Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal
Ok....I am feeling very stupid here. I bought a 1998 700 XS on sight....looks good, did muff the motor and started right up and pumps water good. But I did not test drive it because ...well someone right behind me was going to get it and so I said sold. I know...I know but it was $4,000 and it really looks nice and everything functions. I do read horror stories about a NITRO defect in the transom which worries me...but motor only had 80 hours on it and is spotless inside cover.
Did I screw up bad?
First I can't comment on that particular boat. Did you screw up? Who knows and no one here can say. because the word "boat" has no meaning, the question has no answer. As the comments prove, it's all driven by circumstances. The only "never" is "Never listen to advice here that includes 'never' or 'always' except as to one thing."
It's really a simple risk/cost analysis. For example, when i bought mine without a sea trial, but with reliable basic info about the motor, I figured that at the price, worse case = replace the outboard, I'd still come out OK, so I took the chance.
Does that have anything to do with me putting a new lower unit on 2 years later? No. Boats in perfect used condition--even new ones--will have problems eventually. It's part of the deal (and cars are different that way).
There are two reasons to sea-trial a boat. The first is to see if the hull and other designs suit your needs--specifically your conditions, and including the amount of power it has. In that regard, sea trials often don't answer the question. it's a real problem if you buy new and find the boat won't work for you, but it has no problems of its own. therefore it's better to sea-trial other people's boats and then go buy one like it--that's exactly what I did, and another reason not to need a sea trial for the purchase.
The second reason is to test condition. I'm an OB guy and know that how they run on the water is not the same as on muffs. So you really do have to run them. But if you can't, and the compression is good, you are probably only risking something that can be repaired. So with a basic <20' outboard, few other issues, except what you can see on land, will show up at sea. A leaking aluminum boat is one; overheating is another. (There may be different factors with i/o) You just have to ask, what is the risk and what is the cost?
