k have a question about a potential boat

[jonnymarquis]

here is the add.

http://hickory.craigslist.org/boa/2185221640.html

and here is the exange in e-mails between us.

ME: hi was wondering what minor work is needed? and is the price negotiable?

THEM: All we know is that there is water getting into 1 or 2 of the cylinders. My
husband thinks that it's either the intake manifold gasket leaking or a head
gasket leaking water into the cylinder. If you crank the boat and let it
run it's fine, but as soon as the water is hooked up it starts missing. We
don't think it's anything major, but being a truck driver, my husband just
doesn't have the time, nor does he want to mess with it.
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Oh...and my husband said that if you come get it this week, you can have it for $2000

So what do you guys think?

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: k have a question about a potential boat

No absolutely not, anytime water gets into the motor its a very serious issue as it leads to a catastrophic failure of the motor, water does not compress therefore if too much water gets into the cylinders were talking bent rods etc etc plan on a new motor in your price how does that boat sound for $6000? I would pass.

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: k have a question about a potential boat

the add should say "needs new engine"

$ 500 tops as is

 

[sublauxation]

Re: k have a question about a potential boat

Her hubby doesn't have time to work on the boat but is willing to trade for what would amount to a Mustang project car? Either the boat isn't his priority or he knows it's more than "a little engine work."

 

[ezmobee]

Re: k have a question about a potential boat

Could be great gamble. Course I wouldn't pay more than $1k for that gamble

 

[ajgraz]

Re: k have a question about a potential boat

Any vehicle ad that says "needs minor engine work" cracks me up.

If it really only needed $50 in parts and 30 minutes to make a $500 hunk of junk into a $5000 treasure, would not the owner find the time to do that?

EDIT: and to agree with previous posters, water in the cylinders sufficient to stall a motor is in no way a "minor" problem.

 

[shrew]

Re: k have a question about a potential boat

here is the add.

http://hickory.craigslist.org/boa/2185221640.html


THEM: If you crank the boat and let it run it's fine, but as soon as the water is hooked up it starts missing. We
don't think it's anything major, but....................

So what do you guys think?

I think that they have been running the engine with absolutely no coolant running through it whatsoever. That alone would have me walking away, regardless of how and where the water was entering the engine.

 

[jonnymarquis]

Re: k have a question about a potential boat

yes all this advise has really helped confirm my gut feeling.

hear is another thing I'm looking into. there is a local boat repair shop near my house. just a small 1k sq ft building and a boat grave yard all around it.
now they do have some boats that are for sale of all sorts. i told him what i was looking for that is a bow rider 18-21 ft I/O with preferably a v-6 like a 4.3 or such. he said that he had 4 - 5 that met my needs. then went on to say they would range between 1.5k to 3.5k and one even more. now i have no idea how to deal with this kind of wheelin and dealing. any advice?

 

[BoatingCop]

Re: k have a question about a potential boat

I think that they have been running the engine with absolutely no coolant running through it whatsoever. That alone would have me walking away, regardless of how and where the water was entering the engine.

Yeah I read that too. That motor is toast I'm sure. No wonder they needed a new water pump. Run away. You can find much better deals out there.

 

[eavega]

Re: k have a question about a potential boat

now they do have some boats that are for sale of all sorts. i told him what i was looking for that is a bow rider 18-21 ft I/O with preferably a v-6 like a 4.3 or such. he said that he had 4 - 5 that met my needs. then went on to say they would range between 1.5k to 3.5k and one even more. now i have no idea how to deal with this kind of wheelin and dealing. any advice?

Not the way to go. Consider that most of those boats are in a graveyard for a reason. That, and they are basically sitting out in a field, in the elements probably without any protection or covering. You can be pretty sure that anything you find has some rot, probably a lot. 9/10 sure you will have to replace the floors. If the engines were still sound, they would've probably already stripped them off and sold them. Unless you are looking for a project, I would steer away from the cast-offs from a boat repair shop.

-Rgds

 

[444]

Re: k have a question about a potential boat

If it is really just a blown head gasket, it's not that big a job. Working casually at it, if I had all the gaskets on hand, that would be an easy weekend job. Most likely is just a blown head gasket, but no way to be sure until you tear into it. You'd need to check the heads for warpage and hope the bearings are still good.

I think that they have been running the engine with absolutely no coolant running through it whatsoever. That alone would have me walking away, regardless of how and where the water was entering the engine.

Depends how long they were running it for. You can run an engine for a minute with no coolant and not damage anything. I wouldn't run it for long like that but less than one minute just to determine that the issue is a blown head gasket isn't going to cook anything.

No absolutely not, anytime water gets into the motor its a very serious issue as it leads to a catastrophic failure of the motor, water does not compress therefore if too much water gets into the cylinders were talking bent rods etc etc plan on a new motor in your price how does that boat sound for $6000? I would pass.

I've never seen a blown head gasket bend rods. I know it theoretically can happen (hydrolock) but I've never seen that happen from a blown hg. And I've seen a few blown head gaskets. If you run it too much with water getting into the cylinders, you can get water past the rings into the oil which will destroy bearings. Usually most people are smart enough to shut down their engine when it starts running badly from a blown HG. Like I said, no way to tell until someone tears into it. And 6000? Is the replacement motor cast out of gold bars? If you buy a project boat that is advertised as needing work and if you're not capable of doing it yourself, then yeah you deserve to be bent over at the boat shop. If it was me I'd haggle then down on price hard, it's not worth 2k. If the boat was very nice and clean, I'd buy it for 1k, then tear into the engine. If the engine wasn't worth fixing, 200 bones at the local u-pull yard gets me another 4.3 chevy v6. Then new gaskets and swap over all the marine stuff onto it. To me, that's not a big deal. To some other people, making a log cabin with a swiss army knife would be more doable for them lol. If you just want something you can buy and drive and if you aren't able to do work like this, then steer elsewhere.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: k have a question about a potential boat

yeah I figured the boat is $2000 the motor is $1800 then labor to remove and reinstall the motor to be about $1500 with some fudge $6000 total for the boat in running condition give or take

 

[rickryder]

Re: k have a question about a potential boat

Plenty of boats out there.... I would wait for the right one to come along.