Buying my first boat!!

[jotisbrown]

Well guys, I'm finally making the jump from jet skis to boats. I've read lots on this forum over the last few months as I prepared to buy a boat for the first time and the information has been insanely helpful. After a lot of searching I have found what looks to be a great boat for a great price, two things that rarely happen together and I am of course immediately skeptical. The boat also happens to be over 3 hours away... So I cant put eyeballs on it until Saturday.

The basics: Its a 1985 Sunbird 175 with a 2.5 mercruiser. The 120 Merc is plenty clean looking but that small a motor does worry me a bit. Im not trying to break any water speed records but I do want something that will pull me and some friends comfortably. Im not into skiing or wakeboarding, might pull a tube everynow and then but nothing intense as double skiers or anything.

Things Ive noticed from the pictures: Its got a 5 blade prop. Again, new to boats and all, seems like a lot of blades. Maybe he was trying to pull a lot of skiers? I sent an email asking about it. Also motor appears to have a little rust around the freeze plug, which i assume means the freeze plug did what it was meant to do?

Questions: Ive searched and found many helpful tips on what to look for on boats when buying used. Check the linkages for wear, look for milky oil, shake the i/o drive and see if it moves, anything else I should be looking for?

Let me know what you guys think! Man I hope I get an "ayuh" from bondo, my life would be complete then. As I said, Ive been reading iboats for a while now!

 

[jotisbrown]

Man and I JUST saw that sticky. Oh well lemme know what you think, I realize sunbird is entry level and all, but thats what I want for now on my budget, trying to save up to buy a house!

 

[fhhuber]

Want to go boat on a budget? Go new, (or near new) 4-stroke outboard and a good condition aluminum hull.
Probably a better step from the Jet ski than to a very old inboard/outboard.

The aluminum hull in this size range will need appx 1/2 to 2/3 the HP to outrun the fiberglass. Less wood to rot and easier to get at it to fix it.

30+ yr old fiberglass hull = expect to be buying a lot of work.
A cheap old boat usually gains no value from your repairs... and often costs more in repairs than you paid for the boat before you have a safe boat.

***************

5 blades does sound like power prop for ski towing.

Freeze plugs are there for you to pop them out and remove the water so it doesn't freeze in the engine.
There are other reasons it may have that rust or it may be leaking.

 

[jotisbrown]

Have looked at some aluminum hulls actually and even some outboards but havent found any 4 stroke outboards in my price range. The skis I built where a 90 and 93, got plenty of practice rebuilding 2 stroke motors and fiberglass repair. The 4 stroke will be an entirely different beast Im sure. I am concerned about the condition of the glass, I will be doing a lot of reading on diagnosing rotten transoms and floors. Neither of those things are projects I would like to attempt yet.

 

[Idlespeedonly]

Freeze plugs are there for you to pop them out and remove the water so it doesn't freeze in the engine.
There are other reasons it may have that rust or it may be leaking.

That is not what the plugs are for.
More than likely the rust is from a crack on the exterior of the block.
Since it is over 3 hours away I would keep looking.

 

[tpenfield]

A 1985 sunbird would be prime for a rotted structure. So, keep that in mind as there is more to it than the engine . . . which looks like it may have some issues as well, based on the rust in the picture. Got any other pictures of the boat?

 

[southkogs]

120 on a 17' boat should pull a tube just fine. You'll need to look the engine over real close. I don't like the look of the rust in the pictures, but it's tough to tell sometimes.

Condition is key.

 

[frantically relaxing]

Both my SkipperLiner 4-bangers look just like that...That engine rust is simply from years of draining the block the 'right' way, the block drain is right in front of the rust.

however, it does look like that freeze plug may have been leaking, the plug even looks new...

But-- ... the riser plug is right there too... who knows...

 

[jotisbrown]

Just some of the interior, said they redid it a couple years ago.

 

[Rick Stephens]

I've tried skiing on a 135 horse 3.0L, it was not all that much fun for a 225# old guy. My kid has no problem. But not enough ooomph for me and skiing. Wakeboarding though, piece of cake. As long as the engine is running right, it will pop up wakeboarders all day and burn very little gas.

When you look at the boat, spend a bunch of time on the structure. Then you MUST, absolutely GOTTA, water test it. A lot! Don't settle for a few minutes. Put it through its paces, check everything and anything. Listen to it, go in and out of gear a bunch of times - this is what you will do with it with your family, do it in a test drive. Make sure when you pull it out that no oil is leaking from the outdrive. Use a screw driver to prod the transom wood. Inspect the stringers in the ski locker.

Generally speaking, there is nothing more expensive than a cheap boat. The words don't even go together.

BTW- looks like they did a nice job on the interior. Nice looking craft if it is sound.

Rick

 

[jotisbrown]

Wellllllllll it's not a perfect boat after all. Owner tells me "the shift cable and rubber boot (where cable comes into the boat) are wearing need to be replaced. A small amount of water gets in the boat where the boot is worn"

I have no idea what this means. Posted a question about it in another section about steering. Thoughts? Run away?

 

[thumpar]

My Sunrunner with 2.5l did fine pulling 2 large tubes. I pulled my friend on a wakeboard also.

It sounds like the bellows (boot) are toast and need replacing all around. You will need a shift cable because it probably has water in it.

 

[RGrew176]

Wellllllllll it's not a perfect boat after all. Owner tells me "the shift cable and rubber boot (where cable comes into the boat) are wearing need to be replaced. A small amount of water gets in the boat where the boot is worn"

I have no idea what this means. Posted a question about it in another section about steering. Thoughts? Run away?

It simply means that you will have to replace the boot. If it gets bad enough the boat will sink.

 

[redneck joe]

Since you read the sticky, you know a lot now. I would ask him how he redid the interior, if it included a new floor. If so, ask if he went over the old floor. If so i would be leery

 

[jotisbrown]

Good deal! I talked to a local shop today and all the bellows can be replaced for 400. So that's good news. I'll go see it Saturday and if it checks out I'll be towing it home. Oh wait I mean to the shop to get fixed. Hah! Boat ownership is going to something else huh...

 

[thumpar]

Get the lower shift cable replaced at the same time.

 

[redneck joe]

Read my oost about the floor. 400 bucks is nothing if the boat is rotten. Lead him on, ask him in a way that you want him to tell you he just laid over the old soft deck.

 

[jotisbrown]

Get the lower shift cable replaced at the same time.

What do those go for?

Also I will definitely be checking the floor. I've seen builds where they redo the floor. I don't want to do anything like that until I've got a house and a shop!

 

[lakenormangal]

I bought an old Sunbird 185 4.3 2 years ago. But I bought it from a friend of mine who knows a thing or two about boat structures and motors ( too bad he's crap on wiring)( he rebuild the motor and outdrive, planned on keeping the boat until he went to Lake Norman and got big boat envy).
I love my little Sunbird, yeah it will never cut the rough chop like a bigger heavier boat, but it tows a tube or wake board just fine and when the water is flat, it flies!
Check that floor really good, press on it and look for soft spots. And get that shift cable replaced! That was the biggest problem I had with mine, but mine is an OMC. And make sure that motor starts with the first turn of the key. It should take two pumps of the throttle, then turn the key and it should fire right up.

 

[jotisbrown]

Nice!!!! I go see it Sunday at 3!