So I have been around boats some and have had outboard models, but I think I want to get a 20' bow rider with an I/o for my young family to enjoy before they get into sports and such. So I have located a 1997 crownline 202 with what the owner says in a 5.7. It is a good price but there are some red flags I want to get checked out. First off the vinyl has been redone...which isn't a big deal since it s an older boat; they didn't put all the fancy crownline stitching back in but that doesn't bother me. The current owner has only had it a year and is selling due to a new baby on the way. He says he has been around boats his whole life. The hour meter says 1600 hrs but the owner says he doesn't beleive that's true because sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't and just floating around swimming it still racks up hours. The owner before him owned it like 5 years or so and was the one to redo the vinyl and the new owner thinks the carpet was prly redone at the same time as the seats. I'm just hoping that the carpet and seats weren't redone As a result of negligence and poor maintenence....hopefully the floor didn't have rot that was cut out and repaired or something like that. And hopefully the hour meter thing is a glitch? The current owner had taken it to a marina and had it checked out when he bought it last year...it got a new water pump , starter, and some kind of "flaps" in the exhaust lines I guess to keep water from coming up into the exhaust when you slow down rapidly? He didn't winterized the boat last fall because he lives in Missouri and kept it in a heated garage all winter. The current owner says he has no problem if I want to call the place that worked on it for him and ask them questions about their impression of the boat. So it seems like the current owner isn't trying to hide anything but the new carpet and vinyl were kind of a red flag to me, maybe I'm paranoid. And 1600 hrs seems unbeleiveable here in the Midwest. Does anyone know of these era of crownlines having hour meter troubles? And the pic of the motor looks like none I've see in a boat that age. I'll post a pic but instead of the typical mercruiser intake area, the motor has a plastic cover on it that says gm marine power vortec on it....which doesn't look normal to me in pics anyway? I'm wondering if the motor has been replaced...then 1600 hrs may be right! And the owner said it was carb'd but I wonder if some of you would identify it differently based on the intake picture as an efi model? So anyhow I am looking for quick input on this boat...if it all checks out I want to buy it this weekend. It is 3 hours from me and I haven't seen it in person yet so I need good info from you guys. What can I do to check to see if the floor has been replaced and things like that. Where do I look to see if there has been moisture trapped in the belly of the boat? I want a boat but not a headache ! And this boat is also priced low enough to have problems at$4900 but I would rather pay $8-9000 for a boat with low hours and no potential problems.
. Marine power supplies engines to boat builders same as mercury marine, indmar and pcm.