My "What do you think about this boat?" thread

Boy, she is pretty. If the carpets are no longer with the boat there are a number of avenues for replacements. There is a member of another Forum that I am a member of that is doing beautiful work using the newer Infinity woven vinyl. If interested I can connect you 2.

Shawn

 

Don't let the emotion of buying a boat get in the way of making an educated decision. The boat is 20 years old. If it is a private sale, you need to be diligent about checking maintenance and mechanicals. Compression test, hose checks, what does not work, up close gelcoat inspection, stress cracks, tec. Safety things- bilge pump work? Exhaust leaks? If it is from a dealer, any warranty (30, 60 days?).
Good luck!

 

Agree with Rob. A reasonable person will be fine with a survey. If they refuse, keep looking.

 

Mr. Thunder....

So the purchase process should go like this....
-You look at the boat.
-You come to an agreement on a price and you make a written offer subject to a professional survey at your expense
-You give the seller a 10% REFUNDABLE deposit to show your sincerity and to take the boat off the market
-You find and hire the surveyor. Do not use one suggested by the seller. Find a surveyor that can do the hull and the engine/outdrive
-If the boat is on a trailer arrange for the seller to meet at a ramp for an in-the-water test. Offer to pay for fuel. Have the surveyor be there as well
-Go for a ride. See how it performs. Does it reach recommended RPMs at wide open throttle. Does everything work as it should. Be sure to visually inspect all canvas, top, side curtains, covers for condition. Look at the carpet. Your surveyor should be doing this as well.
-The surveyor should also be checking all system such as bilge pumps, blowers, lights, trim tabs, outdrive movement, listen for gimbal bearing noise, engine compression, looking at the oil, gear lube in the drive, gelcoat cracks, scuffs, blisters, etc. These are all things a good surveyor should know and do as well as sounding the hull for moisture, especially the transom.
-Do not proceed with the sale until you have seen the written survey.
-When you have the survey showing the found deficiencies (they always find some) present the survey to the seller
-At this point you can accept the boat at the agreed upon price; ask for and/or negotiate repair - to YOUR satisfaction, or walk away....with your deposit

Remember, if problems have been discovered, at this point the seller has to fix or disclose them to the next buyer. He wants to sell the boat and will most likely work with you.

When I bought my 52' Motor Yacht the survey came back with $21,000 of needed items of which $11,000 was engine repair on one of the Cat diesels. I asked for all items to be corrected thinking we would negotiate. The seller agreed to all. My point is at this point in the process you cannot afford to get emotional. If something doesn't look or feel right be prepared to walk away. I walked away from a different 52' boat that had a lot of repair issues and deferred engine maintenance come up. The survey cost me $1800 but saved me tens of thousands in the long run.

Keep us updated....

Shawn

 

They all look nice. One needs some upholstery. I would also check Boat Trader www.boattrader.com as well as Yacht World www.Yachtworld.com.

The was recently a thread about hours on an engine and what is too many on the Sea Ray forum (www.clubsearay.com) that I am also a member of. The jist of the conversation was what is too many hours. For a gas engine many believe the magic number is 1000-1200 for a rebuild but it was also discussed that hours aren't quite as important as how the mechanicals, engine and drive, have been maintained. A boat with too few hours can also be bad. A 20 year old boat with 800 hours has only averaged 40 hours per year. That would be considered low hours (consider 50-100 hours/year to be average). But were those hours in salt water? Was the system flushed after each use? Were oil changes and outdrive gear lube changed at the proper intervals? Was the boat used 100 hours per year for say, 5 years and the remainder of the years only 20 hours per year or maybe some years the boat was not used at all. Did the boat sit with fresh, new oil in it or was it dirty oil siting in the crankcase with all the nasty things in it that harm a motor? How about winterizing? Not something you would do in AZ but if you are looking at a boat from up north it could be important. Machinery needs to be run so a low hour boat could be no better than a high hour boat....it could even be worse. The boat that needs the interior fixed would scare me away because if an owner allowed that to happen I would be asking what else didn't he do.

So what do you do? With what you are looking for I feel that any boat that has all records of service indicating the mechanicals were properly serviced at recommended intervals would need to be given serious consideration regardless of engine hours. Here is where your survey becomes very important. The right surveyor knows how to check the engine and what to look for. If the seller has service records the surveyor will want to review these records.

You seem to be looking at boats all over the country. Are you planning to narrow it down to a couple and go look at them or ??? Could get pricey looking at all of them. Just remember to get the survey done before the purchase. You have to be steadfast at this point and be willing to walk away from one if anything smells fishy....no pun intended. FWIW if you find something in my area I would be happy to look at it for you.

Shawn

 

That looks pretty nice and that color blue is not so dark that you would be a slave to the buffer.

Because it's at a Marine Service I'm betting they have a detail guy in the area that could bring the hull back to life. I would make my offer based on the owner having the gelcoat cut, polished and waxed as a condition of the sale. Make your offer, get the survey and if all else is good they have the boat polished before you pick it up. I would be a little concerned about the low hours unless they can provide service records. That's only 17+ hours a year. It looks do-able though.

So a trailer would be a couple grand.... Make them a full price offer that includes a trailer, cut, polish and wax and contingent on an acceptable (to you) survey and any safety items repaired that come up in the survey such as faulty blower, bilge pump, running lights, etc. A call to Bill's Marine Service may give you some insight as to the mindset of the seller. Bill's Marine may know the seller is open to any offer and you might be able to come in a $11k Sometimes ya just gotta throw the poop against the wall and see what sticks. One other thing.... when we moved from Northern Cal to the New Orleans area last year I contracted U-Ship to tow my boat on is trailer rather than doing it myself. The cost was $1800 for 2350 miles. For me I was going to have my wife and to large dogs in the truck coming across some fairly desolate, and hot, area. The last thing I needed was to worry about a trailer breakdown. It worked really well for me. Might be an option for you. Fly up, inspect, sea trial, close deal, have it towed to the Valley of the Sun. It's just over 2100 miles so the cost should be about what mine was. Plus figure what it would cost you to drive up there and tow it back.

Shawn

 

Chances are it's NOT through hull

So I just read through the service reports for the past 17 years. It's interesting there are no records until 2000 yet Bill's claims it's been serviced there since new. Did the boat sit those 5 years? Then no records until 2005 and then fairly good records. Over the years there seems to be issues with the batteries/power drain. Why? Several service calls for dead batteries over the years. Operator error? That's a pretty good price for the trailer assuming it is good condition. At this point, to me, the low hours may not be a good thing. It sounds to me as if the boat was not well taken care of. Not abused....just neglected. Usually, people that own Cobalts take better care of them. Lastly, the first owner traded it in for a 4 Winns? Talk about trading down. I would take a 30 year-old Cobalt over a new 4 Winns anytime, unless....the Cobalt was nickel and dime-ing him to the point of frustration. Again I think I would try and talk to the service manager at Bill's Marine and ask for the scoop.

From what I'm seeing now I would offer $13,000 with the trailer mentioned, in roadworthy condition, and the boat wet-sanded, polished and waxed....subject to survey. And the survey not done by anyone affiliated with Bill's Marine.

Shawn

 

I did a search on Boat Trader http://www.boattrader.com/search-re...995,2005/Make-COBALT/Sort-Price:ASC/Page-1,28

I entered 24-27', 1995-2005 and 83 boats came up including the one in MD. I don't know what your budget is but a '98 272 on a trailer with the 7.4/Volvo Duo-Prop popped up for $17,950 asking price in Phoenix. Click on the link above and wade through those if you haven't.

From the picture you posted it's hard to tell from that angle if it is through-hull exhaust but from my years of experience I would be shocked if it is. An unmuffled big block is going to be pretty loud and most people won't want that all the time. I'm betting the exhaust goes down into the "Y" pipe and out through the prop hub. I have through-hull exhaust on my 23' with a built small block and it's annoying after a while.

I dunno man.... The boat in MD is one of those I think you would have to see to be sure. Maybe you'll have a better idea after talking to the Sales Hack. I will leave you with this.... For every boat, car, house or whatever I didn't get for whatever reason, I always ended up with a better one by waiting. See how you feel after you talk to the Sales Guy and check out the Boat Trader link.

Shawn

 

And you are coming into the end of the season where there may be some that want to get rid of their boats rather than pay to winterize (farther north). Might be a few deals during the winter.

 

There are 2 times during the year that boats become available- when the owner has to pay for winterization, and when the renewal is due on the slip....

 

Offer $11,000 on the trailer and a cut and polish....subject to survey of course.