Looking at a boat need help.

[Simp]

Ok so I've been looking at buying a decent tracker size boat to tow with my little truck. Right now I fish on my brother in laws 9.9 boat that is very skinny. We usually keep it in my garage and it's been great. However we want to fish some bigger watter and need a bigger boat. I've been looking everywhere and found one in my current budget range. However I need some tips on what to pay attention to so I can make sure it's in decent shape.

The boats a couple hours away and I'm going to look at it Sunday the 28 . We either are going to take it out on the water, or he has some type of bunny ear hose thing he can hook the engine up to. So we can run the engine on. I listened to another engine run on one the other day it didn't see seem to run right. I didn't know if it was the set up, the cold temperature, or a bad engine. It honestly makes me feel better to take it out but the guy is in his 70's and now disabled and it's why he's selling it. Even though I still may insist on it so I can see how the boat handles as well and check for leaks extra. What other things should I be paying attention to? BTW here is the boat.

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/boa/1615976927.html

[burleytog]

I wouldn't buy it without a test drive.

[simplejoe]

I would ask him if you can take it for a ride, if he wants to sell it then he should let you. Look for soft spots on the floor, check the wiring make sure it's not all rotted out, make sure everything works properly and not hacked together. Good luck Simp.

[done]

Definitely need to take it for a test drive. Would you buy a car if you could just listen to the motor running in the garage?

You do not know a boat till you get it on the water.

[Carrington]

honestly from my experience the three main things to look at are.  The outboard engine, the transom, and the hull.  If all of them check out then the rest of the stuff is just hard but cheap manual work that you can do yourself.

[Simp]

Well we got up there a little late, because it ended up being a LONG DRIVE! We still got her out for a little while but maybe not as long as I'd like, but she ran great from what I could tell. Trailer is in fantastic shape, all the wiring was good. It has a decent TM on her and some great head lights for night fishing. Decks carpet all in solid shade. All in all it looks like a fantastic 1st used boat to move up to from my brother in laws 1636 we always used. My brother in laws boat has did it's job and got me hooked on fishing but boy it feels like your on a rolling log when it's half way windy out. My biggest concern on buying a new boat was the engine, because that can rack up a lot of money on ya. I wish I would have had the cash to have it inspected but I didn't know anybody local there either. However it peed good and ran good and sounded good. So that gave me some confidence. The gentlemen was a disabled veteran and had trouble standing for to long. So he had already bought a Roughneck 1960 with side beside seating and some other things that would help him on the water. So that gave me confidence he wasn't trying to get rid of a bad investment either. We talked and I was able to get it down to 2200$! After a run around town trying to find a 2 inch ball that fit my truck we headed back for the long ride home. So I'm a happy camper now and praying I bought a good engine that will hold up for a few years. Now I just got to look up proper maintenance I should do and how to run a boat with tilt and trim. BTW my 2 car garage is now officially a two boat garage.

NEXT STOP PICKWICK!!!

[simplejoe]

Congrats Simp, Post some pics when you get a chance.

[Simp]

Here you guys go

The lights on the front are the bomb! It also has pedestal seats I plan to use. I was playing with it in the garage and discovered I have trim controls up front to! I about jumped for joy when I saw the switch and wondered what it did. I flipped it up and the motor started moving and my cat gor scared out of its mind. BTW does anybody know any good articles that would help me learn more about tilt and trim? Plus any other kinds of things that I'm going to need to know since I'm going to be using a boat a fair amount faster then a 9.9?

[Brian B]

What year is that?  It looks SHARP!  Looks like you got a good deal.

[Simp]

87 or 88 but it looks brand new. Carpet and flooring is in great shape. The lights are just freaking awesome they are literally as bright as car head lights!! I'm psyched about this because I'll be switching over to the 3-11 shift at work soon. So this opens up all types of night fishing options now. I had planed to do allot more but now I'm might be doing more night fishing then anything else.

[dman]

for that price i think you got a great deal! nice lookin boat and a trailer in great shape,  you cant go wrong....Good luck and have a great time in that bad-boy!

[bassfisherjk]

Very nice boat,at a great price.Way to go!Good luck and be safe,plus have fun.

[Jig Man]

It looks like you are in the get on the lake mode for sure.  Congrats.

A few maintainance things to think about:  Lower unit fluid (should be changed yearly), spark plugs (should be changed yearly), and water pump impellor (should be changed every 3 years).

On the power trim: trim it down all the way when you take off.  Slowly raise the front of the boat until it runs smoothly.  Trim back down as you slow the boat down.  You will get the hang of it in short order.

[Jim Grouch]

Congrats on the purchase. I hope that you get many years of enjoyment out of it. For those of you that are looking to get a used boat in the future, I offer this advice: Ask the seller if you can have him/her take it to a marine mechanic of your choice. Call the marina and set up the appointment. Have them inspect the boat and most of all the engine. I learned the hard way when my engine went out on me during last years BR event in Kentucky (Joe, thanks again for the tow). Get it inspected and it will be the most valuable $100 you'll spend. It just may save you thousands in the long run (it would've for me). Even if everything checks out OK then you will at least get a good piece of mind.  -Jim

[goodolboy]

Excellent looking outfit!  You should feel proud of yourself.  Make sure you take a picture of that first fish you catch in it and place it somewhere special.

[NJBass12]

Congrats!!!!!  Very nice, lots of luck!

[INbassMAN]

Very nice boat!! Congrats!! Just a year and a half ago, I bought my first boat. I'm already on my second. ;D