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    Over-used Or Under-Used Preference

    What scares you the most, an underused boat or one that has sky high hours? On the one hand, a over used boat has gotten a good workout. None of the parts got a chance to dry rot or malfunction from lack of use. But is this boat on its last leg? Are the parts and components reaching the end...
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    4 cylinder Volvo in 26 foot Bayliner

    Is a four cylinder Volvo 120 a weak choice to power a 26 foot 1981 Bayliner cruiser?
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    Best Boat Buying Time

    In a cold weather climate like Illinois when do boat prices rise and fall? The season here, loosely, is from end of April to the end of October. I assume no seller wants to be the last boat on the market for the year. When do the bargains start? End of August with the kids back to school...
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    Bad Vibe from Sea Ray Seller

    Bad vibe from the seller. First he seemed to have a preference for me to use his marine mechanic for the compression check. I talked to the mechanic by phone and he suggested that the boat was in such great shape it would be a waste of money to get a compression check. Hmmmmm! Doesn?t seem...
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    Pre-Purchase Bias

    Considering a boat about a hundred miles away. Cheap price. Would you use the seller?s mechanic for the compression check and other pre-purchase inspections? This isn?t a full survey. This mechanic has a ten year history with the boat. But, I?m of course a little concerned about bias...
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    Unused Galley

    Ever use the alcohol/electric stove found in many cabin cruisers? In my search for my first boat I find many boats with this implement in its galley. I?ve yet to find anyone who?s ever used it. Anybody out there with a cabin galley use the stove? Use it regularly? And if not, why don?t you...
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    Sea Ray Year-By-Year Buyer's Guide

    I?m hot on the trail of purchasing my first boat. Had a deal on a 1986 22 foot Sea Ray Cuddy fall apart. Now I?m hankering for a little more boat, like a 26 footer full cabin cruiser. I?ve been studying boat from as far back as 1979 to as new as the late ?80?s. There are subtle differences...
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    Brand New Battery Defective--Or Not???

    The boat I want to purchase wouldn?t crank. Took it to a mechanic who said the battery (a new one), was no good. The boat owner bought the boat and battery six months ago. The boat sat in a garage all that time, never started or used. The mechanic stuck in a new one under the warranty. A...
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    A Place to Call Home

    Based in the Illinois/Wisconsin state line area. Looking for interesting places to boat?once I finally close a deal on a boat. I look at street guide maps like mapquest or google and you see water everywhere. But of course that doesn?t tell you anything about your ability to boat there...
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    Child's Play

    Kids have been playing on a boat I want to buy. Can they do any damage by turning the wheel back and forth w/o the engine running? What about operating the throttle back and forth? Can that do any damage to the throttle? Flood the engine? This is an '86 Sea Ray with one of those Commander...
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    Boat Length vs Boat Weight

    For operating in big water, what's more important boat length or boat weight?
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    Bad Way to Start A Love Affair

    The good news is that I finally placed a deposit on a boat, a 22 foot 1986 Sea Ray Cuddy. The bad news is I made the deposit without hearing the boat run. It appears to be a well maintained craft. Unfortunately owned by someone who never actually took the boat out. (Claims, it?s too big for...
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    Boating Etiquette 101

    Boating etiquette 101 I went out on the river a few weeks back, checking out a boat buying prospect. Had a great time. Folks were out indulging in all manner of river activities, from fishing to tubing to just cruising down the water. What I noticed was how friendly everyone was. Each boat...
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    Endurance vs. Range

    Fuel burn at idle and low speed. A question of endurance versus range. I put a deposit down on my first boat--at long last. I?m taking it on a river trial tomorrow. If I close the deal, I?ll be spending a lot of time learning the boat and boating in general. I?m not going anywhere in...
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    TV and Interent Aboard

    This has to be the most basic of questions. I did a search on this sight but most of the questions related to home electronics rather than on board a boat. Can you connect to the internet from a boat, WiFi. If so, how far out is the limit. Same question for TV. Will a dish work at sea?
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    Replacing a Sea Ray potty

    I'm coming close to my purchase decision. Two identical 86 Sea Ray Cuddy?s, 22 feet long, with the potty under the seat. One has a missing potty. Are these cheap to replace? It would seem to me to be a flourishing market for stuff like that, used. Both have a waste flush out on the...
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    Cuddy Cabin Potty Privacy

    I?m considering a 22 foot Sea Ray Cuddy cabin with a porta-potty under the V-berth seat? Short of sending everybody on deck, how do you handle potty privacy with mixed gender kids and adults on board?
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    All or Nothing Boat Survey

    Should I survey the entire boat or just part? I know nothing about boats, engines, an all-thumbs type of guy. A surveyor gave me three separate prices to inspect the individual components of my prospective purchase, a 22 foot Sea Ray Cuddy. $300 for the boat $130 for the I/O stern drive...
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    Winter Storage Deterioration

    If properly winterized, how long can a boat sit before it starts to deteriorate. Years? What parts tend to go first? At how many years of storage do you?the prospective buyer?begin to get nervous about a boat?s lack of use? Do you still anticipate a turn-key situation if a previously well...
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    Private Owner vs. Dealer

    Dealer or private seller, what?s your preference when buying a used boat? Obviously, dealers have to add a commission when listing a boat. This would suggest the price has to be bumped up to compensate. But perhaps the dealer acquired the boat as a steal in the first place, leaving more room...
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