New to me boat

[roadrunnr]

I currently own a 1989 Maxum with a 85 hp Force. I will be looking at a 2002 Sea Ray 190 bowrider with 4.3 MPI Alpha 1 Merc this Saturday at a dealer. I've read the sticky's on buying a used boat and will be going over the hull and transom looking for any soft spots, the prop shaft for any slop and the condition of the bellows. The boat is supposed to be in pristine shape and was maintained by a local marina, but not the dealer that's selling it. I'm going to try to see if I can get the maintenance records from the servicing marina. Any suggestions will be welcome.

 

[Slip Away]

Not much to add over what is covered in the "sticky". Just don't pay top dollar for it because it is a Sea Ray.

 

[Starcraft5834]

An independent assessment of the boat and especially the engine by a 3rd party is recommended. The marina who "was suppose to maintain it and keep it in pristine condition" has an interest in selling the boat..... I would not trust a word they say... a 3rd party assessment checking engine compression at a minimum..Im not calling the marina liars, a smidge of protection paying another marine tech to look it over is worth piece of mind.. the last thing you want is engine problems.. with that said...you may be satisfied with what your told at the place selling the boat.. as Slip said. dont pay top dollar.. the market for boat sales is small.....your in charge when it comes to price. the dealer does not want it sitting on his lot another season, they want it gone....good luck!

 

[Slip Away]

~~3rd party inspection is a good idea. Here is what can happen sometimes when you buy a used boat from a dealer. The dealer (whom I know) had this boat for sale, said everything worked, buyer did a quick visual inspection and bought it. Once he got it out on the water, this is what happened.

~~yes I sank a 270 Sundeck 2 1/2 weeks ago in Lake Michigan on its maiden voyage!!! Left Burns Ditch for Bridges in Michigan city for a burger and a beer and half way back she misfired. Opened the hatch to find it approx a foot from the top!! Turned toward shore to beach it then within minutes it was going under... Maydayed and some people from Demotte IN saved my family from getting wet...
I wasn't getting off then the coast guard made me go...the whole thing took about 30 minutes and all that was sticking out of the water was the bow....

This was a worse case scenario, but you don't want anything like that to happen, so have it checked out.

 

[roadrunnr]

Thanks for your replies. I'm not enamored with Sea Ray, and realize condition of a used boat and how it was maintained is more important than brand name. I'm going into this cautiously and while my current boat is a bit small and underpowered, it runs good and will get me on the water this summer. This time of year boats seem to be at premium in Wisconsin. I have looked up the name of a marine surveyor, but would like to look at it first to see if it fits my needs before spending money on a survey. I'll keep you posted.

 

[greenbush future]

2002 Sea Ray is still 13-14 years old, so quite a bit can happen over that amount of time, it's not new by any stretch, sea trial would be a must for me. Complete survey would be a wise choice, depending on what kind of price tag it has. Dealers are always asking top dollar, documentation is nice, words mean nothing w/o paperwork. It's a buyers market so don't settle for anything!!

 

[roadrunnr]

Saw it this morning, it was in excellent shape with 220 hrs on it, but it was a 185 - 18.5 ft and felt a bit cramped. We didn't even sea test it. I'm in no hurry, I have a boat that runs fine.