newbie look for his first boat hopefully tomorrow

[22E6441]

Re: newbie look for his first boat hopefully tomorrow

Stay away from the force. I'd rather have my old '69 35 hp Chrysler than a newer Force. At least back then they were solid motors.

 

[billsnogo]

Re: newbie look for his first boat hopefully tomorrow

Thanks for the advice. I will stay away from bayliners (if they have force motors). What years did the motors start to go downhill?

Sorry for all the post, just don't want to make a mistake.

This is another I am trying to get a chance to check out:
1987 Performance Boat ( 16ft ).This boat haven't ran since 1992, because the owner was so old and he just kept it in a storage. It has new carpet, seats, steering wheel, gauges, switches, battery, fuel pump, fuel lines. Motor is in very good shape 115HP Mariner outboard (long shaft). I ran it this spring and it runs good ( very fast). Trailer has some rust, but all of the lighting works. Tires are in ok shape. $1800 obo

can anyone tell me what boat this might be?

 

[billsnogo]

Re: newbie look for his first boat hopefully tomorrow

Not much luck on the search, most are turds.......

Now I think I am giving in and thinking about i/o drive setups.

Two I am thinking about are:
1.
Boat is a 18' 1990 Invader it has a volvo inboard and out drive. Ask anyone that combo is awsom. The trailer is like new, as is the entire rig. The interior is almost perfect except small tear in motor cover.Seats are not torn ripped or cracked. The boat is walk thru windshield and does about 40 mph. travel cover and sun top included $3k

 

[billsnogo]

Re: newbie look for his first boat hopefully tomorrow

2.
1985 Sierra 180, 140h.p. I.O., Merc out drive.
One owner, well maintained, runs good, personally winterized each year and stored indoors $3200

boat will only be used in freshwater (minnesota)

 

[22E6441]

Re: newbie look for his first boat hopefully tomorrow

I like the looks of the Invader.

Both look like they would be good boats.

Get them to take you out for a test ride if you can.

 

[billsnogo]

Re: newbie look for his first boat hopefully tomorrow

Looks like the Invader might be sold already.

I got to go see the Sierra. Pretty nice overall, but a few issues. Soft spot on the floor right in front of the motor. Rear navigation light does not work. Hulls seems very nice other than a few light scratches and rub marks, pretty minor. Seats are not ripped, torn or seems coming apart, just look lightly weathered, but it is a 24 year old boat. Trailer has rust starting over it in several spots, but does not look bad. Tires are good.

Not sure if this is a good deal at the asking price of $3200 or keep looking.

Another I might go look at is another bayline, I know,I know.

1988 Bayliner Capri 17 ft. 120 hp 2.3 L Ford inboard outdrive. Runs good & works great for tubing & skiing. Both interior & exterior are in good condition. Has been well taken care of. Purchased 3 yrs ago. Put in a new battery & an amplifier with ipod/mp3 hook up & tail lights on trailer. Custom fit cover. 4 life jackets, a ski rope, & 2 pairs of skis will be included

thanks again guys for any advice to a noob

 

[ezmobee]

Re: newbie look for his first boat hopefully tomorrow

1988 Bayliner Capri 17 ft. 120 hp 2.3 L Ford inboard outdrive.

Big no on that one. That's an obsolete OMC engine/drive. Parts and support are getting hard to come by and that wasn't a great powerplant to start with.

For I/O's you want a Volvo or Mercruiser. The one exception is the Mercruiser 470 (a 3.7L 170 4 cyl) that is reported to be problematic. For outboards pretty much anything but a Chyrsler or Force is fine although if you get older than the mid-70's you can run into parts issues with even Mercs and JohnnyRudes.

And I wouldn't go near a fiberglass boat with a soft spot on the floor, let alone for $3200.

 

[billsnogo]

Re: newbie look for his first boat hopefully tomorrow

Thank you! This is the advice I need

I kept reading that omc was a bad I/O, but could not find what was OMC. I also did not know what the mercruiser 470 was until now (3.7 170hp) thanks to your reply.

I will skip the bayliner than, and have a sunbird to look at:
1987 Sunbird 18 1/2 walk thru, Fiberglass walk thru with V6 chev inboard by volvo penta.Runs perfect new tune up. $3k

Hope to look at that this evening

and one in the same city
1987 Grumman 16.5 foot Fish n Ski Package. Includes 90 hp Evinrude Motor and Yacht Master Trailer. Many updates including new flooring, carpet, padding, seats and trailer parts. Also has Ray Marine Fish Locator, depth finder, two batteries and travel cover. $2k

Hope to look at that this morning

Thanks again sooooo much. I need this advice as I am green (read stupid) when it comes to boating (hope to change that)

 

[ezmobee]

Re: newbie look for his first boat hopefully tomorrow

The Grumman is probably aluminum. Can't go wrong with that!!!! And a 90 Evinrude would be great power for that boat. That sounds like a GREAT boat.

Sunbird sounds good with a Volvo V6. Sunbirds are low end boats though which is not a problem if maintained but check carefully for rot.

 

[billsnogo]

Re: newbie look for his first boat hopefully tomorrow

Well...... I bought the Grumman for $1840. I am now nervous, as I am so far happy with it, but did a no-no. I did not take it for a water test. He had a bunch of calls, but since I was in the same city as he was, I was able to be the first to the boat. He did hook up some muffs and ran it for me. Sounded good, and idled down nice after about 30 seconds.

It still has the oil injection hooked up, maybe some time in the next year I would like to unhook it just to be safe. He used tape on the oil injection tank to see if it was still using it, and he said it was working good.

Has power tilt/trim which made me happy. Cover is okay, it lets water through as I looked at the boat when it was raining today, and don't want the new floor to rot out. He did a pretty good job matching the carpet on the new floor to the rest of the boat.

He did say if the boat is in the water for a couple of days, that the bilage pump will kick on. So I will need to watch to make sure how much it takes on when I use it.

Trailer lights don't work. Ground is not hooked up on the wiring, so I need to do that, and even then, the drivers side does not work, so need to look at the bulb.

I will have TONS of questions on this boat, as I don't have an owners manual for it, and am not sure what all the switches are for, two holes out the back of the boat (one is for my plug, just need to look to see which one) and one has what looks like a rubber hose coming out (not bilage pump as that is in the side of the boat).

Thanks again all for the guidance.

Wish me luck with the new to me boat.......

 

[ezmobee]

Re: newbie look for his first boat hopefully tomorrow

YOU ABSOLUTELY STOLE THAT!!!!!!! Seriously, he should have been able to get well over $3k for that boat. Not to mention you basically bought my dream boat (well actually it would have to be an 18' for be my dream but you're darn close!!). A 90 will push that boat awesome and power tilt and trim is a very expensive option to try to add on later. Great buy! I'm very jealous. Anyway trailer lights are always a nightmare. Go buy a new LED set and run a separate ground for each light and all will be well. As far as the cover goes, I've actually had great luck with the $50 covers from Wal-Mart. They aren't very heavy duty but they keep the boat dry and you can just replace them every few years. I have a more expense Westland cover from iboats now and it's heavier duty, fits a little better has a pocket for the outboard....but it doesn't keep the boat as dry! Anyway good luck and I still can't believe you got an aluminum boat in MN for that price.

 

[billsnogo]

Re: newbie look for his first boat hopefully tomorrow

Looks like it was not huge deal after all...... just my luck

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=342930