Re: I looked at the boat...........edit
did he hook up a water hose from his house to the boat?
when a boat is sitting on the trailer, there's no resistance against the drive or prop. there's a big difference once you get it in the water. temp, oil pressure, rpm's mean almost nothing in the driveway.
do you know how long the boat has been sitting? trailer tires will rot and age sitting still, even with all of their tread.
new cover is nice but it's a little like buying a house because you like the color. this boat has me wondering if the cover isn't worth more than the boat.
it's not uncommon to pick up scratches on a hull, accidents happen. many boats have none though. are there a few isloated scrapes or does it look like he used to drive it up on shore to 'beach it'? it is possible to wear through the fiberglass, sand isn't soft. if he was banging the hull into docks and the sand, what was he doing with the engine?
did you ask him why he's selling? how did the engine compartment look?...clean and shiney, or oily and a mess? what about under the seats? try removing the seat cushions and standing on the floor there if possible. wet vests often end up under seat cushions at the end of the day, not good.
get some pics! when he takes you out on it, make a note of the rpm's at wide open throttle, temp, oil pressure.
like lucky said, compression test would be preferred. all you do is take the spark plugs out and put the tester in their place.
did you want to buy a boat to use or to work on?
edit: sorry that was long, not trying to be a pain in the butt. just don't want you missing your hard earned cash.
