New to boating and looking for recommendations

[Notsombody]

Hey folks. I’ve been looking for a boat for a while, originally was looking at the Yamaha’s, then heard about Scarab’s handling and HP and have been swayed that way, especially when I think about the wife docking or pulling it onto the trailer.

I found a 2015 215 Impulse HO but it’s out of town so can’t bring my buddies who know anything about boats for their opinion. I’ll be close to it while on vacation on the 4th, so thinking about getting it on the way back.

Seller says check engine light has been on for 2 years due to o2 sensor, but all other maintenance he says is complete.

I’m scared of dropping cash for anything that already has a CEL on, but at the same time I know I can fix most things myself. And the price is pretty good.

would you guys run away, or take a look. If you think it’s worthtaking a look, what should I check?

I’ve even though about taking it to a dealer for a once over, but only being able to check it out on weekend is making that difficult.

 

[Luc Lafreniere]

Assuming it is indeed an O2 sensor, it's a trivial fix and inexpensive. Does he have proof that this is the reason the light is on? Picture of the error code, Candoo Pro screenshot?

Dealers checking the boat over... make sure they actually know what they are doing. MANY dealers know very little to nothing on Scarab boats.

Assuming the engine starts/runs, hits top speed/rpm... then the rest is mostly negotiating power. If the impeller is slightly damaged, the wear ring is worn, etc. It's all fixable and fairly easy to do. The bigger job but still doable is the carbon seal IF it's damaged. The carbon seal can get worn if the boat was ran out of water for too long (even with cooling applied to the exhaust port, it does NOT cool that down).

One question I'd ask the seller is "So, how do you flush this?" Ask him to describe the process. It can say a lot about how he's treating it.

The answer should be something along the lines of:

1. Engine on.
2. Water pressure on.
3. Water pressure off.
4. Engine off.

With the condition that he's not running the engine longer than 2 min. Ideally he's keeping things under 60 sec at all times.

Now I'm not sure if he's in fresh/salt water, in fresh water, many don't flush since it's not necessary. But many will winterize by running antifreeze through the exhaust the same way as flushing. So you can follow up with that question if that applies.

If neither applies, you can ask him straight up if he know what the max engine run time is out of water or how long he runs it for out of water.

All of this is to know if he's overheating the carbon seal. You can also look for a black streak against the fiberglass hull where the drive shaft exits the hull. That can indicate a worn seal as well.

Frankly, odds are that everything is just fine and if something is worn, you can fix/get it fixed.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I’d want know WHY he hasn’t fixed the O2 sensor and tolerated the check engine light for two years. To me that says a lot about the owner. If he’s willing to ignore that what else is he willing to ignore.

 

[drmorley]

I've got a 215 and it's a great boat with tons of power. If there's an error code though I'd wonder if the engine management system would put the engines in limp mode until cleared. I'd try calling the closest Scarab dealer and talking to them first.

 

[Notsombody]

I’d want know WHY he hasn’t fixed the O2 sensor and tolerated the check engine light for two years. To me that says a lot about the owner. If he’s willing to ignore that what else is he willing to ignore.

I had that thought too, like you say you have been doing all your maintenance but never changed a sensor or two…

 

[Notsombody]

Assuming it is indeed an O2 sensor, it's a trivial fix and inexpensive. Does he have proof that this is the reason the light is on? Picture of the error code, Candoo Pro screenshot?

Dealers checking the boat over... make sure they actually know what they are doing. MANY dealers know very little to nothing on Scarab boats.

Assuming the engine starts/runs, hits top speed/rpm... then the rest is mostly negotiating power. If the impeller is slightly damaged, the wear ring is worn, etc. It's all fixable and fairly easy to do. The bigger job but still doable is the carbon seal IF it's damaged. The carbon seal can get worn if the boat was ran out of water for too long (even with cooling applied to the exhaust port, it does NOT cool that down).

One question I'd ask the seller is "So, how do you flush this?" Ask him to describe the process. It can say a lot about how he's treating it.

The answer should be something along the lines of:

1. Engine on.
2. Water pressure on.
3. Water pressure off.
4. Engine off.

With the condition that he's not running the engine longer than 2 min. Ideally he's keeping things under 60 sec at all times.

Now I'm not sure if he's in fresh/salt water, in fresh water, many don't flush since it's not necessary. But many will winterize by running antifreeze through the exhaust the same way as flushing. So you can follow up with that question if that applies.

If neither applies, you can ask him straight up if he know what the max engine run time is out of water or how long he runs it for out of water.

All of this is to know if he's overheating the carbon seal. You can also look for a black streak against the fiberglass hull where the drive shaft exits the hull. That can indicate a worn seal as well.

Frankly, odds are that everything is just fine and if something is worn, you can fix/get it fixed.

Thanks for all the info. Definitely going to be asking some questions and looking for black streak too. I’m think hardcore about buying the Candoo pro before the trip..

 

[Notsombody]

Assuming it is indeed an O2 sensor, it's a trivial fix and inexpensive. Does he have proof that this is the reason the light is on? Picture of the error code, Candoo Pro screenshot?

Dealers checking the boat over... make sure they actually know what they are doing. MANY dealers know very little to nothing on Scarab boats.

Assuming the engine starts/runs, hits top speed/rpm... then the rest is mostly negotiating power. If the impeller is slightly damaged, the wear ring is worn, etc. It's all fixable and fairly easy to do. The bigger job but still doable is the carbon seal IF it's damaged. The carbon seal can get worn if the boat was ran out of water for too long (even with cooling applied to the exhaust port, it does NOT cool that down).

One question I'd ask the seller is "So, how do you flush this?" Ask him to describe the process. It can say a lot about how he's treating it.

The answer should be something along the lines of:

1. Engine on.
2. Water pressure on.
3. Water pressure off.
4. Engine off.

With the condition that he's not running the engine longer than 2 min. Ideally he's keeping things under 60 sec at all times.

Now I'm not sure if he's in fresh/salt water, in fresh water, many don't flush since it's not necessary. But many will winterize by running antifreeze through the exhaust the same way as flushing. So you can follow up with that question if that applies.

If neither applies, you can ask him straight up if he know what the max engine run time is out of water or how long he runs it for out of water.

All of this is to know if he's overheating the carbon seal. You can also look for a black streak against the fiberglass hull where the drive shaft exits the hull. That can indicate a worn seal as well.

Frankly, odds are that everything is just fine and if something is worn, you can fix/get it fixed.

I think I got the answer I needed, I started asking questions about light and how he knows it is just o2 sensor and now no response. Didn’t even get to the parts about flushing or anything else. I’ll stay far away…