newbie buying first boat what to look for???

[89sandman]

going to look at a 1985 17 foot sunrunner open bow with a 3.0l merc. has been owned by the same older gentleman for the last 20 years. always garaged and serviced annually. have never owned a boat, i do own an auto repair business and do install motors in boats about 10 a year but have never paid any attention to anything but the engine. from the pics i've got it seems to be in mint condition, not a rip or tear in the interior and seems spotless from front to rear. from what i've been able to find on these boats they have fiberglass stringers so no problems with rot there. have heard about bellows and gimble bearings and have no idea what these are. i am pretty knowledgeable about the engine but have no idea what to look for in the outdrive, steering, trim. this older gentleman is in terrible health so there is probably no way i'm gonna be able to take it out on a test drive before i purchase it so i need to know what to look for just running it on land. is there a way to check the fluid in the outdrive? is it ok to check the forward/reverse without the prop being in water? any way to check the bilge pump, don't even know if it has one buying it to take the grandkids out on the lake and pull them around on a tube. used to ski when i was a kid but had a very serious motorcycle accident last year and my shoulder won't allow that anymore. have been looking for the open bow with the 4 cyl to save on fuel, will be spending plenty of coin towing the boat to the lake with the motorhome. any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[89sandman]

Re: newbie buying first boat what to look for???

 

[Maclin]

Re: newbie buying first boat what to look for???

Welcome aboard. You can search thru the MerCruiser forum for maintenance tips (and nightmare scenarios as well!).

If this owner kept up with it until lately then you may have a real find here depending on the final price.

The boat being solid regarding flooring and stringers is most important. rot underneath will end a boating season quickly.

Regarding bellows and gimbal, etc., picture just an engine with no outdrive, just a big hole in the back of the boat. Now, get a driveshaft thru there and into the outdrive, keep it flexible with u-joints to go up and down and left-right, AND keep water out. The bellows is what the drivesahft turns in, connects to the outdrive and the mounting on the stern. There are 2 bellows, I just described the drive (upper) bellows. The other is the exhaust (lower) bellows and can even be removed and no water will enter the baots. IF THE DRIVE BELLOWS leaks then water will get into the boat and also ruin the driveshaft u-joints.

The gimbal bearing is how the whole thing can move around.

If these items have been kept up with then maintenance should be a breeze for a mechanic. Removing the entire drive every year and checking all these components is the norm and is highly recommended. Once you see how it all connects you will see that you can do all of this yourself.

But with any used boat, with no water trial, it needs to be priced as if there could be major problems to fix. Cracked engine block due to improper wintereizing, driveshaft and gimbal problems due to older bellows giving out, stuff like that.

If you can get a history from a Marina or Dealer that serviced this boat then you can take that into consideration as to what the condition may be for the drive and engine.

 

[Maclin]

Re: newbie buying first boat what to look for???

You can check the outdrive fluid by removing the drain plug at the bottom and let some go into a container.

If you want to run it always have a water supply to the outdrive to protect the impeller in the raw water pump. It always spins even in neutral, and if it goes dry the impeller will not last long and come apart, that is hard to repair after as the pieces get distributed all thru the cooling system. The engine itself can certainly run for a few seconds with no damage, but the impeller will fry so the next time it is run in the water the engine overheats. Also with an I/O there are rubber exhaust components that need the water cooling, that is where the raw water exits, without water the rubber heats from the exhaust gases and melts. very bad deal.

Water should be coming out of the exhaust as a mist, and running out of the idle relief ports at the bottom of the drive bracket on the stern at idle. If you cannot verify water is flowing/exiting then shut it down.

Also keep in mind that the driveshaft always turns with the engine, the neutral is inside the drive. So do not start it with the drive all the way up or the u-joints will be stressed.

Always have water supplied to the drive. I know I already typed this, but just watched a neighbor fry two outboards in 3 weeks.

I would remove the prop before I tried putting it in and out of forward or reverse. This is just to make sure the hose/water supply is not disturbed or cut or knocked off. But, yes, you can put it into gear, just do not rev the engine, keep it under 1500rpm, only rev to keep it from dying, that kind of thing. Removing the prop and greasing the shaft is also a yearly maintenance item, when maintained this way the prop will always be easy to remove.

Check tires, check bearings, if it has the bearing buddies then grease them slowly to make sure they are full and still "pressurized" from the spring inside. That will help ensure you get it home with no issues.

 

[Maclin]

Re: newbie buying first boat what to look for???

Regarding the bilge pump, if there is a switch on the dash then it probably has one. You can run it dry for a second or two, most are just centrifugal type pumps and will not be damaged. There could also be a float switch that will have it come on automatically, to test that you will have to locate the pump and switch and work the manual test lever to see if the pump comes on. Some boats have the float switch wired to the battery, some just have it wired to the dash switch, so if it does not come on with the dash switch and has a float switch then work the float switch test lever with the dash switch on.

Ideally if there is a float switch then it is wired to the battery with separate fusing, and the dash switch is a manual override that bypasses the float switch circuit and runs it on demand.

 

[Maclin]

Re: newbie buying first boat what to look for???

You did not mention pricing but I still gotta say this looks like quite a find.

Where is it exactly? Got a phone# for the older gentleman? haha!

Good luck.

 

[jkust]

Re: newbie buying first boat what to look for???

Would like more pics but from the ones there, it really looks nice. I like those bowrails. 4 cylinders don't necessarilly save on fuel over a v6 either. The 4 just works harder to do what the 6 does with less effort. Lots of posts on that topic debunking common sense involved. Regardless for a vintage boat like that if it is as nice as it looks, it would be nice for the collection no matter the engine.

 

[scb1712]

Re: newbie buying first boat what to look for???

Hi and welcome aboard! The photos look great, and she looks like she's in nice shape. However, if you're going to buy a boat without test driving it, i would assume the worst. I bought a boat last year that i wasn't able to sea trial and ended up with a mound of problems. If there is any way you can talk the old gentleman into letting you take it out, i would highly advise it.

If you're forced to just run it on land with muffs on, make sure you run it long enough to ensure that it gets up to operating temperature and stays there. We had big issues with our boat overheating because we didn't run it long enough on land and ended up replacing the manifold, riser and water pump.

Also - if the boat has been maintained by a local mechanic or marina, go talk to them about what's been done over the years. I had to rebuild my stern drive this past winter because it wasn't being removed anually for inspection and maintenance and the whole thing had seized together. When you put it into gear, look for any shake in the drive that could indicate problems with the u-joints. Also, listen carefully for any whine or growl which could also indicate problems.

Lastly - you don't indicate where you're from, so if she's been used in salt water i would definitely be wary. That was the reason for all the troubles with our boat. Used in salt before being brought up to Canada, and not properly maintained)

If all of that checks out - good luck! She looks to be in nice shape.

 

[89sandman]

Re: newbie buying first boat what to look for???

thanks for the replies, he was asking 3k and it is a very nice boat. i've been looking for the last couple of months and anything in my price range, 3-4k, around here is neglected and thrashed. never looked at soooo many boats rotted on the inside and totally sun faded on the out. don't peeps who own boats now what a can of wax is i love the ones sitting outside and they have the cover put up in garage, sweet.

couldn't take it out so took your advice and told him i would give him $1500 and take my chances. pissed him right off, he of course said no way. so i told him he had my number and if he decided to take my offer just to give me a call i'd be there to pick it up. so last night about 9pm i get a call from him saying if i wanted it i needed to come pick it up. he was a real a-hole on the phone and the whole time i was there. he was not pleased to sell it at that price but from the looks of him he won't be around much longer. but i just smiled and came home with it this evening.

did get a chance to let it run for almost and hour and it didn't miss a beat, couldn't find one thing wrong with it. the horn even works! so tommorow i'm taking it down to the shop with me and will start to give it a full service and detail. thing is clean already but will be totally spotless when i'm done with it. he said he had done all the service for it at one place and gave me the number so will be calling them tommorow and see if everything he said he's done to it is true.

what would you guys consider a good intial service. plan on doing the plug/wires, oil and filter, belt, lube in lower unit, has pertronix so theres no points/condensor, cleaning the spark/air cleaner. came with a brand new prop, which was off and splines have been lubed. some of this was done when winterized but i'm just very picky and would rather just do it all myself from the start and know exactly what has been done. any lube needed for the steering cables? anything to do for the tilt/trim? he says the lower unit was done 3 years ago and the bellows seal was done last year.

any help would be greatly appreciated. gonna take it out on sunday and see if it all runs out. what all is required to be in the boat to be legal, it has a fire extingisher, oar, and life jackets. do need to get my marine lisence, its required here in oregon. tags are good.

 

[catfishcarl99]

Re: newbie buying first boat what to look for???

they have suppiled you with some great information. that boat looks like it was indoor stored very nice if it all origional. maybe a great treasure you found..

 

[scb1712]

Re: newbie buying first boat what to look for???

Congrats! Looks like you may have gotten yourself a very sweet deal. What you describe sounds like a good initial service. Make sure you use appropriate lubricants (marine grade). If you're doing an oil change, i prefer to run synthetic in mine but its not required. I would double check the raw water impeller while you've got things apart. Most manufacturers suggest replacing them every 50 hours or so. Given that she ran fine for an hour would suggest it's okay, but i always carry a spare, just in case.

Good luck!!