Should I Buy?

[pscrabber59]

I get first chance to buy a small Boston Whaler boat from my brother in-law
for $1500.00 Comes with a almost brand new salt-water trailer and a 2000 Honda 25hp. They are moving out of state and he does'nt want to tow the boat. I dont know alot about whalers but read and heard good things about it
So should i buy or pass ?

 

[paidfor]

Re: Should I Buy?

buy it. As long as the tramsom is in good shape and the boat does not take on water. You will enjoy it. If nothing else, you can work on it a little and re-sell it for a little profit. Just make sure you get the titles in your name.

 

[gozierdt]

Re: Should I Buy?

Nah, don't even go near it. But send me your brother-in-law's e-mail so I can explain to him why you wouldn't buy it, but I'll be glad to take it off his hands.

Seriously, whalers have a good reputation for quality and being very safe for their size, and Honda motors also have a good reputation. It looks like he's let the boat sit out without good covers- the wood is showing several years of weathering. But the whalers drain well, and don't have many areas where water can penetrate into the foamed hull. So as stated above, unless there's something wrong with the transom (tap around it, listed for a nice "tap" sound, as opposed to a "thud"), or the engine won't start, I'd go for it in a minute. Even if it won't start, if it turns over and sounds like good compression, it's probably a good deal.

 

[pscrabber59]

Re: Should I Buy?

Well i bought it! We took it out late today for about 30mins. That trailer tows real nice so we get in the water and motor starts first crank so off we go and its alittle small but i sat in the middle with bro. in-law driving and its going 10-15mph at w.o.t. he says have not run since having the carbs worked on 6mo ago.
I take over and the engine is running like a slug maybe 8-10mph at wot so then we had a beer and just let the motor idle for about 5mins.
After the break bro in-law puts in gear and bang! That little boat jumps on plane real quick and was going around 30-32mph at wot. there even was a bit of a chop in the water!! After that i was sold on the boat.
Transom is soild but one thing did happen was the bracket for the steering cable broke when i pulled up the motor at the ramp when we got back-in.
No big deal and glad it happen then than before in the water

 

[roscoe]

Re: Should I Buy?

cool.

 

[NHGuy]

Re: Should I Buy?

You have a "lifetime" boat. That boat can literally last as long as you want to keep it. Just do the research and keep it correctly-it will always be there. My dad is older and he recently donated his Honda kicker powered sail boat after 30 years of use. And Whalers, they just last. You got a great deal. Buy your BIL a bottle of scotch and take him out to dinner!

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Should I Buy?

you got the deal of the year, sight unseen.
It's easy to refinish the wood. We used to varnish our seats almost annually, when we kept the whaler moored. And yours has a lot less wood.
25 is a good motor (we had an 18 and now a 20). You can take a lot of little kids bottm fishing; we even skied behind ours but we were in our early teens and some how, lighter than now.
You can't sink them and they won't tip over; iif you catch water over the bow, pull the plug and keep going! You don't even need a bilge pump for that rig, unlessyou leave it moored.

 

[pmillar]

Re: Should I Buy?

Beauty is more than skin deep and you got yourself a real beauty for a relative song. Refinish the wood and you're all set. Great boat, very nice trailer and a newer Honda outboard? For $1,500? pinch yourself then thank the BIL.

 

[pscrabber59]

Re: Should I Buy?

Thanks guys for all the Positive feedback! BIL is a real nice guy and i know he could have got more on the open market so he told me you get the "family discount" but it helps when you have a smart, pretty sister suggest "sell it to my brother he likes boats"LOL
I was alittle worried about this whaler taken on water because its not that deep but the boat was just flying across the water with not alot of water coming into the boat.
We are going out for dinner next week and i do have a nice bottle of Remy for the guy.

 

[bassman284]

Re: Should I Buy?

The motor alone is worth most of that. Looks like a heckuva buy.

After you've had some time to mess around with it, I would take the fin off the motor and see how it works without it. Maybe it's better with it but I'm always suspicious of those things.