Check List for Buying a Used Boat

[tigadunner]

Ballers - I bought a used 97 Nautique a few years ago, didn't do a good job inspecting/test driving it, and wound up doing a lot of repairs over the past year. It now a great boat, but we've made a family decision to get an open bow.

 

I've learned a lot from the past year and plan to get a compression test, test drive/ski, run the engine and look for leaks, make sure buttons work, ect.

 

But - I wanted to post this topic to get the infinite wisdom from BoS readers on other things I should do when checking out a used ski boat. I'm not worried as much about boat models (Mastercraft 197, Malibu LXI, etc).....just wanted to get feedback on things to look for.....

 

Thanks!!

[Andre]

The MC forum has a very well made checklist for buying a used boat.

Must be in the FAQ or sticky.

Send you a link...Check your messages.

[gregy]

I bought a 99 Malibu LX with 156 hrs. It hadn't been used in 5 yrs when I got it. I ended up spending 2 weeks straight working on it and over $1000 in parts. I got a good deal but looking back I think I would have been better getting something that had been used regularly. You can often talk to the owner and look at it and tell how well its been maintained or abused. I'd look for something with reasonable hours that has been stored indoors. If there's any doubt about the motor you could have a professional look at it.

[TallSkinnyGuy]

I used the aforementioned checklist from the Mastercraft Team Talk site. It is quite exhaustive, though, so be prepared to spend a couple hours with the boat if you want to go through everything in the list (including on-water test). I also paid a boat mechanic $150 to do a used boat inspection, which included a compression test. I'm not a wrencher, so I felt it was important to have a knowledgeable mechanic do a thorough inspection.

[Hallpass]

There are checklists on correctcraftfan, planetnautique, and the Bu forum as well. I would think most of the boat forums would have them. My recommendation is if you have a specific boat in mind, I would ask the question "what should I look for" on both this site, and on the discussion forum for that boat brand. Folks will know the common issues with particular models. FWIW. BKH

[vtjc]

This is a good list to start with: http://www.tylerskiclub.com/usedboat.html

[tigadunner]

Thank you everyone.! I planned to develop a checklist...but, now I have a bunch to review and use.

[Orlando76]

Good luck getting the typical seller to allow you to pull plugs. That's about rule #1 for me and this last go around I walked away from several Nautiques bc sellers wouldn't let me check numbers. I caved in on one.... And it bit me in the arse.

[east tx skier]

I put the one together that's on the MC forum. It's the same one as is on the Tyler Ski Club website. I used it when I bought my 98 SN, and have had very few surprising issues in my ensuing eight years of ownership. I have seen the one on CCFan, which is good as well.

[ALPJr]

Trust me the @east tx skier list is money.

[oldjeep]

I definitely would not let someone off the street remove plugs or disassemble in any way. If they wanted me to show them some things or have a Malibu dealer check it over that would be fine. Random monkey using wrenches on my boat - nope.

[Deke]

Plugs? We're not talking about rocket science here. I might not trust a stranger's skills, but if they were a serious buyer I'd at least do it for them.