Mrs.E. rarely asks me to
do stuff anymore. The honey-do list has been outsourced.

Eisboch


Tell me how you accomplished that. Be specific. I have to know. :-)

Jack

I could tell you, but then, you know ....

Eisboch

First time boat buyer
 

Haas C wrote:

Thank you all. I live in NJ - can anyone recommend a good inspector
for the engine and everything else? Thanks!

RT Associates, Case-McDaniel Marine Group
C. Paul Case
732-291-7400


-- Charlie

First time boat buyer
 

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 03 Apr 2008 23:30:14 -0400, JG2U wrote:

On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 20:50:11 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:




Mrs.E. rarely asks me to do stuff anymore. The honey-do list has been
outsourced.

Tell me how you accomplished that. Be specific. I have to know. :-)

It's pretty simple here at Rancho Cracker Box Palace.

I'm a putz and everytime I get involved in a project, I always end up
at the hospital with some kind of injury.

She eventually gave up and now hires professionals to do the job. :)

She relented about twelve years ago when I wanted to redo the roof.
Everything was going along fine until I managed to fall off the roof -
fortunately into some overgrown bushes, but I still broke my wrist.

Other than doing the lawn every spring and fall, she hasn't asked
again.

Maybe I'll have to try that method.
The wife knows I'm a belt & suspenders type of person when it comes to my
personal safety so she has no quams about me climbing a high ladder or
working on a roof. (I have an industrial type safety harness and use it
anytime my ladder exceeds 15 feet or I'm on a steep roof over one story
high)

First time boat buyer
 

On Apr 3, 2:35*pm, John H. wrote:

I might not plunk down $800, but I'd take it to a mechanic and have the
engine looked over. I've a feeling he could get something in the 18' range
checked out for a lot less than $800.

I only mentioned $800 because it was the minimum I was able to find
calling around local boat shops when I was looking.

-Robert