Shopping for a 25-27' Used boat

[muskie hunter]

I am new here and have just starting looking around for a used boat.I have few questions if someone could help. I want a trailerable boat for lake Erie 3 hrs away,Preferably 25,26 or 27'. The wife wants a sink, head,shower and sleeping for 5 or 6 . Any brand preference? I have heard that Bayliner is not a good boat. Is this true? Also my friend said to go with a mercruser lower unit and not OMC because OMC is out of business. Next.. How many hours run time is considered high for a boat and lower unit?
I am wanting to tow the boat with a 1997 GMC Yukon 4x4 2 door, it has 5.7 liter (350) fuel injected engine with the tow package. I have heard that the transmissions (700R4) in these vehicles are garbage and wont handle the stress of towing.
Anything I should be aware of when looking at a boat? IE: hull, soft fiberglass, ect..ect..

I know I rambled alot but I dont know much about boats and any info on what to look for would be of great help

Thanks Steve..

 

[gcboat]

Re: Shopping for a 25-27' Used boat

Well my friend that all depends on how deep your pockets are. Actually the older Bayliners, say a 2560, 2556 are very good hulls. The motors are all GM based, probably 5.7 and they will come with a variety of outdrives. The OMC drives are really pretty good - but they need to be maintained just a tad more than the rest. Their biggest problem is the clutch cable control. If not tweaked to their spec's the you might run into some problems. Read this article http://www.hastings.org/~stuart/cobra/
There interior size is wonderful and for their price it would prove to be a great starter boat. But do be very careful. If one has been sitting or neglected walk away - they do have a tendancy to have rotten stringers and transom problems. On the lighter side, if you can find one that is operational and being used then you might stand a good chance of getting a jewel.
Even with OMC out of their drive production parts are readily available. There are a lot of OMC drives still out there.
They all are trailerable and with your vehicle it should prove to be no problem.
Running time on an engine is pretty much of a misnomer. All one needs to do is disconnect the Hobbs meter and it won't work. Just look for a boat that is well maintained and the rest will fall in line.
I think for your own piece of mind if you find a boat that does meet your criteria then you should get a professional survey done. The initial cost will far outway any headaches down the road. Good luck and have fun looking.

 

[muskie hunter]

Re: Shopping for a 25-27' Used boat

Well my friend that all depends on how deep your pockets are. Actually the older Bayliners, say a 2560, 2556 are very good hulls. The motors are all GM based, probably 5.7 and they will come with a variety of outdrives. The OMC drives are really pretty good - but they need to be maintained just a tad more than the rest. Their biggest problem is the clutch cable control. If not tweaked to their spec's the you might run into some problems. Read this article http://www.hastings.org/~stuart/cobra/
There interior size is wonderful and for their price it would prove to be a great starter boat. But do be very careful. If one has been sitting or neglected walk away - they do have a tendancy to have rotten stringers and transom problems. On the lighter side, if you can find one that is operational and being used then you might stand a good chance of getting a jewel.
Even with OMC out of their drive production parts are readily available. There are a lot of OMC drives still out there.
They all are trailerable and with your vehicle it should prove to be no problem.
Running time on an engine is pretty much of a misnomer. All one needs to do is disconnect the Hobbs meter and it won't work. Just look for a boat that is well maintained and the rest will fall in line.
I think for your own piece of mind if you find a boat that does meet your criteria then you should get a professional survey done. The initial cost will far outway any headaches down the road. Good luck and have fun looking.

Thanks for your advise I really appreciate it!! How do I check the stringers and any other wood for rot if its under the floor? Any other comments or advice from anyone would be great Thanks Steve

 

[eriediver]

Re: Shopping for a 25-27' Used boat

Don't fprget you need a special permit to tow anything over 8' wide. Keep that in mind when looking & also remeber a 26' or 27' is a pain in the *** to launch & recover. They're not light. You might be just as happy with a 24' that has an aft cabin, it will still sleep 5-6 (more in the cockpit area if you have full canvas). Good luck.


Whereabouts on Lake Erie ya heading?

 

[muskie hunter]

Re: Shopping for a 25-27' Used boat

Don't fprget you need a special permit to tow anything over 8' wide. Keep that in mind when looking & also remeber a 26' or 27' is a pain in the *** to launch & recover. They're not light. You might be just as happy with a 24' that has an aft cabin, it will still sleep 5-6 (more in the cockpit area if you have full canvas). Good luck.


Whereabouts on Lake Erie ya heading?

I live about 16 miles east of Columbus. I want a trailerable boat for weekends at the lake. As to where on the lake Erie, I dont know. I guess where ever the walleye and perch are. I have not seen any 24' boats with aft cabin, shower kitchen ect.. If I could find one like that it would be great!! and Im sure my truck would thank me also.

 

[2broke4this]

Re: Shopping for a 25-27' Used boat

Just a thought, but you'll probably want to budget some money for a stronger, longer tow vehicle. I'd imagine that your Yukon isn't going to like pulling (or stopping) something that big. I don't think I'd even pull it with MY tow vehicle (97 GMC Savana 2500 with the same engine and the heavier duty 4L80E transmission) and I've got a much longer wheelbase and huge brakes. You might be in for a scary ride to the lake! I'd check your tow capacity on your truck (depends on rear end, towing package, and other things) before even hooking it up to a boat that big. They get real heavy real fast. You know your truck better than anyone, so it's ultimately your call, but I'd look into it a bit before buying something you can't tow. I had to replace my old tow vehicle when I bought a boat that the old truck couldn't tow very well.

-Carl

 

[Bill Adkins]

Re: Shopping for a 25-27' Used boat

You might snoop around to locate an older Sea Ray Sundancer. They had a galley area, a head with a cold water rinse, a vee birth that closes off as well as an aft cabin sleeping area that also closes off. It came in a 24 foot model and a 26 foot model most with a GM v8 small block and earlier one had twin 4 cylls all having outdrives. I have had a few of them over the yrs and never had any problems with rot or blisters and they handle really well in all types of water.
There are usually a few shown on e-bay that you could see the layouts and so fourth.
Bill

 

[glenncal1]

Re: Shopping for a 25-27' Used boat

Steve- a marine surveyor is someone you as a buyer hire to inspect the boat and lookf for things you don't even know to look for, including what was netioned above. You will also probably want a mechanic to check the engine(s) out for you. These are not cheap so not taken lightly. Try to gain enough knowledge to determine if the boat is worth having a survey (any friends that can help you out?) so that you don't waste money on an obvious dog.

Look at the Formula 25/26 PC's, Regals of the same size. If you are going to trailer frequently I wouldn't go much bigger that 26'. I currently have a 28' and while I have a trailer it is a large rig.

Jim

 

[muskie hunter]

Re: Shopping for a 25-27' Used boat

You guys are all great!! Thanks for the information. I think I might start at the library for a study on boats,maintenance, and terminology. I am not going to buy until I am more educated on the whole boating thing in general. My freind has a 25' Thompson, I might hook to the truck just to get an idea of what to expect from trailering different sized boats. I might give insight to what the truck can handle. Although I have pulled several trailers of firewood in the 7000 lb range and hauled a 1980 monte carlo on a car trailer with no problem, I am sure that trailering a big boat is entirely different.

Thanks Steve.

 

[eriediver]

Re: Shopping for a 25-27' Used boat

If you can find an older Century, they are pretty light. I had a 1985 28' Century Meridian w/8' beam & a single 350 mercruiser. Dry weight was listed as 4500lbs. I towed it home once with a 2000 Ford Ranger 4x4

Not a misprint 4500 lbs.

I'd probably still have it if it hadn't caught on fire

Also the 24' Bayliners have the aft cabin & layout you're looking for. Go to flea bay & check out lots of boats to see layouts & etc.