Re: Do-it-Yourself survey -- how? Look for what?
What I have always looked at is its general cleanliness, where it is sitting, and its registration. My thought is if it appears to have been sitting out, exposed to the elements, unmoved for a long time, dirty, and has not been registered in several years, then you can imagine that it has not been cared for. The boat with current registration and has obviously been covered and is clean is probably a better bet. Once I start actually sniffing around, I tap, poke, and prod all over the place. I use my weight to exposed a flexible section of floor. I attempt to move the outboard to expose transom flex. I poke my head up under the dash and look for corroded wiring. I thoroughly look the engine over. I am more suspect of an engine that is sparkling than I am of an engine that has some oil residue on it, especially if the boat is only moderatly clean but the motor is spotless. That tells me there is a leak that they do not want to be seen. A motor that has a bit of residue or basically just looks unwashed is more trustworthy in my book, it shows nothing is trying to be hidden. I make sure the engine runs, and that is starts relatively easy. If they are having to do all sorts of weird things to get it running, or it takes half the day to get it barely running, I am suspect. Especially when they say "it ran great this last weekend". A good running motor always starts fairly easily, they don't go that bad that quickly. I ask for a water test, and if they don't want to do it, I walk. Moisture meter is a god thing, but doesn't always expose a problem. You can have partly saturated foam and stringer and not get a hit on the meter. Looking at how it sits in the water can tell you if the foam is holding water, it will sit lower than it should. I also look at the trailer. A nasty rusty skanky trailer tells me that there is a lack of interest in caring for things. Also, I look at the house and property of the person who owns the boat. If it is a skeevy junky looking place with dead grass, crappy cars, trailer trashy, how can I possibly believe the boat will be well cared for. There is so much more to say on this subject, I'll let others chime in...
