Sterndrive boats do have advantages but they do have some of the highest ownership costs. Even if you don't need a report or appraisal, it would be worth spending a few hundred bucks on a surveyor or even a good mechanic to look at the boat for you.
You would need a mechanic to compression test the engine before hiring a surveyor. When engines sit like that the cylinder walls and valves rust over. If the cylinder walls rust really bad, the engine simply seizes. If it doesn't rust that bad, when the engine is started up, the piston rings...
Wood stringers are fine. They will last near forever if properly encapsulated in fiberglass. The problems happen when people drill into them and do not caulk or epoxy the holes when they drive screws in. If you are concerned about wood stringers, or wood coring material of any type, is to either...
It all comes down to how well it was taken care of, how many holes/screws an owner might have driven into the hull, and if the owner maintains all the caulking/thru hulls on the vessel. I've seen 30 year old boats in great condition, 10 year old boats in poor condition. I really don't survey any...
