Looking at this boat...

[idonthaveaname]

Re: Looking at this boat...

A couple of points Throttleback...

Things I have learned:

Never rush into a purchase as there is always another deal just around the corner
Always inspect your possible purchase as if your life depends on it
Always think.."How much could I sell this for?"
Nothing is what it seems.
Paint covers a lot of stuff.
You can never believe what a seller will tell you. Yeah...I know there are honest people out there, but everyone lies.
Always have an experienced mechanic/boater check the deal. It's worth the money to have a mechanic check the motor and other things.
If the boat has any problems, it has a bunch of problems. Things wear out and fall apart on a boat faster than anything I have seen.
Ask yourself... If the boat "just needs" whatever, why didn't the seller just do it?
I never pay the asking price and drop it as much as 50%.
Be willing to walk away.
Be polite, but firm and look the seller in the eye when you offer and if at all possible, have the cash offer in your hand.

Good luck and remember...have fun with it.

 

[ThrottleBack]

Re: Looking at this boat...

If you're looking to get on the water very cheaply, stick with an aluminum hull with an outboard motor. Much less chance for financial ruin.

I wasn't looking for it to be cheap, it just happened to be and would have been a great deal if not for the issues. I don't mind doing some work but I'm not looking to fix 30 years of other peoples lack of sense. For the most part the small stuff is not that big of a deal. I'm pretty skilled with glass work so I don't wish to stick with aluminum I just don't need junk in my yard.

A couple of points Throttleback...

Things I have learned:

Never rush into a purchase as there is always another deal just around the corner
Always inspect your possible purchase as if your life depends on it
Always think.."How much could I sell this for?"
Nothing is what it seems.
Paint covers a lot of stuff.
You can never believe what a seller will tell you. Yeah...I know there are honest people out there, but everyone lies.
Always have an experienced mechanic/boater check the deal. It's worth the money to have a mechanic check the motor and other things.
If the boat has any problems, it has a bunch of problems. Things wear out and fall apart on a boat faster than anything I have seen.
Ask yourself... If the boat "just needs" whatever, why didn't the seller just do it?
I never pay the asking price and drop it as much as 50%.
Be willing to walk away.
Be polite, but firm and look the seller in the eye when you offer and if at all possible, have the cash offer in your hand.

Good luck and remember...have fun with it.

All pretty standard practice buying used. I don't rush anything and I question everything. Like I said I don't expect any seller to be honest they want me to buy it. I just expect it to not be so grossly misrepresented.

 

[idonthaveaname]

Re: Looking at this boat...

I live in south fla and most everything is grossly misrepresented. Truth is, the minute I saw the mold on the cap, the condition of the trailer and that it was knee high in weeds, that was a big sign of trouble. Glad you walked away.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Looking at this boat...

For $600.00 I think that's what most sellers will have, another project (best case) or just plain junk. Check the thread on the boating forum about Craigslist ads, it will update you on what many try to sell as boats.

 

[ThrottleBack]

Re: Looking at this boat...

I live in south fla and most everything is grossly misrepresented. Truth is, the minute I saw the mold on the cap, the condition of the trailer and that it was knee high in weeds, that was a big sign of trouble. Glad you walked away.

The weeds didn't bug me, over in this area of the "south" (lets face it, people here try so hard) an uncut lawn can hide many treasures lol.

For $600.00 I think that's what most sellers will have, another project (best case) or just plain junk. Check the thread on the boating forum about Craigslist ads, it will update you on what many try to sell as boats.

I've combed through that and about 14 pages of SHT. I was expecting it to be what it was, I'm just annoyed they couldn't be honest at least a little and save me the trip. Another guy bought it last night apparently and took it straight to the water. He backed it in and while they tried to get it going, this part unclear, it began taking on water and almost sank at the dock a few feet from the ramp. The guy knows nothing about boats and got suckered big time.

Some by standers jumped into action as i would expect most of us to do and they got the boat onto the trailer. According to a guy there it drained water around the drive "like a waterfall" for about 20 minutes. Long story short the guy is now demanding the kid refund his money and the kid, as I would have predicted, says he sold it as is and already used the money to pay rent.

Now all that said, i'm on the kids side. He didn't lie to me about any question I asked and even though he relisted it with that little note that he never revved it up on a hose I doubt he marketed this boat to the buyer as a solid no questions vessel. He had told me he bought it at auction and had never put it in the water so he had no idea 100% on anything. His story there checked out and since he did not have the boats title I have to imagine the buyer got the same exact explanation that I did. He told me he bought it at auction and they said only the trailer needed a title. Likely he misunderstood, but he came away with that belief which no doubt he passed on to the buyer.

So all said and done the guy bought a boat that was obviously in a state of need expecting a launch ready vessel and he cannot expect the kid to refund him the money, especially since he almost sank the damn thing. Witness said by the time they had a truck down there to winch it onto the ramp the water was almost over top of the stern. The witness is someone I know in passing around town and he offered to go buy the guys house and take a look at it this week so I'm hoping to hear why it happened. I didn't see anything at the drive because I never got far enough to look. I can't imagine the plug being out would make that all happen so fast.

I'm just glad I know enough between my upbringing and my countless trolling hours here to pass on that thing. I was never a dummy but I make a strong effort to retain tips and notes of idiocy that I find here lol.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Looking at this boat...

Makes perfect sense. We just switched from Fiberglass to Aluminum. The big perk for us was the towing weight of the aluminum boat. It's so much easier to tow than the fiberglass boat and they were the exact same length vessels.

True on the towing part HOWEVER on big water that gets nasty tin boats sit high enough and are light enough to make control difficult when you need it most. There is only 1 model of 1 builder for big water -- the Lund Baron, and don't be under powered with the 4 cyl I/O on that one.

 

[bid1103]

Re: Looking at this boat...

i think its a very good project to work on you dont want to get too deep in the hole with this boat though if you are going to buy it you might want to go for a quick drive in it i would also do a compression test to see if there is any loss in compression in the cylinders

 

[ThrottleBack]

Re: Looking at this boat...

check the whole thread bud

 

[mfsb]

Re: Looking at this boat...

for an old tri-hull it seems you did your most comfortable decision and walked away. However, for 600 bucks what are you really expecting? I have seen all sorts of stuff done to cars, trucks, motorcycles, hell even a lawn mower for 1k. I looked at a lawn mower used, an 18hp riding lawnmower someone bothered to put that oil crap in, has the pellet lookin stuff to try and bump up the compression, for bad rings. It was at about 600 bucks online, pulled the dipstick and asked the dude what the chunks were, his answer..... Well sir, that was how it has always been, don't all lawnmowers get grass in the oil???? I chuckled and shook his hand and walked away, Louisiana, gotta love it! As far as the boat, though, you have to seriously determine what a 600$ price point boat looks like, to me that is a project! Or a small boat for gunk-holing that could be quite fun and meet your needs for fishing. Glass boats that are in that price range typically need an engine, a floor, or all new seats, hell for that matter they probably need all three!

I would imagine unless you get that one in a million spiteful future ex-wife, you are not going to find a fishing ready boat for less than 1500 bucks that is bigger than 16ft, and glass.

 

[idonthaveaname]

Re: Looking at this boat...

Throttleback...good story! Even better that it wasn't you. It simply amazes me that people think they can just plop down a few bucks and jump into a boat and expect it to be problem free. If you want to pass the time, hang at a dock and looks at the condition of some of the boats going in and out. At least down here you can get some interesting sights.

And hey! mfsb with "Louisiana, gotta love it" I took my car to the dealer once in New Orleans. There was a sign on the wall for the customers and it read:

"Please be sure to check under the seat of your vehicle for weapons before you leave"

Yep...STG...it was there as true as the shop charges sign and this was a big dealer...not some mom and pop. We don't even have that sign in Miami!

 

[ThrottleBack]

Re: Looking at this boat...

for an old tri-hull it seems you did your most comfortable decision and walked away. However, for 600 bucks what are you really expecting? I have seen all sorts of stuff done to cars, trucks, motorcycles, hell even a lawn mower for 1k. I looked at a lawn mower used, an 18hp riding lawnmower someone bothered to put that oil crap in, has the pellet lookin stuff to try and bump up the compression, for bad rings. It was at about 600 bucks online, pulled the dipstick and asked the dude what the chunks were, his answer..... Well sir, that was how it has always been, don't all lawnmowers get grass in the oil???? I chuckled and shook his hand and walked away, Louisiana, gotta love it! As far as the boat, though, you have to seriously determine what a 600$ price point boat looks like, to me that is a project! Or a small boat for gunk-holing that could be quite fun and meet your needs for fishing. Glass boats that are in that price range typically need an engine, a floor, or all new seats, hell for that matter they probably need all three!

I would imagine unless you get that one in a million spiteful future ex-wife, you are not going to find a fishing ready boat for less than 1500 bucks that is bigger than 16ft, and glass.

I don't expect much, but I kind of have a nack for finding the deals. My kids ATV i got almost showroom for $75. I got my Suzuki GS for under $200 with 40 original miles on it, etc. It's been my experience that stupid people breed and these deals have almost always come from a carb issue that was either simple or not a carb issue. I asked them very specific questions before driving out there and their answers were pure boat ignorance.

This time their ignorance was not in my favor. I'm not expecting a boat for $600, and I don't want a project. But I won't be the guy that didn't look at the $600 boat that may really be in great shape or well on it's way.

 

[ThrottleBack]

Re: Looking at this boat...

CASE AND POINT....lol

Looking at what may very well be the winner tomorrow, exactly what I was looking for mixed with owner ignorance. 16ft bass boat (small dash with steering and all that, big plus) with trailer, trolling motor, and outboard. Guy bought it few weeks ago and the other day it died on the water. Marina told him it needs a new pulse pump but he decided he could handle it himself.

So like many who don't google before they wrench he went to autozone and bought a 12v fuel pump and hooked it up. Gets to the lake and shocker, it's not working lol. He's convinced the motor is junk and wants $500 bucks for it. Based on pictures and talking to the guy I'm betting i come home with a new boat tomorrow. Even if the motor is shot my CD-15 will go right on.

 

[boltonranger]

Re: Looking at this boat...

Well, good luck TB!
You certainly have your eyes opened now; which helps.
To be honest - 6 bills for what you described earlier doesn't sound out of line. At least up my way anyhow.
That particular boat should have been gone through at least for safety's sake. My guess is the bellows was bad, but who knows?
This new rig sounds grossly underpriced; which I think is kind of what you have been looking for.
Just take your time and look closely.
-br

 

[ThrottleBack]

Re: Looking at this boat...

$600 was very fair for what it was, but it wasn't what i wanted. This one is under priced because of his wife I'm guessing. When I spoke to him on the phone he had said he considered holding on to it and I could hear her yelling in the background and I get the feeling she wasn't on board with buying a boat in the first place.

 

[ThrottleBack]

Re: Looking at this boat...

No go. He had a bill of sale and no title, said he bought it that way. called the boat in like I always do. Boat, trailer, motor were stolen in 2008. Feel really bad for the guy that was selling it, but he knew what I was doing and had no concern or objections. I really doubt he had any idea it was stolen but he must have had SOME clue that no title means you need to cover your ***.

Worst part for him was the boat was stolen from a now retired cop in another area. He happily showed up to get his boat. I thought at first he was going to hit me then he realized I was the good guy lol

 

[Maclin]

Re: Looking at this boat...

Wow!

 

[krakatoa]

Re: Looking at this boat...

Again.... what you expect for $600.00?? Its an 30 years old boat...

Answer Right here!

Some by standers jumped into action as i would expect most of us to do and they got the boat onto the trailer. According to a guy there it drained water around the drive "like a waterfall" for about 20 minutes. Long story short the guy is now demanding the kid refund his money and the kid, as I would have predicted, says he sold it as is and already used the money to pay rent.

Just a big Junk and Trouble...!

 

[ThrottleBack]

Re: Looking at this boat...

Again it wasn't about what I would have expected, it was about the information gathered from the owner that specifically led around the issues and made me believe i may have found a great deal. My expectations would never have got me to drive that far to see it, the owners lying did that.