Buying our first boat

[evilstepdad]

Hello to everyone and help lol, this is my first visit here and we are going to be buying our first pontoon boat and actually our very first boat so here is something you have gotten a thousand times plus, questions lol.

We got a call from someone selling a 20' 2005 Sweetwater pontoon, it has a wrap around couch, two swivel chairs in the front and two in the back, Stereo, Dressing and porta potty set up, Barbecue that he say's mounts to the rail (I guess lol) live well and I am sure I am missing some things. Have only spoken to him and seen some video of the boat and this all looks to be in really good shape.

Comes with partial canopy that folds down and this has a light on the top of it, has a full cover for the boat and they had a wrap around enclosure made that covers about half the boat, has zipper and windows etc. He said he paid $3,000 to have it custom made and never had a chance to use it.

Motor is a 40 horse 4 stroke Yamaha and he say's it has just over a hundred hours on it.

Trailer looks to be in very good shape but as I said I am just seeing pictures as my wife and I will be going over to see it next weekend and He will be taking us out in the boat.

The one knock I have so far is that on one of the pontoons towards the front is a small area with what I believe to be about a half inch slice in it.

Is there certain areas I should look at more than others when we go to see it?

They are selling the boat do to health reasons and need to get out of the loan.

I know it is hard to give an opinion without seeing etc. but with this info I have given you could you please let me know about what you think the boat is worth? He is wanting $7,800 and is firm at that price as that is what he owes the bank.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to learning a lot from all of you pro's on here as we will be needing some guidance for sure lol.

Here is a short video clip of it and you can see a little of it so it might help with my questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKvhMhkOhFc&feature=youtu.be

evilstepdad

 

[crb478]

Re: Buying our first boat

Could be a nice boat, but you will not be going very fast with the 40hp motor. If you are ok with that then it cold be a good boat. The price seems good with all the extras, but you will have to judge that in person.

 

[evilstepdad]

Re: Buying our first boat

Thanks for the reply and yes it is hard to judge just by the pictures but they do look good. The boat has been inside a shed when not used so not in the weather.

Speed is not a factor for us but who knows the kids might want a tube or something and we can talk bigger motor later on.l

 

[MinUph]

Re: Buying our first boat

The boat does sound good to me also. This slice you mentioned. See if it is through the tube and will leak. I'm sure a good welder could fix that easily. I have an 18' with a 40 hp. It does like 16 GPS and is fine for us. No speed demon but were not in any hurry at this stage. Check the plate on the boat to see it's max rating for motor and you will know how much you can move up if you want to.

Good luck and enjoy the test ride.

 

[lakegeorge]

Re: Buying our first boat

We had a 22ft Sweetwater and never had a problem with it. The toon diameter is 19" and on big lakes you will get water over the front gate, happened to us several times with big waves. The price seems good if the rig is in good shape.
The Yamaha is a great motor that uses very little gas.
Good luck.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Buying our first boat

A picture would help. Overall condition will set the price. An abused 2 year old pontoon boat is worth less than one 10 years old that's been looked after. Diameter of the tubes is important, the larger the better. Location is also important. The further south you go, the lower the price usually. Salt water use also makes it less desirable due to corrosion.

 

[evilstepdad]

Re: Buying our first boat

Thanks for the replies. I will try to get something on here before we go and look at it.

I think I can get some video of their friends taking a small amount of footage to show us.

 

[evilstepdad]

Re: Buying our first boat

Put some video on of boat so hope it helps you answer my questions, thanks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKvhMhkOhFc&feature=youtu.be

 

[lncoop]

Re: Buying our first boat

Too slow. Your reference to kids, the possibility they might want to tube at some point and your concession that you might need to consider a bigger motor later is a recipe for big diappointment if you buy that boat. The motor is just too small. There isn't much demand for barges with motors that size, so even if you do enjoy it for a couple of years then begin to look for something faster you'll have a tough time selling it. Don't want to be a hater and I know there are people who are perfectly happy with small motors, but it doesn't sound like a barge that slow would be a good choice for you.

 

[evilstepdad]

Re: Buying our first boat

LOL just sounds like decent advise and not hating to me. We need to get in at a certain price point and we need good value so this might be it for us because everything we have looked at so far has been a lot more in price or not in the shape this is in even considering the bigger motors on some. We all fish so that is a plus and we see it more as relaxing than the kid stuff but that is something we do think about and know up front that this won't work for that.

Now do you have any thoughts on the price of the boat leaving out the fact it is a cruise and fish more kind of boat lol.

Thank you for your feedback it is appreciated along with everyone that has given us some.

We live in Oregon by the way so not a lot around for sale.

 

[The Rooster]

Re: Buying our first boat

Don't think its a bad price considering the additional options. Very low hours for a 9 year old barge & looks to have been taken care of. Good luck !!!.

 

[MinUph]

Re: Buying our first boat

Nice boast. Looks very well cared for. Why don't you rent one with an equivalent motor / size to be sure you're going to be happy with the speed. At least as the owner if you can use it for a couple of hours and motor around the lake with or without him present. Probably a good idea to have him there.
We are happy with the speed on our 19 / 40 hp but we don't have any kids to pull around.

 

[r.j.dawg]

Re: Buying our first boat

Too slow. Your reference to kids, the possibility they might want to tube at some point and your concession that you might need to consider a bigger motor later is a recipe for big diappointment if you buy that boat. The motor is just too small. There isn't much demand for barges with motors that size, so even if you do enjoy it for a couple of years then begin to look for something faster you'll have a tough time selling it. Don't want to be a hater and I know there are people who are perfectly happy with small motors, but it doesn't sound like a barge that slow would be a good choice for you.

Best advise I have heard. +1 You pegged it coop.

 

[evilstepdad]

Re: Buying our first boat



If this works I think she could care less about the taking anyone for a ride on their tube lol.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Buying our first boat

If you don't mind my asking what corner of the world are you in?

 

[evilstepdad]

Re: Buying our first boat

Oregon

 

[lncoop]

Re: Buying our first boat

Oregon

I'm sorry. You said that already. I usually try to read more carefully.:facepalm: Well, if you honestly don't think the small motor will be an issue for you it's certainly worth a look. Godfrey makes good boats and that one is indeed in very nice shape. There is one other big thing to consider. You may or may not like the fishing layout after a while. You probably will since you all like to fish, but some (my admiral for instance) much prefer more couch space to a couch/swivel seat configuration. That's definitely a "to each his own" consideration but a consideration nonetheless as it's another thing that might make the boat a little tougher to move if/when you decide to upgrade. Think it over carefully as you demo the boat. Good luck and keep us posted. Also, welcome aboard.

 

[evilstepdad]

Re: Buying our first boat

New update...My wife called about what time we were going to meet up for the test outing and was informed the boat had been sold. She was a little teary eyed as she has lined up some family and friends for outings over the next couple of weeks.

I am 15 years older than my wife and have learned some lessons the hard way and one I learned a long time ago was if you want just one thing in life to much it's liable to turn out to be a disappointment. What really got to us is not the fact he sold it for more money than he promised we could buy it for but he didn't even give us a call to see if we wanted to match the offer. Total slime ball all the way. I guess I just wonder if anybody keeps their word any more.

Well we are looking and we are in Oregon and have about $8,000 to spend so if you hear of anything we would appreciate a heads up,

Thank You

 

[ssoper]

Re: Buying our first boat

Something better will show up, it always does.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Buying our first boat

Sorry man. That's a bummer. You have the right attitude though, and look at the bright side. The admiral REALLY wants a boat. Usually we have to convince them.:lol: One could also do worse than to take some advice from Ranger Captain Augustus McCrae.