What to look for

[scottyisback44]

Going to look at a boat tomorrow. Its an older one. A 1972 with a 65 hp Mercury on it. Not sure of the make of boat. What should I look for before buying it. The obvious I know. If it runs, goes into gear. But anything else?? Im pretty new to boating so I dont want to get into a lemon.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: What to look for

40 year old boat could have all kinds of issues . . . rotting of the structural components, decking, transom are the things that come to mind. Can you go for a ride? Most engines work great with no load on them.

 

[oops!]

Re: What to look for

the best advice i could give on short notice.....is to check for rot like mentioned above.

you might want to look into the restoration section. as well....if the boat is 40 years old.....it will have issues....the best is to look for a garage kept boat.

as for the motor drive, if this is an i/o ....if it says omc....just turn around and walk away....
volvo and merc are ok.

but take pics, and post them here, we can guide you into a decision.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: What to look for

the best advice i could give on short notice.....is to check for rot like mentioned above.

you might want to look into the restoration section. as well....if the boat is 40 years old.....it will have issues....the best is to look for a garage kept boat.

as for the motor drive, if this is an i/o ....if it says omc....just turn around and walk away....
volvo and merc are ok.

but take pics, and post them here, we can guide you into a decision.

65 hp Mercury - so it is an outboard, presumably same vintage as the boat ????

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: What to look for

The older merc's had wiring that would become brittle and need to be replaced........... I can not image a boat that old with a motor that old will go for allot of money.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: What to look for

sounds like a $500 boat

 

[5150abf]

Re: What to look for

Glass or tin, that could make all the difference, if it is glass and hasn't been rebuilt within the last couple years could be all kinds of problems but if it is aluminum worst you can hit is replacing the decks since the internals don't rot.

Walk the deck and look for soft spots, if you find them they will need replaced and others have said, a 40 year old boat is going to have problems, not saying it can't be a good boat, I have a 31 year old tinny that looks new but it was rebuilt 3 years ago from the keel up and painted 2 years ago.

Get some pics up and tell us exactly what you are looking at, it will make it alot easier to tell you if you should runaway or not.