Advise or thoughts on a boat purchase

[LOW-LIFE]

Hey all,
Im looking at purchasing a new to me boat its a 21ft 1991 four winns 190 horizon.
it has a ford 302 and the OMC outdrive.

my use for the boat would be skiing, and going out for leisure to have a good time with friends.

pictures of the boat look great interior looks excelent ect. it has a nice sterio and comes with...
1. TWO brand new deep cycle batteries I bought from Walmart 5 weeks ago
2. TWO Ski's
3. One wakeboard
4. High powered CD Stereo Sound system with Clarion water proof speakers
5. Multiple adult life jackets and kids
6. Hamm Emerengcy Radio
7. CB, wooden paddle, throw pillow, air horn, fire ext, rabbit ears, etc
8. Boat COVER
9. Raft/Inner Tube ($200 value)
10. Bimini Top (Excellent Condition)
11. Stainless Steel Propeller ($500 value)
12. Fairly new (2 years) left and right seats that fold down flat for sun bathing

ok now for my question... he said it isnt going into gear neither drive or reverse... so sounds to me to be a lower unit...
i dont know a whole lot about boats and this one would be a personal first boat for me. my dad has owned several ski boats over the years and seems to have a good knowledge about them.
even tho i have never worked on a boat before im certain i can do the work myself as i am a mechanic for a living.

last thing he said he replaced a section of the floor above the fuel tank already and he said that there are a couple of small spots that are beginning to get soft in the floor. i feel i can do this work myself as well.

so my question is what may this boat be worth? i have searched around and it looks like a rebuilt lower unit will cost anywhere from 1300-1800 depending on exact model.

thanks for any and all help

 

[seven up]

Re: Advise or thoughts on a boat purchase

It's the OMC that's going to give you wallet problems.

Several folks here know about them from personal experience. Hear their wisdom. I am guessing that is why it is for sale.

And more soft spots under the floor ?

Geezus. Is it free ?


My advice: forget it.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Advise or thoughts on a boat purchase

If the problems are a bad outdrive (might be the cable) and rotten floor (the rest of the wood will be rotten also) then add at least $3,000 to whatever his asking price is for repairs, now add in every weekend until summer if you plan on doing the work yourself.

 

[oops!]

Re: Advise or thoughts on a boat purchase

so my question is what may this boat be worth?

not very much to any one that knows about boats. ............ with all the toys....1400 max with trlr

i have searched around and it looks like a rebuilt lower unit will cost anywhere from 1300-1800 depending on exact model.

a lot of the problems with omc's is that parts are un avalible......they are really hard to get stuff for......and....no....they dont make the drives any more....as a general rule of thumb......if shopping for a boat and the initals omc are included..........run

then add at least $3,000 to whatever his asking price is for repairs, now add in every weekend until summer if you plan on doing the work yourself.

no low life,.....that was not a joke.....that would be a conservitave estimate on dollars as well as time.

 

[LOW-LIFE]

Re: Advise or thoughts on a boat purchase

a lot of the problems with omc's is that parts are un avalible......they are really hard to get stuff for......and....no....they dont make the drives any more....as a general rule of thumb......if shopping for a boat and the initals omc are included..........run



no low life,.....that was not a joke.....that would be a conservitave estimate on dollars as well as time.

as far as what you posted for the price of th boat u are not far off from the asking price...

and i had already expected to spen at least 1200-2000 for he outdrive plus whatever it cost me to buy glass and wood for the floor. soooo seems to be a reasonable price i guess....

next question.

can i swap the entire outdrive for something else?

i mean im already pulling the lower unit how much more would it run to buy like a mercruiser out drive? or can i even do that?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Advise or thoughts on a boat purchase

ford 302 and the OMC outdrive. if i am not mistaken, Volvo, has the only conversion kit from OMC to Volvo. the transom cut out for the outdrive, does not fit anyother outdrive (too large). also soft spots, the stringers could also be shot, including the motor mount, causing a miss alignment, of motor and outdrive. imho, unless it is free, or extremely close, keep looking, there are many boats for sale, and many more to come. this is definately a buyers market.

 

[LOW-LIFE]

Re: Advise or thoughts on a boat purchase

1500 what you would consider close to free?

thanks for everything so far guys, keep it coming.

 

[KeyWestBoater]

Re: Advise or thoughts on a boat purchase

I think free = ZERO $

Unless you consider a good time and fun as replacing the outdrive, stringers and floor, look elsewhere. There are good deals on boats that are ready to use to be found.

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: Advise or thoughts on a boat purchase

Don't know what part of the country your in but boat prices seem to vary considerably depending on location, that being said I paid $3500 for a 20' chappy bow rider with OMC Ford V8 Powered, there were a couple rotten spots on the deck that I had to cut out and fix, I did it a complete tune up of engine and drive, replaced shift cable, and alot of cosmetics but it's turned out being a very nice ride, I get lots of compliments.
Sounds like your getting alot of accesories with too, I would use the broken drive to your advantage and try getting the price down even more, it may just have a broken shift cable, wish I could find deals like that, it seems southern regions have the free and next to nothing deals, but their stuff has been in salt air and water baking sun and it's probly is junk next to what we have here in the North.

 

[92MaxumSCR]

Re: Advise or thoughts on a boat purchase

Hey all,
Im looking at purchasing a new to me boat its a 21ft 1991 four winns 190 horizon.
it has a ford 302 and the OMC outdrive.

my use for the boat would be skiing, and going out for leisure to have a good time with friends.

pictures of the boat look great interior looks excelent ect. it has a nice sterio and comes with...
1. TWO brand new deep cycle batteries I bought from Walmart 5 weeks ago

If I were you I would take the 2 Deep Cycle Batteries back ang get you 2 1000 Cranking amp batteries. Deep Cycle batteries take a lot longer to charge and aren't well suited for starting your engine. I have tried both on my crusier and I get the best all around use from the 1000 Cranking amp battery.

If you think you need a deep cycle battery then only use it for trolling motors or running your stereo while you are floating for long periods of time. Definitely use a Std cranking battery for starting.

Just my $.02

 

[H8tank]

Re: Advise or thoughts on a boat purchase

Just an fyi... I have an OMC Cobra outdrive with new seals, oil and impellar, only 10hrs on complete new gear set upper and lower, $1500. It came off a chevy motor, but it is OMC.

Parts are not exactly hard to get, there are still hundreds of thousands of OMC drives in use all over the world. Anything cheap enough is a good deal, so keep that in mind.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Advise or thoughts on a boat purchase

Is this boat worth $5,000+ and all of your spare time until summer?

If you want a big project and have the time and money, then do it, if you just want to go boating, look for a different boat.

 

[LOW-LIFE]

Re: Advise or thoughts on a boat purchase

just got back from looking at it and the floor was much softer than what was described, and under the floor where the skis go there was sitting water and the main floor runners were shot and the sideways one were also mostly toasted from what i could see just right there, it was also holding water where the skis would go and under the motor in the transom. i knew it it had that much visable rot it would be 100x worse once i got in there.

i walked on this one.

thank yall for all of yalls help!

im sure i will have questions about a couple other i am gonna take a look at near me.

 

[KeyWestBoater]

Re: Advise or thoughts on a boat purchase

Wise decision! Happy hunting!

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: Advise or thoughts on a boat purchase

Those were nice boats. It's too bad this one was so poorly maintained. There is no excuse for long term standing water in the bilge of a boat. An occasional splash is fine and normal. To just let it accumulate unchecked is irresponsible.

If your budget only allows for around $1500 on the initial investment don't rule out Four Winns. There are lot of great early to mid eighties boats out there that are in good shape. Most of them had Mercruisers until 1988 when OMC bought Four Winns. Depending on your location, I would guess you could find one in the $1500-$3000 range that would be ready to use and in good overall condition.

Good Luck.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Advise or thoughts on a boat purchase

i walked on this one.

thank yall for all of yalls help!

im sure i will have questions about a couple other i am gonna take a look at near me.

Ayuh,... And I didn't even get a chance to throw in My 2 Bucks....

if shopping for a boat and the initals omc are included..........run

Unless you're shopping for a truely Classic Hull,...
Meaning 1 that if money is Poured into it,..
It'll still be there when,+ If you should decide to Drain it back out...
That quote are the Wisest words that can be spoken,... Heed the Advice...

 

[nightstalker]

Re: Advise or thoughts on a boat purchase

just got back from looking at it and the floor was much softer than what was described, and under the floor where the skis go there was sitting water and the main floor runners were shot and the sideways one were also mostly toasted from what i could see just right there, it was also holding water where the skis would go and under the motor in the transom. i knew it it had that much visable rot it would be 100x worse once i got in there.

i walked on this one.

thank yall for all of yalls help!

im sure i will have questions about a couple other i am gonna take a look at near me.

Smart move. That rig would have only caused you headaches. Even for free, it would be a monumental task putting it back in shape.
Nightstalker