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Trying again, round 2 tomorrow evening..
Jimbo3067
Member Posts: 23 ✭
found a boat and talked to the broker. After round 1 I have a more determined attitude (wont be taken advantage of) and know the RIGHT questions to ask so that my time is not wasted. Not in a hurry and broker said I could stay on the boat and check everything out. He prefers I spend several hours on the boat. Said the boat has been for sale for 2 months and OWNER VERY MOVITATED.
We will see how willing he is to sell as I pick every little thing apart and the price drops for my offer. 
Broker said the boat is in excellent condition but wants me to be very careful on the motor. It has only about 260 hours on a 13 year old boat. Been kept in dry storage when not in use.
Keep ya posted...wish me luck.
Jimbo
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Carb'd or mpi? If mpi (which means it'll have a computer) have it scanned.. buyer pays for that if you walk, you do if you buy.. call it insurance..
Look at intake manifold and see if bolts have been out.. the whole thing is painted, and the broken paint will tell you if it has.. same thing with exhaust manifold, but harder to see..
check to see how old clamps are on hoses, and if they are of different sorts, which may tell you if there has been servicing there...
If you come down to liking the rig, and are about to pull the trigger: Pull fuel filters first, and cut them open.. look for debris that shouldn't be there (ie paint, ect).. see if they appear like they're newish or oldern' dirt..
Look for wiring outside of the harness(s) that doesn't look OEM. Look under engine to see if their is anything stained, or corroded.. inspect battery for corrosion or strange wiring (jacklegs go straight for Ye ol battery, and jacklegs make other shortcuts elsewhere that things like this tattle about)..
If you can, pull the pcv valve out of the valve covers and air hat... Shake valve.. if it rattles, it's good.. if it don't, it is bad. Inspect that hose for wet oil.. only oil vapor should make it through to it.. stick pinky finger in valve cover and see if there is crud.. stuck pcv's indicate heavy blow by.. heavy blow by indicates worn rings.. worn rings indicate lowish compression.. low compression indicate worn engines.. don't buy a worn engine- shake that pcv valve... :-)
Above all, spend the $25 for the oil analysis.. on your form, write and tell them what you're doing.. you will find out more about that motor that way than any other..
Oh yeah.. kick the tires.
I hear Drew is opening up his own marine survey business with discounts to ROC members!!
Mark
2019 MTX20 Extreme
If that thing has faria gauges, ask if they've been replaced or repaired.. the hours may be wrong.. if its an mpi (and computer controlled ignition and fuel delivery) have the tech who scans it for you to check the hours AT THE PCM, and trust it over the gauge... I THINK you can grab hours from the thunderbolt ignition (carb'd engine), too, but of that I'm not certain..
If you discover the intake manifold has been off (broken paint), ask seller why whilst you contort to where you can see the exhaust manifold bolts too.. if they've both been moved, chances are the heads have been off, too.. people don't just yank heads for entertainment (unless you're me) :-), so the seller is likely to brag about work done.. if he clams up, clam up your wallet...
Also of note: pcv's get old and stick... It happens, and it can happen w/o blow by being present, but if its sticky or stuck- make for certain and get that analysis.. the analysis will tell you things like h2o or salt present, which could indicate blown head gaskets, or exhaust fumes turn residue present, which indicates worn rings... A matter of fact, just have the tech do a compression test on the thing, both wet and dry.. it shouldn't vary a lot between the two, and you don't want more than 10% difference between the best and worst cylinder... Since plugs will be out for such an event, have him 'read' them.. and take a pic for us!! A lot can be told about reading plugs.. put new ones in it.. if you buy boat, you pay for all of this- if you don't, seller does... That's the way I'd approach it to him.. if he's good to go, he shouldn't argue much.
Before I bought my boat, I asked to see the engine report, even though the engine only had 27 hours on it. It shows everything and double confirms all in order. It even breaks down the engine hours per 1000 RPM's so you can see if it was abused.