When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal?

[LippCJ7]

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

I bought mine the first day my wife saw it, took her and my youngest daughter for a nice spring road trip, I had already seen the boat in person and had cash in hand all I needed was the wifes approval, drove straight to the lake and my wife was like "Are you seriously taking us to a lake? You do realize it hasn't been above 7...." and thats when she laid eyes on my Boat, she climbed up on the huge sundeck laid down looked at me and said "Ok", we took her out on the water and she(My boat) performed flawlessly, handed over the cash and hooked her to my truck, the rest as they say is history!

 

[truckermatt]

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

I drive truck for a living and on my route i drive past the same dealership quite often, One day I noticed a different boat on the lot so I stopped on the shoulder put the 4 ways on and looked at the boat, The dealership has been around for 90 years and they are a small town place. the coming weekend my fiance and I looked at it and bought it. Didn't do a water test. But checked it over very well. 3 years so far and no problems expect a thermostat that got replaced last fall when I had the dealer winterize it. Thankfully its been a turn-key boat.

 

[Ciscovet]

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

When I was looking for my first boat, I insisted on a water trial. Mind you that I did not know squat about boats at the time (last year ). This particular boat was an early 00 Bayliner with a really nice interior being sold by a local car/boat broker. My boss and I took it for a sea trial and right off the bat I noted that the steering was hard and there was a weird oscillation in the lower unit and remember I did not know anything about boats. My boss confirmed the same thing. The guy selling it was pretty shocked that I did not buy the boat. Knowing what I know now that would have been a big mistake.

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

Not only have I water tested the last two boats I bought, I brought my truck along and towed them to the landing, launched them and towed them back. Checked everything I could check with my limited knowledge.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

Wow, I was surprised that 1/3 of boats were purchased without and kind of sea trial or test running of the motor.

It probably is a function of the purchase price and associated financial risk involved . . . boats under $5K tend to be bought/sold on faith rather than trial.

 

[theteacher]

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

I drove 4 hours to meet the guy, traded him a 2005 Harley Springer Classic. Pulled the boat home.......I'll make a LONG story short....the guy was a pure liar, it took $2,000.000 to get the boat right. That was last August, it had 71 hours on it, it now has 101 and hasn't given me anything but pleasure, once is was right. I will NEVER buy another boat without a water test, NEVER !!!
It's a 1998 Stingray 220CX, has 350 MAGNUM with 300 horse, Bravo One outdrive and can hit 65 mph legit with GPS and good conditions, us 2 on board.
Wife and I LOVE the boat now, but of course, I have 2 foot-i-tus !
Peace.

 

[iCam]

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

I guess you could say I am cheap. I buy a boat that needs working. I expect to replace a carb, rings and a gasket on the engine, repair some fiberglass, or replace a transom. I deduct this price from what I would pay for the same boat in perfect condition, give myself some negotiating room and that is what I offer. I prefer to do the work myself, that way I know exactly what condition it is in.

So essentially, No I have never test drove a boat in the water.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

no. But I am an experienced boater, and on the last one, which was a major purchase for me, I had recently been in a friend's boat the same size, design and motor so I knew what it would do. I priced it so worst case I could replace the motor. Hulls are not a problem to me; it's all about the motor. Ran on muffs, compression checked, LU oil OK, looked good.

I also buy as if none of the extra equipment (radio, etc) works. After all, everything on a boat craps out on you at sometime.

Like everything with boats, it's all situational. By "boat" is it the $300 or $3000 boat on craigslist, or the $40,000 fishing machine? Is it such a great deal that the seller doesn't have to include the sea trial? Warranty? Dealer? Obviously you'd seatrial the big purchase from a private seller, unless you have a warranty.

it's nonsense when people advise new boater buyers to always get a survey (on a $2000 land-locked 20 year old boat? Right) or always seatrial. There is no "always" in boats, with one exception.

I have, for the last motor and last boat I bought, talked the seller into a 7 day "bring back" warranty if there were major issues after I ran it or took it to a pro to inspect. Would have buoght them anyway.

 

[erwinner]

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

No, but when I found a 21' Chieftain outboard on a functioning double axle trailer for $800 I had to jump on it!
I know I'm in for a transom job and am betting against the 115 Merc on her, but I feel pretty lucky after how the last few months have gone, so maybe she'll fire up when I get to the point where I can get to working on her.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

I tested the current boat a few times prior to buying it. used the flaws that I found to negotiate the price.

prior boat was run in the marina's shop on muffs, spent about 4 hours going over it.

boat prior to that was in the family for a while.

 

[dingbat]

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

No seatrial, didn't even start the motor. I bought the boat at hull value with the understanding that the motor wasn't worth anything so nothing to test. The bank required the boat be surveyed which I gladly paid with an investment that large.

FWIW: the spent motor turned out to be a loose flywheel magnet. Put ~700 hours on it before repowering

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

to really have the question make sense, you have to clarify why you do a seatrial. There are basically 2 reasons. One is to see if the boat functions like it should, mechanically (including sufficient power). The other is to see if that particular style of boat fits your needs, including how it handles particular water conditions. Experienced boaters seldom need the test for the second reason, except when moving up to larger boats, performance boats, etc.

 

[64osby]

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

On the Mariner we tried a seatrial, a weak battery caused a no go. Used the opportunity to drive the price down. Then the seller took the boat to a local mechanic where the motor was was put on muffs and a charger and it started. The price went up a little.

Yes I had it on the water before we finalized the deal. It was in the water but wound not start

I had a shop of my choice check the boat out. His shop got the motor started

We ran it on the muffs and they was good enough. Yes It was bought after running on muffs

No water test or shop checked it out. No water test, a shop looked at it and i checked it over very hard, 3+ hours
​

I did buy it and took it on vacation 2 days later with no issues after the battery was charged. It was and still is a great deal.

 

[dlngr]

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

No,but the seller told me where it leaked,so I bought it!

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

Technically I didn't. But I bought the boat from my dad, so he did it for me. he also towed it 1100 miles to me as part of the deal.

Unless the boat was just a beater, I would NEVER buy a boat without a sea trial. NEVER.

 

[truckman23115]

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

No I didnt take a test drive and man do I regret it.I just bought a 1984 19 ft beachcraft.When I took the boat out for the first time i had nothin but problems.I called the guy I bought it from and he told me there are all kinds of sensors in the engine.Every time I stopped the boat it wouldnt start back up again.So he told me everytime you stop you have to take the key out then when you put the key back in the ignition you have to prime something in the engine by pushing on the excelerator arm at least 3 times to start it is this true.He said theres sensors in the engine that prevent you from starting it if you dont follow these specific steps.

 

[Davem3]

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

No, i did not, but it was in excellent condition, and as a previous poster said, it was more about the motor than the boat, knowing i was not going to re-power for at least one year. I am the 3rd owner, and know both PO's well. It was a super well maintained 15' princecraft scamper from 1987 with NO dents, dings or scratches. A 3 year old Karavan trailer was in the deal and a 1968 Johnson Fisherman 6 HP motor that needed a new thermostat, and water pump was on the rig. The PO paid for us to fix it, knocked off a good chunk for it, and 2 seasons later, she runs like a dream, LOVE it............this year i replaced the transom, it was 25 years old and was the original factory installed one. You have to love garaged boats ............

 

[catfish58]

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

I voted yes but actually I bought a two year old boat from a dealer in 2008. They said I could return it within 30 days if I was not completly satisfied. About 6 weeks later the tach quit working. They repaired it at no cost to me. 4 years later it's still just like a new boat. I usually splash it about once a week. (I did replace the livewell pump last year)

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

...He said theres sensors in the engine that prevent you from starting it if you dont follow these specific steps.

Not if it's a 1984 model engine. And if it's a newer engine, with sensors, it'll have fuel injection, and you start them just like a car. Turn the key. You got hosed and are being lied to. But that's what happens when you don't perform a sea trial. Good luck.

 

[snowman48047]

Re: When you bought your boat did you take a test drive before you finalized the deal

No water test on mine bought new from a Lund dealer, but it was purchased in February in northern Michigan. 'Nuff said.