Is this a good buy?

[Aquaman-PSD]

Let me start off by saying that I am new to this forum and this is my first boat purchase. I have been around boats my whole like but have never have to fix anything one them, your tax dollars hard at work . I am about to purchase a 19ft. 87' Monark fish and ski. I am not sure if this is the real name of the model or if it is just the type. It has a good motor and the guy that owns it replaced every fuel line, plug, and starting cable. He started it up and it idled without missing a beat for 20 mins after being winterized since September. The water pump was working fine and it rev'd up steadily and quickly. the boat itself is is good shape. Every switch and guage works, ,has a brand new trolling motor, 2 new fish finders and the floor is solid. There is one small scratch on the bottom but it looks like it is only maybe a 1/16'' deep and has been filled with epoxy. I can't upload a picture right now but if I can figure it out I will. My problem is I can't find any information about these boats at all. The motor is a 200hps johnson O/B so I know I should be able to find parts for it, but i don't know if there is any weird quirks or anything in particular I should look at. I said I would give him $4300 for it. I know it is an older boat but it is the most mechanically sound boat I have looked at around this price. Does anyone have any imput that might be helpful?

 

[Aquaman-PSD]

Re: Is this a good buy?

C:\Users\Kenny\Desktop\IMAG0029.jpg

Here is a picture of it.

 

[coastalrichard]

Re: Is this a good buy?

It appears to be in great shape for it's age but, having admitted you've never worked on boats, perhaps you'll want someone with experience to look at it with you. You're hitting all the high points pretty well on your own, but another set of eyes can't hurt.

Whatever rig you set your sights on MUST be splashed for a sea trial and should be put through a rigorous test. A little chop on the water would be great. Test all systems and gadgets more than once.

If you can get the boat manual, get it. And, the best dollars you will spend will be for a manual for the motor.

Best of Luck!

 

[Aquaman-PSD]

Re: Is this a good buy?

Thank you. Another question I did have is about the "points systems" on outboards. I have heard countless horror stories about this type of motor but don't know anything about it. When did they start doing this and when did they stop? Was it used on small outboards only?
Also the motor on this boat has the VRO. The owner said that it has an alarm to alert you when it has stopped working, but again I have read a lot of horror stories of blown motors with these VRO oil mixers. If I buy the boat should I remove the VRO resevoir or just keep an eye on it.

 

[coastalrichard]

Re: Is this a good buy?

Post the serial number for the motor in the Johnson forum....you'll get alot of info about the motor then!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Is this a good buy?

That boat looks to be in very nice condition for the age and I feel it is fairly priced. As mentioned, an on water test would be ideal. Outboards often run awesome in the driveway but have idling or stalling issues appear once they're in the water with some backpressure on the exhaust. What you can do it make the test drive a condition of sale (as in the deal is basically done pending a successful run). That motor doesn't have points, it has a power pack(s). With that vintage motor I simply cannot comment on the reliability of the VRO system. I'd ask about that in the Johnson/Evinrude forum. Check the boat VERY carefully for any soft spots in the deck and you want a rock solid transom with zero flex.

 

[Aquaman-PSD]

Re: Is this a good buy?

thanks for the pointers I won't be handing anyone money until I see it on the water. I am really good friends with this guys neighbor who gave me the lead on this one. Thankfully it is not a CL special. I need to run through the floor under the back storing compartments a little better and check the transom a little more but I think I will probably go with it. I just wish there was more information on this type of boat available. Even the trailer is a mystery, it has a surge brake on it but i don't know if i need a pit or if it is the kind that senses you are backing up and turns the brakes off! I guess there is always some level of risk when buying a boat older than me!!

 

[southkogs]

Re: Is this a good buy?

Even the trailer is a mystery, it has a surge brake on it...

When you talk to the seller, ask if the brakes are even rigged to work. I wouldn't think you need trailer brakes with that boat. It should be reasonably light - the trailer looks to be for a heavier boat.

Might be worth paying a local marine mechanic a few bucks to give it a once over too, if you know a reliable one.

 

[Aquaman-PSD]

Re: Is this a good buy?

I am a diver for the local water rescue team. I will proabably have one the guys from there look it over. You right it is a realtively small boat and probably pretty light but I will be towing it with a Ford ranger 4.0 V6 5 speed. That is the only reason I am worried about it, but I think with some handy shifting I should be fine.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Is this a good buy?

Also, check the compression in each cylinder. They all should be about equal with eachother.... If one is alot lower than the rest, that would be a red flag.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Is this a good buy?

...I will be towing it with a Ford ranger 4.0 V6 5 speed. That is the only reason I am worried about it, but I think with some handy shifting I should be fine.

I used to tow a similar sized boat with a 2000 Mercury Mountaineer with the 4.0. It did fine in TN hills.

 

[Aquaman-PSD]

Re: Is this a good buy?

Thats good to hear. I thought it would be ok but i would be lying if I said I wasn't a little worried. They owener called me yesterday and said that when I have cash in hand we can take it on the river (Ohio river) and let the pony run! That should be a choppy enough water to let me know about the transom.

 

[coastalrichard]

Re: Is this a good buy?

We've touched on the physical aspects of the purchase. Equally important is making sure you get proper paperwork from the seller. I live in Florida and the boat and trailer are titled and registered. The motor is "personal" property and is trasferred by a bill of sale. Make certain you know what you need for the transfer in KY and be sure to get it BEFORE you let loose of the cash! We'll be looking for some pics of YOU on your purchase

 

[Aquaman-PSD]

Re: Is this a good buy?

Absolutley! Being that this is my first boat and I am somewhat analy retentive about going blindly into situations like this I have called the court house and made sure everything was ok. He has the title for the boat and I believe the trailer. Kind of an interesting note, when I asked the lady at the court house if I needed to register the trailer she said legally yes... but they only time you would ever really need it is if I ever tried to sell the boat out of state. In KY you don't need to have plates on trailers under a certain size, so registering a trailer under that size is pointless. The lady said that there is really no way that I could get into trouble for not registering it so I think I will just waive that $48 charge. KY seems to be pretty easy on registering boats as long as they are coming from KY. The whole thing should cast me less and $75 including new tags, transfer fee and misc other small fee's.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Is this a good buy?

Annual tags might take you over the $75. TN is similar to what you laid out about KY boat registration, and by the time you pay sales tax, registration and buy your tags (from TWRA here in TN) you're closer to $175 or so.

 

[Aquaman-PSD]

Re: Is this a good buy?

Well I asked the lady if I had to pay sales taxs to tranfer the title and she said no. So I THINK the charges are $48 for tags ( based on the length of the boat) $15 or somthing for the trasfer fee, and a few other 5 or 6 dollar fee for whatever. I thought it was strange that i don't have to pay sales tax on what i am paying for the boat, but I asked her twice and she said no its a little different than transfering a car title.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Is this a good buy?

^^^^ SAH-WEEEEEET ^^^^

Hope it goes that way for you!

 

[Aquaman-PSD]

Re: Is this a good buy?

Hey all Towed the old gal home yesterday. I noticed while we were doing the sea test... x games style, that there was one little soft spot on the starboard side behind the drivers seat. Its is in a spot that I think I can let it go until next winter. Is there anything that I can mess up if I wait till winter? I would have asked the owner to knock a few thousand off the boat for the soft spot but I was so amazed at the way the motor ran that I didn't care. I looked at the hours guage before we left and it was original. It read 160.5 hours!!! on an 87'! i figured well I guess it doesn't work.... I was wrong it was working just fine. All in all I think I got a pretty good deal. I'll post some pictures when I get some!

 

[Aquaman-PSD]

Re: Is this a good buy?

Oh I almost forgot. The boat looks pretty good but would look really nice if it was re-gel coated. obviously I'm not going to do this until next year when I know the boat as mechanically sound and I think it is, but does anyone have any idea of a Sq.Ft. price for gel coating? I probably wouldn't do it myself because my thinking is if i'm going to do it I want it to be perfect. Any thoughts would be helpfull because I have NOOOOOO clue how much gel coating costs. its a 19' with I think a 7' beam.

 

[Aquaman-PSD]

Re: Is this a good buy?

All in all the transfer cost me less than $70! I had it out almost all weekend and the little ford ranger pulled the he!! out of it! Surge brakes help out a lot!