New Boat Owner... Almost

[bick]

I finally found a nice bowrider... a 2008 Four Winns Horizon 180 with the Volvo Penta 3.0L. I don't plan on water skiing so the 3.0 will meet my needs. I put a deposit down and plan on doing a test run later this week with the current owner before making the purchase final.

My questions are...

• What should I test in the water? We already ran the engine in his driveway and everything looked and sounded fine.
• I am located in NY. Should there be separate titles for the boat and trailer or is it just one title? The trailer came with the boat.
• The boat has NY registration numbers on it... do they stay the same or do I have to get new numbers?

The boat inside & out looks new. It was stored indoors and only used a few times each summer. Under 20 hours supposedly but it does not have an hour meter. The engine looks and sounds perfect.

Thanks for any help/tips.

 

[tractoman]

Re: New Boat Owner... Almost

During a sea trial, run it through the paces of the activity you will use the boat for. High speed runs, turning, trimming the drive in and out, slow putt through no wake zones, shut it off, float for awhile, start it up and anythong else you will be doing. I am in CA and the numbers stay on the boat, title for the boat and trailer are separate here, but I don't know about NY.

 

[JoLin]

Re: New Boat Owner... Almost

Separate titles for boat and trailer in NY. Registration numbers for the boat stay the same for life, regardless of how many times it's sold.

 

[southkogs]

Re: New Boat Owner... Almost

Make sure you run it full throttle long enough for it to overheat (if it's going to) or so that any of the gear works in the outdrive can let go if they are going to. Hit a few waves (even if they're your own) at a few different speeds and hear how the hull sounds going through them - also feel how it goes through them to see how comfortable you are with it. Gun it out of the hole a couple times to see how it handles, and also take it from idle to speed nice and slow to see what it does at intervals.

Sea trials can be kinda' fun - "drive it like ya' rented it." You're not trying to break it, but you do want to push it a little to see how well it's holding together.

 

[bick]

Re: New Boat Owner... Almost

Thanks all!!!

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: New Boat Owner... Almost

Be sure to check the gear and engine oil. Ya wanna make sure neither have any signs of water intrusion. Check engine oil before and after the sea trial to make sure its not ...gaining... oil or has any milkshake look to it. With gear oil, also look for any metal filings on the drain plug magnet. Look in the bilge for oil/water leaks before ya go out. Should be dry, when ya get back in. Do a good visual check of the engine for crack repairs, in case it hadnt been winterized properly. It would be nice if ya could do a compression check of the engine. Then you would have a really good indicator of the health of the engine. Check to make sure the lights, and electronics work.. Im sure you have checked the floor for soft spots etc

 

[Susquehanna Squid]

Re: New Boat Owner... Almost

Believe it or not bick, you can ski behind that 3.0 as well! I have an 18' Monterey with the 3.0 Volvo (4 barrel Holley double pumper) and have no problem pulling a skier/tuber even with 4-5 people in the boat.

 

[BTMCB]

Re: New Boat Owner... Almost

Can't help with your registration questions but wanted to say congrats and that I hope the lake test goes well. Good luck and enjoy!

 

[jkust]

Re: New Boat Owner... Almost

It sounds like the engine may not even be past the break in point for hours run. There is a service schedule that would have needed to be completed shortly after it was purchased. I'd ask the owner if he got that done. Running on muffs in somebody's driveway can mask problems. In other words, it means very little as the problems may only show up when it is run hard. Think how hard an engine has to work to push a boat through the water versus just sitting at idle on muffs. The 3.0 has to work extra hard to push the same load that a v6 would (46% less hp) and is why even with 2 less cylinders it gets worse to equal mileage. The odds are with you however being it probably hasn't been around long enough to see any neglect. Believe it or not I have known a few 3.0 owners who didn't know you had to winterize and cracked their blocks only to realize it when the next spring rolled around. Usually they had outboards and moved to i/o's and just didn't know.

 

[gtochris]

Re: New Boat Owner... Almost

I have known a few 3.0 owners who didn't know you had to winterize and cracked their blocks only to realize it when the next spring rolled around. Usually they had outboards and moved to i/o's and just didn't know.

The beauty of the 3.0L is it is a dream to winterize! mine has 2 plugs to remove and it drains about 10 gallons (it seems) and life is good! Of course I fog the engine and use stabilizer if long term, but I often pull the plugs and drain the block in spring/ fall when not in use and cold weather is predicted.
Good luck with the test drive!

 

[oldjeep]

Re: New Boat Owner... Almost

The beauty of the 3.0L is it is a dream to winterize! mine has 2 plugs to remove and it drains about 10 gallons (it seems) and life is good! Of course I fog the engine and use stabilizer if long term, but I often pull the plugs and drain the block in spring/ fall when not in use and cold weather is predicted.
Good luck with the test drive!

The newer ones like what would be in the 2008 he is looking at are even easier than that. No plugs, you just pop loose a couple hoses at that have quick connects on them and shove them down to the bilge.

 

[bick]

Re: New Boat Owner... Almost

The guy told me there is one plug and he disconnects the hoses at the water pump. It is a Volvo Penta 3.0 He maintains and winterizes it himself. From what I could see, he is meticulous about maintenance as am I. I have gone to look at a few boats the past 3-4 weeks... you can kind of tell how a boat is taken care of by the look of the persons house, garage and property. This guy has horses, a 4 car garage, a barn, chicken coop, etc. Everything is well taken care of. He has a couple of classic cars, ATV's, and a nice well kept workshop. You can see that he takes care of his possesions.

Thanks everyone for the tips... I have to remember all of them or write them down for when I'm out there testing it out in a few days. I can't wait! Now I need to find the time to do some searching here for lots of general boating questions I have as a new boater. THANKS ALL!

 

[Dave1251]

Re: New Boat Owner... Almost

As a volvo dealer, i can tell you there are two drain plugs on this engine. One on the block and one on the exhaust riser. Also, this engine was made durning a time frame that Volvo recall the carbs. Just make sure if the engine was included in there call the carb has been check out by a dealer. Also ask when was the last time he changed the impeller. Should be done every two years with low hour boats.

Have fun on your new boat.

 

[bick]

Re: New Boat Owner... Almost

Thanks for the replies. Is it easy to change the impeller yourself? I am pretty handy.

 

[Dave1251]

Re: New Boat Owner... Almost

The Impeller is in the sea water pump on the lower left hand side of the engine. It is easy to change if your handy. I would also carry a spare impeller on board as a spare.

 

[jkust]

Re: New Boat Owner... Almost

He maintains and winterizes it himself.

I've seen several threads on iBoats over the years of people who winterized themselves only to realized they left some water in and summarized it to discover a cracked block. My bet is this seller with the shop and classic cars did it correctly but the used boat sold with the cracked block is the biggest gotcha there is. Not too hard to see the symptoms of it however on a water test. A lot of what we say is peppered with thoughts of older boats. At the end of the day, an 08 with a single owner is very likely to be nearly perfect. I agree on the well kept house and garage too. I can tell in 10 seconds a lot about a person seeing their garage and house.