Buying a new used boat advice

[mbtodd]

Hello all - i'm in the process of buying a boat with about 260 fresh water hrs on it. Pictures look clean, priced reasonably, not cheap, but not breaking the bank. I haven't seen pictures of the engine or under the transom but it's located close enough for me to go and look at it.

my question: This is my first boat purchase and although i've done tons of research i don't think I have the skills to see any issues that might be underlying. Do i need a engine/pre-purchase survey?

My brother-in-law who's owned 4 boats (unfortunately he lives to far away to go with me) says a sea trial is the most important. How the engine responds and also hull integrity. Again, i wouldn't know offhand how a good engine sounds on a jet boat or how it responds. Motorcycles, all day long. Boats, not so much.

What do you suggest?

Here's a twist.. Surveyors are all about 5 weeks out.

 

[Dave burke]

What kind of boat? I’d definitely want to do a sea trial if I were you.

 

[jjmparsons]

@mbtodd where are you located at? Not going to speak for everyone but I have seen plenty of skilled boaters on this forum offer to go with new and learning boat owners for initial looks etc. Not sure if that would be an option you'd consider but just some food for thought.

 

[mbtodd]

2013 242 limited S 260hrs (fresh water)

We're setting up the sea trial for tomorrow. Lake Clarke (Susquehanna River) outside of Harrisburg PA.

 

[Dave burke]

Assuming it was a Yamaha, I was going to suggest the same thing as idea as @jjmparsons, namely see if a forum member close to you is willing to go with you.

I don’t have any other suggestions other than there’s lots of info about buying boats and things to look for on this forum. Check out the FAQs but you’ve probably done that already if you’ve done a lot of research.

One other thought - take pictures of anything that looks untoward to you. I’d focus on the engines, pumps, hull and intakes.

Good luck.

 

[mbtodd]

Thank you for your input. I'm going to go with a sea trial, push it full throttle for a bit and see how it runs. Check if it gets on plane quickly, and all of the other checks I've researched.
I feel at ease now, just the first buy jitters. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again

 

[jjmparsons]

Heck Yea!!!! Get it out and go. Take your time, hit all the buttons, bells and whistles and own it. We had a dealership we went through with ours and the dealer took us out for a good bit and just let us fiddle with it until we were satisfied. Not so much a sea trial with a check list but more so a get out there and check it out. Luckily we did that though because we found there were missing cushions and the table and legs were missing too, but they found them in the bay where they were cleaning the boat and everything was returned to us.

 

[14SX190]

Thank you for your input. I'm going to go with a sea trial, push it full throttle for a bit and see how it runs. Check if it gets on plane quickly, and all of the other checks I've researched.
I feel at ease now, just the first buy jitters. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again

Hi and welcome

The best thing you can do is a water test as you will get the most of seeing and feeling what you are buying. Finding someone online here using map locator and send pm. They may be able to go

Theres more to it as it is a big purchase and don't want regret thread.
Most checks are normal and expected as a interested buyer.

Here's what I did but forgot one since boat passed sea trial.
1. Check oil before and after a 20-30 idle/run. I never did and once I did, I was weeks later and all milky. I now have my engine torn down due to clogged cooling jackets since PO loved running through sand, probably sank and had busted block anode.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/milky-oil-1-8-na-part-3-engine-disassembly.27718/#post-458218

2. Open engine compartment and check for water before and after sea trail

3. Do a compression check. You have 2 engines, 8 cylinders, you don't want they low.
Its easy and only need #10 socket for bolts holding spark plug caps, A narrow wall socket with extension. It being hot should make it easier to remove. #3 is prone to breaking.

4. The rest is easy. Check hatches/latches, buttons(sticky), gauges(cloudy), seats(tears/rips), smoothness of steering,reverse/throttles.

5. Look under boat once on trailer, through intake and pump to see impeller. The whole assembly comes off with a few bolts as you will have to learn how too do.

6. Inspect trailer, winch, bunks and bunk supports, Ask when the bearing were last change if you have a long drive back.
You can try to jack up trailer with boat off and spin wheel and listen for the marble noise or play.

7. Report back with pictures or didn't happen.

There's hashtag Help will get you quicker response if you have any question on the water.
You can go with new ones and replace them with fresh ones.

 

[biffdotorg]

That's a great list, and don't fall in love right away (hard not to) as your emotions may allow you to overlook some key things that may be spendy to fix.

On top of those items above, we looked at these things when we bought our 242LS

1. Open all cabinets, check hinges and latches
2. Open all seats, be sure seat backs are not cracked in half
3. Find the two bow filler cushions and the rear step thru filler cushion
4. Test lights with the understanding that bulbs are cheap, fixtures and sockets are not. Find the stern light post
5. Test the damn horn, they suck on this vintage and fail
6. Test no wake mode and cruise assist
7. Don't be freaked out if the RPM's don't match, there are all sorts of fixes and skills to get those matched up
8. Ask about the owners service schedule for oil changes, filters, fuel treatment, storage, bearings, and cleaning
9. Look in the pumps for abnormal corrosion and wear (compare the two and possibly look at a new one)
10. Don't add any value to add-ons and accessories if you have no intention of buying them after the fact anyway
(exceptions may be custom flooring or fins for steering enhancement as you may want them but don't know it yet)
11. When you put it in forward or reverse, look over the side and be sure you see two piss streams. They may be weak at idle, that's fine
12. Look at the dates on the two batteries (a 242LS should have the dual battery kit with switches from the factory)
13. You should not be in the age of timing chain failure, but running a Hull ID number with a dealer may uncover if it fell into that range
14. Have the owner pull the cleanout plugs. If they have issue putting them back in, budget $45/plug to rebuild. Easy to do, but a pain if you don't
15. Open up the bimini to look for excessive wear or broken hardware

Good luck!

 

[tdonoughue]

Those are all good suggestions above.

One thing I would offer is as you find things (it is a used boat; you will find things), decide which things you could fix/live with and which you don't want to mess with. Replacing the stupid horn (which really does fail constantly) is pretty easy and may be something you are willing to do. So then maybe you decide the price is good enough or you get some shaved off for that. Finding low compression on #3 and that all the plugs are oily and look like they were never pulled may indicate much bigger, more expensive problems that means you should just walk away.

Update your profile with your location (I know you mentioned it, but if you put it on here, it updates the map and can show you folks near you, etc.).

The advice on the photos is a good one. Post them here, especially anything about which you have questions, and we will have a look at them. Take a photo up the intake grates so we can see the impellers. One of the engine bay. One inside the back bilge (between the cleanout ports there is a hatch--down there). And anything you see that generally looks wrong or questionable.

 

[mbtodd]

I'm printing these and taking them with me. The insight is invaluable.

Don't know if I'm going to get a look at the intake because it'll be in the water. But I'll take plenty of photos of the engine.
There's at least 70 photos of the exterior, it's well documented.

 

[2kwik4u]

I'm printing these and taking them with me. The insight is invaluable.

Don't know if I'm going to get a look at the intake because it'll be in the water. But I'll take plenty of photos of the engine.
There's at least 70 photos of the exterior, it's well documented.

Good luck with the sea trial. Take lots of pictures and ask lots of questions. You'll get a feel for the boat and seller quickly.

One note, if the boat is already in the water, be sure to have a look at the trailer as well. It's an important part of the package.

Also, if you need a quick answer there is the help account you can tag in a post. Use @ + Help in your post like you are tagging an individual and it will send a notice to anyone that follows that account. You'll typically get answers or suggestions in minutes from the board.

 

[biffdotorg]

Those are all good suggestions above.

One thing I would offer is as you find things (it is a used boat; you will find things), decide which things you could fix/live with and which you don't want to mess with. Replacing the stupid horn (which really does fail constantly) is pretty easy and may be something you are willing to do.

This is great advice, and didn't come across when I mentioned it. Only dicker on the things that are going to cost you the most, or you have no ability to fix yourself that you will have to hire out. Or the things that may be catastrophic to fix and kill the rest of your boating season.

For all we know, you may have a commercial sewing machine and love to recover seats. The rest of us would drop a boats value considerably if the seats were all roached out.

Pump inspection was not something I could do either right away, as the boat was lowered into the water for sea trial before I got there. That being said, we could tell the pumps had to be in someone decent shape as there was no cavitation and the RPM's came up consistently on both engines together. I was able to do a quick inspection of the hull, pumps and trailer as they hoisted the boat in. I was so excited, I was already telling myself, "how many dings in the hull can I overlook to get this rig"

It was obvious I overlooked the tire condition on the trailer, as they should have never gone out on the super slab for the 1700 mile ride home. But you live and learn. Tires are readily available, and not life or death if you have a solid spare. One let go 1000 miles in.

 

[mbtodd]

here's the report.

The boat is well taken care. The engine compartment is spotless, no water or rust in the engine anywhere. Batteries where the original but very clean, he said i might have 2 more seasons with them. All electrical works, lights in the tower and speakers work. minor tear in the rear cushion that i already knew about but didn't look have as bad as I thought in person. No rust on the hinges anywhere.

He let me drive as long as i wanted and we docked 3 times so i could get the feel. throttled full one time and got that slammed to the back feeling.
the trailer had 4 old tires but the owner is replacing all of them. Brand new still in the box bimini top to replace the current ripped one.

All in all, so far this has been a pleasant experience. Deposit has been sent and i'm in the second phase of the process. I'll keep you posted, and will post pictures once it's in my driveway.

 

[tdonoughue]

Some questions:
1) Did you check the oil?
2) Compression test?
3) Did you check the engine compartment and bilge (below) after the test run?

Sounds pretty positive, though, from that report. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[mbtodd]

1. Yes,
2. No, I just got the compression tester yesterday
3 Yes.

I was feeling sort of good on the process, but there's always a seed of doubt.

I'll keep you posted

 

[tdonoughue]

Awesome! Looks like you may have found a good one.

There is always risk. How you manage it and how much you can tolerate are the variables. Looks like you are doing a good job on managing it.

 

[rwheatly]

Wanted to let you all know that I used this thread as my "check list" on a checking out a used AR210 (2018) w/ 40 hours. Oil looked good. Bilge was completely dry after running around for 20+ min. Getting compression test now. Boat ran well -- quick acceleration and easily got to 43-44mph with just two of us in the boat.

As this is my first Yamaha, I pulled the clean out plugs/ports to make sure I could get them out. I was a little surprised that the ports were filled with water before I pulled them out -- is this normal? After I pulled the plugs, the water drained straight away. I'm assuming this is no big deal as water likely came in over the transom as I was testing out reverse).

Anyway, wanted to thank you for the great advice. Definitely gave me a little more confidence in looking at the boat.

 

[biffdotorg]

Very normal, and thus the reason they should be pulled regularly if not after every use. If the previous owner pulled these all the time, it would not have been a surprise at all. And his explanation is the right answer.