What Questions to ask?

Rowdie · May 9, 2018

When buying a used boat, what are some essential questions to ask?

I'm thinking two lines of questions.... Motor hours or issues and boat issues like cracks transom issues.

ItemB · May 9, 2018

Do you have any aliases such as riverfisher?

SLE · May 9, 2018

Hours and service interval and items that have been done. Has any work work, (repair, paint, body, etc) been done to the boat. The rest you have to rely on your own inspection. If buying a used boat, insist on an on water test run if your serious. I bought a used boat that wasn’t even a year out of warranty from a dealer a few years ago. I asked about doing an on water test before signing papers and because it was inconvenient for them, we didn’t do one. That mis step cost me damn near $6k and a ton of inconvenience. Lesson learned for me!

measure-it · May 9, 2018

Be sure to check (wiggle) the transom for strength. It's even better to check it on a water test--give the throtle the max and see if the transom moves under pressure.

Rowdie · May 9, 2018

I agree with you guys but getting the boat you want for the price is hard enough, then the distance to go get it makes it hard to inspect it properly. So how to you check for wiggle?

ShootnBlanks · May 9, 2018

Yeah, it can get interesting. I bought my current boat 5 years ago late in the evening after work all the way to Brookings SD. Most I could do was look it over quick, ask reason for selling, tossed muffs on and ran motor for a few minutes. All was fine to me. Except 1st time out and this was early spring it was cold and windy. Decided it was a perfect chance to test the new -to-us boat out on Ashtabula. Had the family with. Made it up the lake couple miles from landing and idling around boat seemed to sit pretty low in the water to me. Pulled cover in back and holy shit that boat was full of water! Couldn't get to plane out, it was a struggle bus.was trying the pull the plug trick and go. Barely made it back to dock. They must not have drained for winterizing, hell prob didn't do anything period. Aerator for front livewell froze and blew apart, and auto bilge failed. Never did I think of something like that and how does a guy test without taking boat to a lake? I bet there's alot of boat stories to be told from guys on this site...

DirtyMike · May 10, 2018

Spin the prop to check for prop shaft straightness. Gives you a chance to look at any dings in the skag/prop. That one saved me $500 as I told the seller that I have no problem leaving Alexandra empty handed.

5575 · May 10, 2018

Ask
Is there anything wrong with it right now?
Does everything work?
Where is it stored winter and summer?
When was it serviced last.? How many hours? Remember 4 stroke motors now days go for over 4,000 hours all the time in ugly salt water so 99% of the time hours on boats in these parts is nothing really.
Has it ever been damaged?
Crawl underneath it to look for damage.
How old are the batteries?
If its a long ways away there are folks that will go over and go through everything on it and send you a detailed report for very little money.

shorthairsrus · May 10, 2018

bring your laptop
ask for owners key
pop cover off motor
plug in laptop
turn key forward
all questions answered

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ps works on scony made engines only - free downloads

Rowdie · May 10, 2018

I wish I could draw up a legal form of questions for the seller to fill out. Like, "Dose the live well work?" yes, but then it doesn't. Get it fixed and send the bill to seller, or something. Give me two weeks to test everything. There are so many little things that can end up costing a bunch to fix.

LBrandt · May 10, 2018

Test drive before check.

KDM · May 10, 2018

I try to get to know the seller before I ever look at the boat. Find out where they fish and what they fish for. Reason: Big water = Big waves = lots of pounding to the boat. Find out if they and their family enjoy other water sports. Reason: Tubing = Lots of hole shots and 0 to WOT. Find out if they enjoy cold weather fishing (spring/fall). Reason: Cracking in motor due to freezing water. Do they live close to their fishing spots. Reason: Rock dings on boat and wear on the trailer from traveling. Once I get a feel for what kind of fishermen the seller is, I have a better idea of what other questions to ask and what to look for when and if I decide to look at the boat. Then the questions previously posted come into play. Good Luck!!

3Roosters · May 10, 2018

How long have you owned it?
Are you the original owner?
Why are you selling?
What maintenance/repair, if any, was done to it recently?

Mort · May 10, 2018

This goes for anything being sold, I hate dishonest sellers, whats wrong with telling interested buyer what needs to be done, if you scared it won't sell, well you ought be, make it right the first time around, if not, you need to be reasonable in your sell price.
Being up front goes a long way and thats probably what you should say to the seller right off the get go and make it clear you got no problem walking away.

This probably didn't help much but moral of the story is, ask so many questions to the point it makes the seller nervous and look it over good, and asking to arrange a test run is not bad idea.

2400 · May 10, 2018

If you're interested in a certain brand or model of boat ask guys you know that have one for a list of stuff to look for. What have they fixed, what should you look for, recalls on it, maybe have a buddy that has the same boat come along to look it over for you. We used to do that, it's a lot easier to see things broken, wrong, out of line, dings, dents, missing if you're not the one buying. I learned this the hard way (not just once but several times), when you're buying anything sometimes you "overlook" or miss things because you have the "gotta have its". Later on hindsight rears it's ugly and usually expensive head and bites you in the ass.Best of luck on your new to you hole in the water.

Rowdie · May 10, 2018

I wish I could just drive an hour or across town and look at the look at the boats I'm looking into. I would make it a lot easier.

westwolfone · May 10, 2018

Like others said, it's all about the person selling the boat.

If you get a bad read on them, follow your instincts and move on.

SDMF · May 10, 2018

Clean connections on the batteries is one of my "indicators". So is the very 1st drip out of the lower unit as well as the condition of the plug-screw. I can see if the plug has been in/out, I can also see if the proper tool was used as those plugs are easy to bugger up. Proper tool use is also an "indicator" for me. If the person who owns whatever I'm looking to buy keeps electrical connections clean and uses the proper tools that tells me a lot.

I'd ask the owner if they'd wired in anything themselves and check that work. Splice connectors are a major red flag as are wire nuts, electrical tape, and exposed wire outside of the connector. Butt connectors and heat shrink are what I like to see. If the person tells me they soldered under the butt connector, that gives me absolute confidence in their work.

Click the switches on everything and listen/watch for how quickly the item starts up. Cassette style pumps will start right away if they're in working order. If they start slow and come up to speed or there is a discernible delay from switch to start, there's a small chance that cleaning up the connections will fix it, but most likely it'll need to be replaced.

I'd also look for anything the owner might have added himself that required holes to be drilled. What do the heads on the fasteners look like and did he silicone the edges. Things like a transducer board on the transom or Rod holder bases or rails on the gunwhale etc.

Allen · May 10, 2018

If you are looking at an older aluminum boat that sits on rollers, look for roller indentations in the hull. Some of the thinner plated and ribbed aluminum boats should not be on rollers.

Lots of discussion on the trailer should also be had as a boat is no good if you can't reliably get to the water and back home. Check the age of tires (look for odd wear), axle problems (I've had one break and a couple of alignment issues), bearing/seal age and time since last being serviced. Wiring, look to see if it's old. Even a trailer with wiring that works, go ahead and pull some of it out of the frame. You may see a LOT of wear on the insulation as time on the road causes the wire's insulation to wear off as it vibrates against a rusty interior of the trailer frame.

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Also, take a Philips screw driver with you. Screws are always coming loose on a boat that gets beaten about in the waves. As you walk around the boat, tighten screws that fasten to any carpet covered wood. If the screw tightens up nicely, the wood is still in good shape. If the screw just sits and spins, especially if a number of them do this, the wood behind/under the carpet is getting rotted out.

shorthairsrus · May 10, 2018

When asked if boat leaks I always say nope don't overfill the livewell though as it will

What Questions to ask?

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