Just picked up our 1st boat!!!

[GracieBebe]

Hi Everyone!!!

We just got our first boat!!! It is a 1989 Four Winns 245 Vista Cruiser with a trailer. I think we got an amazing deal on it (paid a total of $5K). The engine sounds and looks great, no hull damage or wood rot, very well maintained. Everything works perfectly on it. We spent about 3-4 hours looking through the entire boat, in and out, and then another couple hours finalizing the deal. It just needs some very minor cleaning and polishing and it'll be all shiny and new looking! The woman we bought it from recently lost her husband who loved this boat and so she wanted to get rid of the constant reminder. She was very sad and relieved and happy at the same time that we were buying it from her.

Can't wait to take it out on the water!!!!

Here's a pic of my b/f next to it:

 

[d_saum]

Re: Just picked up our 1st boat!!!

Wow... sounds like a great deal! Whats the cabin look like? I feel bad for that poor woman though.

 

[Fishin' Jeff]

Re: Just picked up our 1st boat!!!

The two best days in a boatowner's life:

The day he/she buys it, and the day he/she sells it.

Congrats! Looks like a fine boat!

 

[d_saum]

Re: Just picked up our 1st boat!!!

The two best days in a boatowner's life:

The day he/she buys it, and the day he/she sells it.

Congrats! Looks like a fine boat!

ohh no.. I "STRONGLY" disagree!.....lol I think the best days are those days when you and one of your best friends have convinced a handful of attractive women to go out on the boat with you. THOSE are the best days..

 

[GracieBebe]

Re: Just picked up our 1st boat!!!

Thank you!!! I knew it was the boat as soon as I saw it. Luckily for us (unluckily for others), the pictures were very grainy and poor quality that it was very deceiving, cuz you couldn't tell what shape it was in.

I felt bad for her too. Some of the time, she would tell us stories of the wonderful times they spent on the boat and she would get all teary-eyed, and I'd get all teary-eyed for her. But she told me she was happy that the boat was going to us and hoped it gave us as much joy as it gave her and her family.

Our friends can't wait till we get our boating licenses so we can take the boat out!!!

 

[GracieBebe]

Re: Just picked up our 1st boat!!!

Please do yourelf a favor, BEFORE going out on the water do an oil change (both engine and drive), and do a complete tun up on the engine. Its money well spent...

Will definitely be doing that. The woman's husband's friend was over to help her show the boat to us and he recommended that to us also.

 

[QC]

Re: Just picked up our 1st boat!!!

Congratulations Gracie!! Now get us some more specs on the engine and drive and we'll help you with the first maintenance requirements. Sounds like it has been sitting. Quick question, when you were running the engine, did you have water going to the drive? If not, we already have a maintenance/repair item to discuss.

Oh, BTW, I also disagree with Fishin' Jeff. The days I have sold my boats have been very sad for me, even if I had another one lined up. They have all been part of our family, and for me a mistress . . .

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: Just picked up our 1st boat!!!

It probably has a Ford 5.8L OMC Cobra. It might be a 460 Ford OMC King Cobra.

Looks like a nice boat. Good luck with it.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Just picked up our 1st boat!!!

Welcome and congrats! Looks like you are in for some good times.

 

[GracieBebe]

Re: Just picked up our 1st boat!!!

Congratulations Gracie!! Now get us some more specs on the engine and drive and we'll help you with the first maintenance requirements. Sounds like it has been sitting. Quick question, when you were running the engine, did you have water going to the drive? If not, we already have a maintenance/repair item to discuss.

I definitely know that it's an OMC engine with 260 hp, 350 cu. in. and it's only 2 yrs old. Not sure about any more than that. My b/f got all the paper work on it and is looking for an owner's manual for it so he can make sure everything's all right before we take it out. Also, the previous owner's husband completely replaced the engine in 2006 when their daughter forgot to turn the water on when he started up the engine so instead of dealing with all those problems that would come up from that, he completely replaced the engine with a new one. When we tested it out this past weekend, we made sure there was plenty of water going through it as we looked it over.

My b/f also took a look at the oil stick and the oil and said it looked clean and there were no burn marks on the stick. Looked like the oil was changed recently.

 

[QC]

Re: Just picked up our 1st boat!!!

OK, so it is probably a Cobra which is a good drive, but there can be parts availability issues. You're in the right place for help though. Awesome!! Going to be fun. Big boat for a first one, lots of windage, so take things slow and pay special attention to the wind at low speeds. She will be tough to handle in a Marina when it is blowing. Get a couple of boat hooks!!

 

[GracieBebe]

Re: Just picked up our 1st boat!!!

OK, so it is probably a Cobra which is a good drive, but there can be parts availability issues. You're in the right place for help though. Awesome!! Going to be fun. Big boat for a first one, lots of windage, so take things slow and pay special attention to the wind at low speeds. She will be tough to handle in a Marina when it is blowing. Get a couple of boat hooks!!

Thx! I don't mean to sound ignorant, but what is a boat hook for?

 

[QC]

Re: Just picked up our 1st boat!!!

Reaching out to grab cleats on a dock or another boat or handing line to someone out of reach or pushing off of a dock . . . Lots of stuff will be made easier, and they are especially helpful to new boaters and especially ones that start with a large boat . . .

 

[SnappingTurtle]

Re: Just picked up our 1st boat!!!

Thx! I don't mean to sound ignorant, but what is a boat hook for?

Really nice to have, if you look and your lucky, there might even be one stuck in the boat somewhere.

I wish I had a boat big enough to hide one of these.