New to boating

[Brock2010]

I need some advice. I am wanting to get a boat, not looking to spend a fortune to see if it is an activity the family will enjoy. However, I don't know what to look for/ask when looking at used boats. Any tips?

I did buy a used one about a week ago, that I'll be fighting dealer like mad to take back. I was informed the boat was water ready. Well, I take it out once by myself, older 92' Sylvan v188 boat. Seemed to run OK. So I take the family out last Saturday and it's running really rich. So I take it to a dealer close to the house and they run an engine diag on it and pretty much tell me I'm lucky I didn't blow the boat and my family up on it, it was leaking gas so badly, hoses not hooked up properly. Needless to say I'm furious I was sold a boat that risked the lives of my family and other boaters around me. So being inexperienced, with boats I need to know what to look for. And this is a dealer that has global presence so not some local ma and pa store. Thanks for your help.

P.S. And the dealer looking at it now said these are old problems and the boat should not have been sold.

 

[BAproject]

Re: New to boating

Couple of things:

1.) What is your price range, that can help everyone here make recommendations for you

2.) The common stuff is, inspect the hull for cracks or signs of damage, also look for soft spots on the floor (which indicates the deck and possibly beam are rotted). Visual inspect the transom area for rot.

3. Take the boat out for a sea trial before you purchase, and make sure everything is running correctly.

4.) Look to see if the entire boat is in "good" shape, this is generally a good indicator that the previous owner was serious about taking care of it.

In a lot of cases, a used boat is going to require some work, but depends again on how much you are willing to spend.

 

[convergent]

Re: New to boating

That's too bad you had a problem out of the gate and I would think the dealer would have checked it out. That said, I know a lot of dealers sell boats on consignment and don't really warrant anything. I also would never, ever, never ever, never, ever, buy a boat from anyone... dealer included... that I didn't get in and drive on the water before concluding the sale. It sounds like you didn't do a "sea trial" on this boat with the dealer. Another tip is to find a mechanic that is trustworthy that you can have check things out so you get a second opinion. I just sold my old boat and bought another one this week, and I had my mechanic look at the one I bought. He charged me $135 to go over the engine and other electrical/mechanical functions of the boat. Its money well spent.

Another thing to consider if you are buying a boat (old or new) is that they are a high maintenance item and you will likely be spending money on them fixing little thing, big things, and doing maintenance on them constantly.

So back to your question... you need to give more info to get the best advice here. What's your budget for a boat? What do you plan to do with the boat? How many people are you wanting to take out with you on the boat? Etc, etc.

I would recommend getting something on the smaller side to start and then move up as your needs develop or become more clear. I wanted a "fish and ski" type boat... the kind that are based on a bass boat type hull with more seats and amenities for water sports than a bass boat. I bought a 17' and it was great... used it a lot all summer. But, we realized it was a little small for our family and we were always bumping into the max passenger capacity. So I just sold it and bought a 20' that is very similar... just bigger. The smaller boat was great to get back into boating with and get comfortable with trailering, launching, driving, etc. Now I'm pretty confident with the bigger boat on my first trip out.

Good luck.

 

[jmarty10]

Re: New to boating

No offense, but you made the #1 boat buying mistake. No boat survey. Now, if the dealer takes the boat back and refunds you the money, I'm going to take you with me to Vegas in March! Lets get you on the course to buying the right boat for you.

You have to define what you want to do with the boat. Fish, ski, cruise, tube etc. Once you define what you want to do that will guide your boat decision. A lot of boaters with a young family have bowrider/open bows. Great for the little ones to sit up in front and scream their head off! You need to define how much power you want. A 5.0l is more than a 4.3l and a 4.3l is more than a 3.0. How many people will be in boat will determine your size. So once you define what you want to do you can start narrowing your boat type down. Other thoughts: Tow Vehicle? Storage? funding routine maintenance such as winterizing?

But, the single most important thing to do is to get an independent marine survey from a professional. Certainly though not a survey from anyone where you boat that first boat from. The survey will save you a lot of post purchase headaches and avoid the posts that end up in the engine forum entitled "cracked block, how much$$$" "Is it normal to have this much water in my bilge" "I hear growling from the outdrive"

Good Luck!

 

[Brock2010]

Re: New to boating

We are looking for some thing similar fish&ski. We have an SUV to tow with so looking for a freshwater fish and ski no bigger than 20'. It's really right now for just me,the wife and 2 little kids 4 and 2. So it's just for putzing around bodies of water with the family, but strong enough we could tube. Was looking at keeping it under 10k not sure if that' possible now

I think this experience has lead me to believe maybe I'm one of those people who shouldn't own a boat.

 

[Brock2010]

Re: New to boating

No offense, but you made the #1 boat buying mistake. No boat survey.

No offense taken, based on this dealers reputation and being told that it was water ready I was taken. I guess I need to go get the sucker tattoo removed from my forehead. I'm just shocked that would be sell me a boat that would risk the lives of my family. That's what I get for trying to buy something I know nothing about. My attempt getting them to take it back is that it was not water ready, not even close, I understood the risk of buying a used one something may go wrong later but they told me it could be taken and dropped in the water that day. Yeah if I don't mind risking the lives of others.

I took it to get looked at because after running it I had gas in the oil, well older boat maybe a stuck choke, float something. Had older cars do similar things with a carb. The mechanic looking at it now pretty much it's leaking so much gas it was a safety hazard and should have never been sold, if they would have inspected it properly they would have caught this.

 

[lncoop]

Re: New to boating

I think this experience has lead me to believe maybe I'm one of those people who shouldn't own a boat.

Bull Butter. You made a mistake and learned a valuable lesson. Doesn't mean you shouldn't own a boat. Just means you're human. What about fixing the one you bought? Is that not an option? If you like it and it's suitable except for the issues that were found it's at least worth considering.

 

[convergent]

Re: New to boating

We are looking for some thing similar fish&ski. We have an SUV to tow with so looking for a freshwater fish and ski no bigger than 20'. It's really right now for just me,the wife and 2 little kids 4 and 2. So it's just for putzing around bodies of water with the family, but strong enough we could tube. Was looking at keeping it under 10k not sure if that' possible now

I think this experience has lead me to believe maybe I'm one of those people who shouldn't own a boat.

If you look around, you can find some really nice 17' Fish and Skis, mid to late 90's for around $5K. The one I just sold was a '93, garage kept... looked like new... for $4500. There are a bunch of them in that price range and age on Craigslist in our area. The capacity on these is 4-5 people. Ours was a capacity of 4, and we have 4 kids... youngest being 14. I never saw the kids around here until we got the boat, and now they are here all the time wanting to go out... good deal for Dad. So I started looking for a larger 19-20' fish and ski. They are few and far between for anything south of $10K. I see about 1 of those for sale for every 20-25 of the 17' versions. I finally found one in my price range... garage kept, and in great shape. So I put my boat on Craigslist and sold it in 1 day, and then bought the one I just got yesterday.

The process I used was that I first went and looked at it... then thought about it for a few days. Then I called him and told him I wanted to take it for a test run (they call it a "sea trial", but that seems silly for a small boat in a lake to me). When I got to his place, I told him up front that I wanted to test it on the water, then we could negotiate on price, and if we agreed on a price I wanted to take it to my mechanic and leave it overnight for him to check it out. Assuming it got a clean bill from hi, we could meet to do the paperwork. I was upfront on the process. So that's exactly what we did and it took less than 24 hours from the time I showed up for the test run on the water to finalize the sale and bring it home... including the mechanic's check.

If you don't know anything about boats, bring someone with you that does.

 

[Brock2010]

Re: New to boating

Bull Butter. You made a mistake and learned a valuable lesson. Doesn't mean you shouldn't own a boat. Just means you're human. What about fixing the one you bought? Is that not an option? If you like it and it's suitable except for the issues that were found it's at least worth considering.

As of now, the prop that had just minor damage (according to the sales assoc and the sales manager.) turns out to be not even repairable. Which in turn is a bent drive shaft. Which the stern drive is OMC which noone around my area wants to work on due to the difficulty of getting parts now. Chicago area

Not to mention all the things wrong with the 3.0L. I'll have that report sometime today though apparently there is significant damage.

If was not for bad luck...I'd have no luck at all

 

[convergent]

Re: New to boating

Well, hopefully your boat experience will go uphill from here! It can't go down much more.

I don't have direct experience with OMC, but from what I understand they are not a good way to go because they've been out of business for 15 years and parts are hard to get, along with getting anyone to work on them.

There is a big difference between a boat maker being out of business and the motor maker being out of business. I wouldn't shy away from a boat that is from a defunct maker, but not the motor. Hulls don't really wear out, and most of the hardware is standard or can be fabricated. But the motor is a different beast and marine motors need constant maintenance and need repairs frequently. If you can't get parts, or get someone to work on it, then that is not good. Stick with the big guys... Mercury, Evinrude, Johnson, etc.

 

[Brock2010]

Re: New to boating

Well, hopefully your boat experience will go uphill from here! It can't go down much more.

I don't have direct experience with OMC, but from what I understand they are not a good way to go because they've been out of business for 15 years and parts are hard to get, along with getting anyone to work on them.

There is a big difference between a boat maker being out of business and the motor maker being out of business. I wouldn't shy away from a boat that is from a defunct maker, but not the motor. Hulls don't really wear out, and most of the hardware is standard or can be fabricated. But the motor is a different beast and marine motors need constant maintenance and need repairs frequently. If you can't get parts, or get someone to work on it, then that is not good. Stick with the big guys... Mercury, Evinrude, Johnson, etc.

Lessons learned the hard way.

 

[lncoop]

Re: New to boating

Okay, I'm confuzzed. What does BPS/Tracker have to do with it? Did you buy the boat from Bass Pro?

 

[Brock2010]

Re: New to boating

Yes they are the ones that sold me the boat, and I removed their name from my post. I'm the idiot that bought the boat. I wasn't on here to name someone just get some helpful tips at what to look at. I apologize for my rant.

 

[lncoop]

Re: New to boating

No apology necessary. Sounds like you got screwed and I hope you get some satisfaction. You just had me wondering whether Tracker and Sylvan were in bed together in the nineties and I wasn't aware of it.

 

[NYBo]

Re: New to boating

Welcome to iboats!

You already own a boat that I think you are going to be stuck with if they can repair it to a reasonable level of usability. Maybe you can convince them to give you full credit towards another one their boats, but I very much doubt you'll get a full cash refund.

 

[Brock2010]

Re: New to boating

Welcome to iboats!

You already own a boat that I think you are going to be stuck with if they can repair it to a reasonable level of usability. Maybe you can convince them to give you full credit towards another one their boats, but I very much doubt you'll get a full cash refund.

Well I'm holding out hope as I spoke to the sales manager and their policy is not to move boats that are not seaworthy. He admitted this boat should not have been sold with the things I named wrong. I was willing to take a used boat knowing something down the road could go wrong, but not wrong out of the lot.

Their policy is only to sell boats ready to put in the water for use. I think a bent prop shaft and needing a carb rebuild takes it out of that category. Just to name a couple things off of the list.

Trying to remain positive through all this. I'll know more Tuesday as I need to bring them the shop report from the other place.

 

[stic88]

Re: New to boating

if you are happy with the style of boat than ask them to repair the boat and make it sea worthy, but it being omc, ive read nothing really good about them on here. good luck. i foresee an attorney

 

[Brock2010]

Re: New to boating

When do we leave for Vegas JMarty?

So essentially it comes down to 2 options

1) They are having an OMC tec come monday to go over the boat. They'll will pick up the whole repair bill to a point. Once a limit is hit they refund my money 100%

2) I can just take the refund 100%.

My gut tells me to take the refund and apply it to a new entry level open bow (Stingray or Bayliner) in the spring when we get the Mountaineer paid off. Also most importantly my wife tells me the same thing

Regardless I applaud Tracker for being behind this situation 100%

 

[stic88]

Re: New to boating

it is good to see that there are companies out there that will stand behind there products. good for you on getting the situation resolved that really works for you. maybe with customer service like that you might want to look into a boat that they sell at the place you just got that one.

 

[Brock2010]

Re: New to boating

it is good to see that there are companies out there that will stand behind there products. good for you on getting the situation resolved that really works for you. maybe with customer service like that you might want to look into a boat that they sell at the place you just got that one.

I would if they had any priced in my range. Entry level Tahoe which BPS/Tracker sells is 20k, a bit more than I'm looking to spend. Though I'm sure they have accessories for the next boat that I get

I appreciate all the good advice I received on here and glad to see no comments about stoopid noobie buying a boat