Question about buying a boat

oldjeep

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If it was nearby I'd be game, but that is about 1.5 hours north of me
 

KainDrag

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I found one guy that lives there on the map and send him a pm. Hopefully he responds.
 

thumpar

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You might try the boat ramp you are planning on using and find someone that has a similar style boat that looks like they know what they are doing. Might cost you a few bucks or lunch but shouldn't be too bad. I always offer up my help when someone wants to look at a boat.
 

oldjeep

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You might try the boat ramp you are planning on using and find someone that has a similar style boat that looks like they know what they are doing. Might cost you a few bucks or lunch but shouldn't be too bad. I always offer up my help when someone wants to look at a boat.

Not likely to happen this time of year. We went out yesterday on the busiest lake in the area using the busiest launch. There were 2 other trailers in the normally packed 50 slot lot. Boating season is over for 99% of the people around here.
 

KainDrag

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Last edited:

wrvond

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Forget Maxum and forget wake boats of any flavor.
​That Chapparal, OTOH is to die for. If I were in the market for a bow rider, I'd be all over that one! I'd try to get them to knock it down a couple thousand though, I'm sure they've padded the price by 2K for that very reason.
​Other than inspecting the engine, I'll tell you what to check. Get down on the ground under the outdrive and remove the drain plug (if it isn't already) and shine a light into the hole. Is it bare wood inside there or is it sealed? If it's bare wood, then move on, that boat'll likely need a new transom in another five years or so. If it's sealed, then check the skeg. Has it been dragged on anything hard enough to remove metal? If so, then let some oil out to check for water. In fact, it wouldn't hurt to check the lower unit for water intrusion any way. How clean is the engine compartment? Is the fiberglass stained? Is there mildew growing on the vent hoses? If the rest of the boat is any indication, I'll bet the engine bay sparkles too. Look at the bolts and lugs, like on the starter motor. If there's rust, then there's been water in the bilge - which isn't the end of the world, but you need to figure out how much and for how long. If there's staining only at the lowest point below the motor, then I'd call that boat a very good candidate.

​I would, however, get rid of that whale tail and install proper tabs right away!
 

KainDrag

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Forget Maxum and forget wake boats of any flavor.
​That Chapparal, OTOH is to die for. If I were in the market for a bow rider, I'd be all over that one! I'd try to get them to knock it down a couple thousand though, I'm sure they've padded the price by 2K for that very reason.
​Other than inspecting the engine, I'll tell you what to check. Get down on the ground under the outdrive and remove the drain plug (if it isn't already) and shine a light into the hole. Is it bare wood inside there or is it sealed? If it's bare wood, then move on, that boat'll likely need a new transom in another five years or so. If it's sealed, then check the skeg. Has it been dragged on anything hard enough to remove metal? If so, then let some oil out to check for water. In fact, it wouldn't hurt to check the lower unit for water intrusion any way. How clean is the engine compartment? Is the fiberglass stained? Is there mildew growing on the vent hoses? If the rest of the boat is any indication, I'll bet the engine bay sparkles too. Look at the bolts and lugs, like on the starter motor. If there's rust, then there's been water in the bilge - which isn't the end of the world, but you need to figure out how much and for how long. If there's staining only at the lowest point below the motor, then I'd call that boat a very good candidate.

​I would, however, get rid of that whale tail and install proper tabs right away!


I messaged oldjeep, I'd probably offer 10k cash to them for it, and see if they want to throw in a 30 day warranty, not sure if thats a thing in the boating world. It looks like its a dealership
 

oldjeep

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All depends on your goals. The Chaparral looks in great shape and should have enough power with the V6. If you are interested in wakeboarding and want a tower the Maxxum also looks in great shape, V8 but a bit overpriced I think. The jet boat I would personally steer clear of unless you really want to deal with 2 stroke oil. Sent you a PM, pretty busy this month but maybe I can make something work. If you contact any of the sellers, make sure to ask them what it would take to get a water test.
 

Blind Date

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The Chap has a whale tail bolted to the outdrive which is never a positive sign about how the boat performs for me. I'd steer clear of that boat. I doubt you'll get a private party to warranty a used boat but they should allow you a nice long test drive once you've proven to them your not wasting their time.
 

wrvond

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The Chap has a whale tail bolted to the outdrive which is never a positive sign about how the boat performs for me. I'd steer clear of that boat. I doubt you'll get a private party to warranty a used boat but they should allow you a nice long test drive once you've proven to them your not wasting their time.
I don't think the whale tail is a deal killer at all. They were very common in the 80's, and are much less expensive than tabs. For somebody trying to improve how quickly a boat gets on plane, a whale tail is just about the easiest, least intrusive thing you can do.
Removing tabs leaves holes to fill, removing the whale tail leaves no damage at all.
 

jkust

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On that Chap I can say that I had the same boat for 8 years but was a 2003...the 2002 as is your subject boat was the first year and they refined some things for 2003 then in 2004, they gave it their SSi badging and called it the 190 SSi which is the Chap top line of boats. I had the sport seating and the v6 as well (that 2002 has the standard seating). That boat is 18' 3 inches and is possibly the heaviest 18 footer you will find because that was the next generation of Chap build quality and hulls. That boat has a 2002 patent on the hull and was produced until the 2008 model year. In 2004, the boat came with a 5.0 mpi option because with the 33 gallon tank and the slightly less than 3000 dry weight, the 5.0 MPI is very much appreciated. With the wrong prop on that boat, it tended to want to porpoise, rather than correct some of that porpoising with a different prop of completely cure it with trim tabs, it would seem they chinsed out and put a whale tail on it. I can see that that 2002 seems to have been ordered without any of the optional features and is a stripped down model. Technically the compass and depth sounder are options but think that dealers always ordered them with at the minimum those two features. Technically again the 3.0 was offered but would be an inappropriate choice for a heavy boat such as that. The local marina here in MN that sold most of the Chaps outfitted them with Shorelandr' trailers..if it was the full roller trailer as my was, it is a very nice trailer. The 4.3 is a venerable engine and even in carb format not too shappy. What you aren't aware of maybe is that you have stumbled upon a Mercedes compared a bunch of entry level chevys.
 

KainDrag

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On that Chap I can say that I had the same boat for 8 years but was a 2003...the 2002 as is your subject boat was the first year and they refined some things for 2003 then in 2004, they gave it their SSi badging and called it the 190 SSi which is the Chap top line of boats. I had the sport seating and the v6 as well (that 2002 has the standard seating). That boat is 18' 3 inches and is possibly the heaviest 18 footer you will find because that was the next generation of Chap build quality and hulls. That boat has a 2002 patent on the hull and was produced until the 2008 model year. In 2004, the boat came with a 5.0 mpi option because with the 33 gallon tank and the slightly less than 3000 dry weight, the 5.0 MPI is very much appreciated. With the wrong prop on that boat, it tended to want to porpoise, rather than correct some of that porpoising with a different prop of completely cure it with trim tabs, it would seem they chinsed out and put a whale tail on it. I can see that that 2002 seems to have been ordered without any of the optional features and is a stripped down model. Technically the compass and depth sounder are options but think that dealers always ordered them with at the minimum those two features. Technically again the 3.0 was offered but would be an inappropriate choice for a heavy boat such as that. The local marina here in MN that sold most of the Chaps outfitted them with Shorelandr' trailers..if it was the full roller trailer as my was, it is a very nice trailer. The 4.3 is a venerable engine and even in carb format not too shappy. What you aren't aware of maybe is that you have stumbled upon a Mercedes compared a bunch of entry level chevys.


Haha thanks for your input! What does that last line mean? Also can someone explain the whale tail and tabs to me? whats is its purpose?
 

KainDrag

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The Chap has a whale tail bolted to the outdrive which is never a positive sign about how the boat performs for me. I'd steer clear of that boat. I doubt you'll get a private party to warranty a used boat but they should allow you a nice long test drive once you've proven to them your not wasting their time.


Its a family owned dealership, has some good reviews, so they may. Whats the whale tail thing, I mean I see it but what is its purpose and what are tabs
 

oldjeep

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Its a family owned dealership, has some good reviews, so they may. Whats the whale tail thing, I mean I see it but what is its purpose and what are tabs

Its purpose is to get the boat up on plane faster and keep it on plane at lower speeds. Tabs are trim tabs - they stick out past the end of the transom and do the same thing - better. Reality is that rarely should you need either one on an 18 ft bowrider unless you are cruising with your 400lb friends in the back seats of the boat and nothing in front;)

Looking at that dealership, they are selling 100K + boats - pretty good chance that the Chap has been fully inspected and they are not trying to sell a clunker.
 

wrvond

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Tabs are metal tabs that stick out on the transom. The exert a downward force to help the boat get up on plane faster by pushing the bow down sooner. They can be electric, hydraulic, or preset.
The whale tail was intended to do essentially the same thing.
 

jkust

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Haha thanks for your input! What does that last line mean? Also can someone explain the whale tail and tabs to me? whats is its purpose?


He's right...boat snob here but only because you can have any nice used boat you want for a tiny fraction of the new cost. The world is your oyster with used boats and the bigger the boat, the better the deal. Seriously though, the Chap in that particular early 2000's, was ahead of its time in many ways. Chaps did the details right while many of the other brands were still building their boats with 90's details. As for the whale tail situation, that chap has what they called an extended V plain hull. Every boat has its fancy name for its hull. If you look at how the transom is designed, you will notice it comes out a bit further than most of the other brands out there. It was meant to help it get up onto plain faster with more wetted surface. The thing is, it works and the whale tail just isn't needed to get it up on plain so unless they ran with a very heavy load of people and they were running into exactly why the v8 was offered in that boat, I'm just not sure why they actually have it. There comes a point where the carbed V6 is just overmatched when you load that already heavy boat up. It is already heavier by 600lbs or even more than many of the VEC boats so right away the V6 is working hard. Because it is so heavy, it will be slower than other 18 foot boats but will take chop better....as a general rule because there are no certainties with boats and model comparisons.
 
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