What to look for buying a boat?

[Jman231994]

Hey guys, me and a mate are going to check out a pretty cheap little fibreglass runabout tomorrow afternoon. From the pictures it looks good and like everything is there, but not having much boat experience we were wondering what the most important things to look for when inspecting it would be.

Stuff like the transom, floor and stringers, but also how to tell if they're stuffed in a non invasive way. Also important things to look at and signs of issues on the motor and trailer would be good

We've already bought one dud off eBay, since found it's pretty much held Together with rot :/ so don't want to make that mistake again

Thanks

[Guest stephanb79]

Take your shoes off and with ur toes push down on the floor if it feels spongy its root

[Nolongeramember]

not having much boat experience we were wondering what the most important things to look for when inspecting it would be.

You should take someone experienced with you to check it out. There are just way too many things that could possibly be wrong with it.

[Jman231994]

Thanks Stephan, will do that

And thanks Roylo, but I don't think we really have anyone that experienced with boats that could go with us to check it out. And it's not really expensive enough to be worth having a boat mechanic look it over

[antonywardle]

Sounds like you and me are in the same boat!

Maybe have a look underneath at the hull and see how badly scraped and scratch it is.

This might show you how well, or otherwise its been looked after.

I bought an old one and its ok, although the motor was stuffed, so there is

no such thing as a cheap boat ;-) I get a bit of water in it but its a good solid boat.

Do you know the make/model/length?

Google reviews can be helpful

If you are also checking the motor, take a compression tester with you.

As I understand it, the actual pressure, to a point isn't as important

and the difference between the cylinders. Then check that you get a bit of water out

of the telltails.

[Jman231994]

Thanks Antony, it seems we are haha.

Ill give the hull a good look over like you suggest and squeeze as much info out of the seller as I can too!

Going by the ad it's a cruise craft 14ft. No idea of the model. If I can get hold of a compression tester by this afternoon I'll see if the seller will let me test it, it looks as though all the wirings unhooked though so I may struggle to turn it over.

Is there a forum rule against posting gumtree links, if there isn't I'll put the link up for you to have a look

Thanks

Edit: Oh also, it has a rather low looking transom and no motor well, just a plain transom. Would this be an issue?

Edited September 11, 2014 by Jman231994

[antonywardle]

was it the one with near new tohatsu motor

the upside down one with the 70HP Evinrude

or a different one?

PM the link if you want.

I don't think that there is a rule against gumtree links but you can always grab the picture off

gumtree and post that too

[SquidMarks]

one thing you must look for when buying a boat.. make sure the colour of the boat is right! (thats what the missus said when we were buying ours!)

[harold]

Take a key and make sure the transom is not soft by poking it in a few places. Also look for any bubbles in the glass as it could be osmosis. I would rub my hand over the external side of the hull and feel for any irregularities, these could be repairs.

[antonywardle]

how'd you get on?

[Jman231994]

So sorry guys, got distracted by tests at uni and completely forgot about this.

So we went and had a look and it wasn't too bad but it seemed to have had some average quality diy repairs done. The transom had been replaced and the keel at the front had been reglassed but it looked as though they hadn't used enough resin so was a bit dodgy. Also a few other repairs under the chines that made us feel as though the boat had been in a crash or some sort of accident. It was a cheap cruisecraft, $900, and the trailer was really good, plus the motor only needed a new starter solenoid to be a runner. But me and my mate had basically agreed not to touch anything that needs glass work under the waterline.

So we walked away from that one and are on the lookout again. Basically were trying to find something that we can have in the water for around $1200 all up, we're not afraid of a bit of work so we think it's doable, but at the same time if we can't do it safely we just won't do it at all.

In the meantime we have a little tinny that needs a few patches to be a floater and were looking for a cheap 5hp so that we can get on the water this summer with minimal outlay while we wait to find a good bargain

Thanks for the help guys, keep it coming with the advice too as well hopefully need it in the not too distant future

[Guest Aussie007]

Jman maybe save up a little more coin and invest in a alloy boat they hold much better value

if u insist on a old glass boat look at things like the transom, are there any holes drilled for mounting burley buckets and fish finders? is the bung properly sealed? do the engine mounting bolts look secure? throw a leg up on the back of the engine and put some pressure on the engine to see if the transom flexes

look at the floor has there been many holes drilled over the years for seats and what not? is there any access point for water to soak up into the plywood floor ie: cracks in the fibreglass or delaminating fibreglass, look for water stains on the inside around the bilge are to indicate water has sat inside the hull for a period of time

rotted stringers is a bit more tricky, check the hull right along the whole length for cracks and or repairs, the stringers are fully sealed in with resin and glass cloth but if the hull is damaged from beneith water will soak up into the stringers like a wick also check the top again u can get an idea of the stringer lay out from the rear of the boat or just imagine the lay out, has someone possibly screwed seats down to the stringers? these screw holes are another access point for water to seep in and rot the stringers when it rains or u take on water in rough conditions

there are some great old boats out there that have rock solid floor,stringers,transom but if one of these are rotted more than likely the boats been neglected and gone to shit and there all rotted

ive bought 2 boats in my history of boating with rotted timber and its just a learning curve, over the years you'll gain the knowledge and know how to look out for these things

Edited September 15, 2014 by gazza

[Jman231994]

Thanks for that Gazza, will keep all of that in mind. Also, what sort of money do you think would be a starting point for an alloy boat?

We ideally want something forward control for a bit more comfort going between fishing spots, and probably also something solid enough to tow a biscuit every now and then for a bit of fun with our non fisher friends. There's a forward control tinny on gumtree for $500 at the moment that's more or less what we want, but it's in incredibly bad condition and appears to have a forest growing in it haha

[Guest Aussie007]

if u want a good deal u need to check around frequently, see if huey has something instock that would suit you, if not look on the web site u mentioned and try look 3/4 times a day or more as once a bargain comes up its gone before u even knew it was there

i sold a boat around a year ago a 14 foot aluminium quintrex fishabout with a 25hp 4 stroke mercury on it for $1800 and i recently sold the the boat in my display picture for $1200 so the bargains are out there just look hard and look frequently and u may have to do the miles, trips 3 hours north or south are often in finding good cheap deals

[Jman231994]

Wow someone got some bargains off you. I'm assuming they were both running? In that case I think it's probably worth saving more, I was under the impression that a reasonable alloy boat was way over our budget so hadnt really considered it. Me and my friend both agreed when we first started looking that an alloy boat would be so much better for what we do anyway so that's good.

I haven't got a job at the moment because of uni but I think it's time I start looking for my Christmas break. Shouldn't take long to save up enough

Thanks for the help Gazza!