First foray into buying a used boat-HELP

[harper]

It seems I didn't put my first thread in the right forum so I'm reinserting it for better responses. sorry. This is my first foray into buying a used boat.

1990 Regal 19 foot, V6, 4.3 litre Mercruiser, trailer, sport interior, comfortable bench. That's all I know. $10,000 Canadian dollars or about $8,500 US dollars. That's all I know for now. I will be able to test drive it but that means nothing to the uninitiated. I will have to get a mechanic. I don't know whether it's sterndrive or I/O and from reading some of the threads, everyone seems to like I/O for ease of repair, accessibility, less damage when you hit something, less costly to fix, less hassle to replace temporarily, etc.

If anyone can suggest a year or make and model of a boat that is usually best quality as it ages, I'm all ears. It would actually be better to narrow the choices down and look for a specific boat in the 10K CDN range.

Thanks

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: First foray into buying a used boat-HELP

harper, you did it again.
This is the website issue forum, not the boat questions non engine forum.
I will move this one also.

 

[Zackman]

Re: First foray into buying a used boat-HELP

Harper, welcome to iboats...

I believe you meant to compare I/O and Outboard, since I/O and stern drives are different names for the same drive type.

The biggest problems with older boats are dry rot in the flooring and transom along with wear and tear of the drive and engine. A marine surveyor will charge by the foot and may be a good investment, especially for a first time boat buyer. If the survey looks good then have a mechanic check out the engine and drive.

You may want to consider taking a little more time (maybe a year) to get familiar with boats. Look at used and new boats. If you can, rent a boat locally a few times and get familiar with them.

There are a lot of good boat manufacturers out there, but in the price range you are looking at, maintenance history is probably more important than brand. Regal are good boats. Good luck and take your time.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: First foray into buying a used boat-HELP

Zackman is dead on about the transom and floor. These are common repairs people often have to make on a used boat. I just wanted to chime though to say that that price is decent only for a 17 year old boat in EXCELLENT condition. If it requires any transom or floor work, or any other kind of major repairs you should be able to get it for MUCH less.

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: First foray into buying a used boat-HELP

That's a TON of money for a 17 year old 19 footer! I'll bet it sold for about that new. Shop around. The price seems outrageous to me. About half would be in a realistic ballpark for one in average condition, maybe another grand for great condition. No more. (Unless you're buying from a dealer. Then you could bump those figures up a grand.)

 

[Silvertip]

Re: First foray into buying a used boat-HELP

As for the repair and maintenance ease, make sure you understand the differences between Outboard and I/O (stern drive). An outboard you can stand up to work on. An I/O requires that you be a contortionist and have nine fingers on each hand to feel for stuff because you generally can't see what it is you need to access. With an outboard if you hate the engine but love the boat you can always buy a different engine. If you like the engine but hate the boat you can always keep the engine and buy a new boat. With an I/O you got what you got either way. I/O's are much heavier so if towing is a requirement, your fuel costs will be higher than with an outboard. With an outboard you change lower unit lub and perhaps a set a plugs each year, and if its a four stroke you have an oil change. Other maintenance on an I/O can be quite a chore for the do it yourselfer so here again, an outboard is far less expensive to maintain. As for hitting underwater obstacles, either one is going to be expensive.

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: First foray into buying a used boat-HELP

Just to help clarify, a sterndrive is an inboard/outboard. Car-like motor inside, drive hanging on the back. Inboards have a car-like motor inside with the prop underneath. Outboard is a complete motor hanging on the back. A 19' Regal is going to be a sterndrive. The 4.3 is a marinized Chevy motor and should be a good match for that hull. Very nice motor, but yours won't have the counterbalance shaft like newer ones from the mid 90s and newer. No big deal, but they vibrate more. It also won't have Vortec heads which is another significant improvemnnt of later years. Those are two reasons that boat can't possibly be worth the price they're asking. If the motor has been replaced with a complete newer version, then at least you'd be getting a little closer to that value. But a 17 year old boat is still a 17 year old boat.

Winterizing is an absolute must with sterndrives if you're around freezing winter temperatures. A lot of people get by without winterizing outboards with less than catastrophic results because the water drains out by itself. If the water in a sterndrive motor freezes, that's the end of the motor. That's the biggest difference in maintenance costs.

 

[180shabah]

Re: First foray into buying a used boat-HELP

$10,000CDN is high for that boat, as a referrence, I bought a '96 Mariah 18'BR two years ago for $6600US ($1600 of that was for the brand new trailer). This boat was in PERFECT physical condition. It was a little dirty from lack of recent use and I spent a few hundred on things like filters, fluids, belts, bellows...

Bottom line, I would continue look around. There are alot of old boats out there, If you are patient, you will find one you like, is in good condition and is fairly priced.

Good Luck

 

[tmh]

Re: First foray into buying a used boat-HELP

OK, I went through this myself last year as a total newbie, but luckily I ran across this (and other) forums and asked questions like you are. I'll summarize some of what I was taught here and what proved very valuable in my quest.

First, fight the urge to "target" one specific used boat. It's easy to sell yourself on it once you've decided it's "the one". There is an ENDLESS supply of 15-20 yr. old boats available all the time. just be patient.

Next, make absolutely sure the engine is powerful enough for the boat and how you plan to use it. For example, that Regal w/ the 4.3L may be OK for that boat if you don't need top speed and aren't planning on heavy loads when doing watersports, etc. Used boats with moderate to weak engines should sell for very cheap. I bought my 1985 19' BR last year because it had a 5.0L 200hp that ran great! It was still cheap due to age. DON'T skimp on power.

Before buying, have someone who knows engines check it out. Older used boats with engines that don't run well are just about worthless. Unless you are a mechanic type AND get a deal for next to nothing, put "A well-running, powerful enough engine" as the MUST HAVE first criteria.

Interior, etc....

Older boats get rotten floors, some severe, some well-kept ones maybe little to none. Rotten floors mean waterlogged foam underneath, which means likely stringer rot as well. ALL fixable, and for a reasonable cost IF you do it yourself. Want to hire it done? You'll wind up paying as much as more than the boat is worth! Add a rotted transom and engine mounts and you just made the job much bigger. Bottom line here is this - IF you don't mind doing some hard (but doable) work, AND you chop 30%+ off the price of a similar boat, then needing to replace the floor isn't a "deal breaker" in my book. Heck, I knew mine needed replacing (1/2 of it) when I bought it, but I got it for cheap partly because of this.

Seats, vinyl, etc...

If the existing ones are good enough for you, lots of cost savings there. If they need replacing/repair then the price needs to reflect this. IT'S NOT CHEAP. Same goes for GOOD, useable covers. I just dropped $500 at the canvas shop to get what I needed - AGAIN, I knew this when I bought the boat and factored it in. Recently made covers add value - if you plan to trailer it only, then you can save some $$$ on covers usually as you can get "semi-custom" ones from many places. I'm in a slip this year so I needed custom made snap-on covers.

The Regal you mentioned is, as others have said, is nearly double overpriced. IF it is MINT and runs perfect it is only maybe 20-25% overpriced, but few that age are.

You asked about specific brands, a complicated subject when buying used. YES, Bayliner and other lower-end brands from that era often have the abouve interior issues quite severly. However, if it was very well kept, maybe indoor storage or whatever, a 20 yr old Bayliner could be in better shape than a 20 yr. old Searay (higher end boat). So, it becomes ver "boat specific" I'd say. The good thing is you can tell how a boat will hold up when buying used...either it HAS or it HASN'T !

Keep in mind, for older boats that size range,the engine is 60%+ of the total cost! AND, the engines are NOT brand specific. My Mercruiser Alpha one 305 Chevy small block engine was likely available from almost all manufactures of 19-20' I/O boats at that time. It's how it was maintained that matters, NOT whether it's on a Searay or Bayliner (or in my case a Mark Twain).

Well, hoepfully this LONG post helps you out. Not a SINGLE original thought there, just my version of what I learned from the nice folks here and other places. I followed this advice and chose the "Great engine, Mediocre interior needing floor work" option to save some $$$ but have a nice running boat after some interior work. I could have also chose the "Great engine, good interior" route for $1000 more or so and I think it would have also been a good purchase. It just depends on on you and what matters to you. Just don't pay too much, a very willing seller of what you want WILL come along.