Re: Things to check before buying old boat
Others will reply that can provide more detail, but since I am completely rebuilding a boat that matches your description, I'll start it off. Almost without fail, these old boats are full of wood. Get an icepick, awl, or similar to prod with. Check the floor, espicially around the seat bases for rot. Check the transom by poking at the inside if possible and by putting some weight on the motor leg while it is tilted up. See if the transom flexes. It shouldn't. If you can find a hatch, ski-locker, etc to check the stringers would be great. My '76 had mush for stringers, but the previous owner severely neglected it. The fiberglass was holding the boat together. <br /><br />If all is solid, check the motor and make sure it runs good and strong. If you aren't too knowledgable about them, you may want to get a mechanic to check it out. A $1000 boat/motor can cost twice that to fix if the motor isn't right.<br /><br />An older tri-hull can be a blast. We've had ours for 3-4 years and have more than gotten our money's worth out of it. It has been a great starter boat as long as you keep it on reasonably calm waters. Never worried about scratching it. We now have a 19' bowrider I/O so the tri-hull gets redone and used as my fishing/bass boat.
. I popped this thread up for OnMorse - "Looking for suggestions"<br /><br /> http://forums.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=015075#000020 <br /><br />Kelly
