Woud you recommend this boat? 89 Sea Ray / 130HP I/O

[wink21]

I'm grateful that the collective wisdom of this forum has steered me away from a previous boat I was considering.

I'm a newbie and looking to get a starter boat for family fishing and skiing.

I have found a 1989 Sea Ray 160 with a 3L/130HP Mercrusier I/O for $3,000.

The owner says the floor and engine is completely solid. He is fine with having a mechanic check it out prior to sale (which I will do).

Assuming the boat checks out, I have a couple of questions:
1. Is this a good price? What is a boat of of this year worth assuming everything is in decent condition?

2. 16ft boat with 130HP I/O. Would this be underpowered to pull adults up well on skiis?

 

[BLU LUNCH]

Re: Woud you recommend this boat? 89 Sea Ray / 130HP I/O

We have a 88 Sea Ray Seville 18 ft with 3.0 L Volvo crate motor that's 2 years old here for 2k with no takers. The boat tops out at 40 with a 19 p prop more than enough power

 

[Tubingluvr]

Re: Woud you recommend this boat? 89 Sea Ray / 130HP I/O

If the boat has been taken care of you can't go wrong with a Searay.
I had an '88 18' Seville with a 4.3 that I paid $4200 for about 3 years ago.
To this day it is my favorite boat I have owned.
I wish I had never gotten rid of it.
Love those lines of those late '80's Searays.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Woud you recommend this boat? 89 Sea Ray / 130HP I/O

A 3.0 in 16' should be plenty of power. Good luck!

 

[dorelse]

Re: Woud you recommend this boat? 89 Sea Ray / 130HP I/O

The 3.0L will do well in a 16ft boat.

Like you said, if everything checks out as you hope, in my neck of the woods, $3k wouldn't be out of the question. Particularly if its in very good condition.

Good luck!

 

[BF]

Re: Woud you recommend this boat? 89 Sea Ray / 130HP I/O

I bought a 1990 SeaRay 160 with that engine and alpha one outdrive at the beginning of July... FWIW, I paid $3000 (no trailer). I'm very happy with mine.... It is in excellent shape, and appears to be very low hours. BUT.... I did have to catch up on neglected maintenance items and that would have cost quite a bit if a shop had done it.

I replaced the gimbal bearing which was rough and replaced the impeller (which it needed badly). I adjusted engine alignment and greased but did not replace the U-joints (seemed OK)... I plan on pulling the drive again this fall and will re-inspect and re-lube. I will do U-joints and bellows at that time if need be. Oh, I also gave it new spark plugs. The engine starts and runs very well. Parts cost me ~$225 or so...

FYI, mine has a 19" standard 3 bladed alum prop and does ~45 mph at WOT... (speedo, not GPS). I have only pulled kids skiing and tubes with it so far, but have no doubt it would pull an adult without a problem.

Other than the maintenance stuff that I did when I first bought it, we've used it for the summer with no issues. It goes on my "good buy" list.

I should add that the $3K I paid for my boat was US dollars, and I bought it in Minnesota.... there is huge variability in local markets for boats. There were cheaper boats of that vintage for sale, but none in the condition of the one that I bought. I'd say the interior is 9/10.... The hull has some scrapes etc... I'd say exterior is 7/10. After the maintenance catchup, mechanically it's 9+/10....

 

[wink21]

Drove down to buy this boat - frustrated. . . total waste of a day and $$

Drove down to buy this boat - frustrated. . . total waste of a day and $$

Have you guys found the process of buying a boat to be so frustrating??

After weeks of going back and forth with the owner of this boat, we agreed on price. I told the owner I was bringing a boat mechanic with me and it would have a full check out so to let me know if there is any problems he has not disclosed before wasting time coming down.

The owner gave me 100% assurance the boat is water ready, no problems and runs fantastic.

I drove 3.5 hours today to purchase it. Never owned a boat so as promised, I found a local mechanic to the owner. Turns out :
- the trim doesn't work
- the lower unit is not working
- the head gasket is blown

The owner was shocked but I don't know how someone could not know these things. . . heck the boat couldn't even be run in the water without the trim doing down.

Arghh.

 

[mickjetblue]

Re: Woud you recommend this boat? 89 Sea Ray / 130HP I/O

Maybe check with Blu Lunch about the boat he mentioned for 2k.

 

[Boss Hawg]

Re: Woud you recommend this boat? 89 Sea Ray / 130HP I/O

I'd have to really love it (in mint condition & motor in perfect condition ) to pay $3000 for a 20 yr old 16' boat -

 

[Twinminnow]

Re: Woud you recommend this boat? 89 Sea Ray / 130HP I/O

While I've never owned a Sea Ray, I have always admired their hull lines. Regarding your questions about HP vs. skiing - my previous boat was a 20' Maxum I/O with a 3-liter. It was more than adequate to pull a skier up quickly. With that engine, it wasn't a "major deal" to pull two at a time. Depending on your preferences, you could change prop pitches to suit your needs.

HAPPY BOATING!

 

[NHGuy]

Re: Drove down to buy this boat - frustrated. . . total waste of a day and $$

Re: Drove down to buy this boat - frustrated. . . total waste of a day and $$

Have you guys found the process of buying a boat to be so frustrating??

After weeks of going back and forth with the owner of this boat, we agreed on price. I told the owner I was bringing a boat mechanic with me and it would have a full check out so to let me know if there is any problems he has not disclosed before wasting time coming down.

The owner gave me 100% assurance the boat is water ready, no problems and runs fantastic.

I drove 3.5 hours today to purchase it. Never owned a boat so as promised, I found a local mechanic to the owner. Turns out :
- the trim doesn't work
- the lower unit is not working
- the head gasket is blown

The owner was shocked but I don't know how someone could not know these things. . . heck the boat couldn't even be run in the water without the trim doing down.

Arghh.

Good for you. You didn't get sucked in by a bad situation. It sounds like your expert saved you big time!

 

[JimKW]

Re: Woud you recommend this boat? 89 Sea Ray / 130HP I/O

No doubt you had to pay the mechanic some money and the drive took you time and money to get there. But that was all money well spent. You avoided buying a money pit.

 

[allpoints360]

Re: Woud you recommend this boat? 89 Sea Ray / 130HP I/O

Take it for a sea trial. Then if you love it, remember that cash always makes the price negotiable.

Good luck!

 

[wink21]

Re: Drove down to buy this boat - frustrated. . . total waste of a day and $$

Re: Drove down to buy this boat - frustrated. . . total waste of a day and $$

Good for you. You didn't get sucked in by a bad situation. It sounds like your expert saved you big time!

NHGuy,

Totally agreed and have that perspective much more today after venting .

Still looking and hopefuly I'll be soon posting the pics of my first boat boat that is as advertised

Cheers

Scott