I am giving a lot of thought to buying my first boat. I've read a lot on here about transom and stringer rot and decided to call a local surveyor to find out if he could inspect before I bought. He said he didn't inspect boats that small but He told me to call a particular shop near the Lake, near where the boat is. Anyway, the shop said all they could do was look at the motor and out drive for $75 bucks and said it would take about 5 days to get to, but mentioned a guy who repaired transoms and stringers for a living that I would have to call about that.
So I called him and he said he could look at it for free and it would take about 30 minutes. He also mentioned he's real busy this time of year. So my first question is, Can a guy who replaces transoms and stringers for a living tell me if there is any rot or is it possible it could be there and he not know, or could it be there and he say it's not for the sake of lying for future business? Also, what advantage does he have if he's so busy, spending 30 minutes inspecting a boat at no charge? It's not exactly like giving an estimate to repair a fender bender.
The second part of my question is; the mechanic shop I was referred to by the surveyor who stated they could look at the motor and out drive said it would cost about $75. Is it a wise investment for me to spend that before I buy a boat of this age? It's a 4.3 mercruiser. The reason I ask is that my dad has worked on car motors his entire life and owned a 73 caravelle for about 10 years back in the mid70s to 80's and did all the work on that him self. He will go look at it with me. His experience has been with OB's only though so I don't know if even if we take it to the lake for a test run, or look at it in the driveway, he has as much expertise as he thinks.
Lastly, the boat appears to be in good condition. I'm told there are no soft spots on the floor although the seat vinyl is cracked a moderate bit but the pics shows it's been stored in a carport. Is 6000 a decent price for this thing and does anyone have any opinions or experience with the quality of the 18 foot mariah shabah
So I called him and he said he could look at it for free and it would take about 30 minutes. He also mentioned he's real busy this time of year. So my first question is, Can a guy who replaces transoms and stringers for a living tell me if there is any rot or is it possible it could be there and he not know, or could it be there and he say it's not for the sake of lying for future business? Also, what advantage does he have if he's so busy, spending 30 minutes inspecting a boat at no charge? It's not exactly like giving an estimate to repair a fender bender.
The second part of my question is; the mechanic shop I was referred to by the surveyor who stated they could look at the motor and out drive said it would cost about $75. Is it a wise investment for me to spend that before I buy a boat of this age? It's a 4.3 mercruiser. The reason I ask is that my dad has worked on car motors his entire life and owned a 73 caravelle for about 10 years back in the mid70s to 80's and did all the work on that him self. He will go look at it with me. His experience has been with OB's only though so I don't know if even if we take it to the lake for a test run, or look at it in the driveway, he has as much expertise as he thinks.
Lastly, the boat appears to be in good condition. I'm told there are no soft spots on the floor although the seat vinyl is cracked a moderate bit but the pics shows it's been stored in a carport. Is 6000 a decent price for this thing and does anyone have any opinions or experience with the quality of the 18 foot mariah shabah
