1998 Crownline 20' open bow

[vipertblck]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

No it is not worth purchasing without a sea trial, make arrangements in advance, be prepared. If he doesn't want to do a sea trial walk away.

Like oldjeep says boat is for sale until the seller has money in hand.

If you like it and are ready to deal the next thing you should say is where can we put it in the water? If the seller doesn't think you are serious before that he will after.

If you decide to lowball you are on your own.

He said he would sea trial but we would have to set it up (obviously) as the nearest body of water is about 30 mins from him. Maybe make an offer based on a good sea trial, and leave a few hundred for deposit tonight if I like it?

 

[thumpar]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

He said he would sea trial but we would have to set it up (obviously) as the nearest body of water is about 30 mins from him. Maybe make an offer based on a good sea trial, and leave a few hundred for deposit tonight if I like it?

I would do that and write up paperwork that says the deposit is refundable if sea trial fails.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

30 minutes? you guys with water all over the place make me sick...

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

I would never complete a purchase on an inboard-outboard that old without having a qualified marine mechanic checkout the boat fully. That includes checking the compression and running an engine scan.

But what really scares me are bellows on the out drive and the lower unit, as they're a pain in the rear to replace and get sealed properly. I would want the mechanic to drain old lower unit grease looking for water intrusion. And l would want them to perform a vacuum/pressure test to make sure the l/u seals are good. If they're bad, it's a $300 repair. Unless the current owner can document the water pump impeller being recently, it would need to be changed no matter what it looks like.

And cleaning, inspecting and re-greasing the bearings on the trailer should be done on any used boat purchased.

Then if everything is good, it'd be time to exchange funds. I always considered the Crownline to be a very nice boat by any standards, and it's something to be proud of.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

I would never complete a purchase on an inboard-outboard that old without having a qualified marine mechanic checkout the boat fully. That includes checking the compression and running an engine scan.

But what really scares me are bellows on the out drive and the lower unit, as they're a pain in the rear to replace and get sealed properly. I would want the mechanic to drain old lower unit grease looking for water intrusion. And l would want them to perform a vacuum/pressure test to make sure the l/u seals are good. If they're bad, it's a $300 repair. Unless the current owner can document the water pump impeller being recently, it would need to be changed no matter what it looks like.

And cleaning, inspecting and re-greasing the bearings on the trailer should be done on any used boat purchased.

Then if everything is good, it'd be time to exchange funds. I always considered the Crownline to be a very nice boat by any standards, and it's something to be proud of.

I suspect if you tried to go through all that for a 10K lake boat around here that you would be boatless unless you bought a new one. The first person who was interested my Bayliner wanted a mechanic to look at it - I told him that was fine, knowing that it is a minimum of a 2 week wait to even get minor service done this time of year. Sold it 2 days later to a different guy and had 4 more people who were wanting to come look at it.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

30 minutes? you guys with water all over the place make me sick...

10 minutes from here I would have been happy to give a water test, but the water was still in solid form when the boat sold a few weeks ago.

 

[gstrom11]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

Lakes right across the street for me..

Let us know how the talks go tonight, clean looking boat.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

10 minutes from here I would have been happy to give a water test, but the water was still in solid form when the boat sold a few weeks ago.

You are not helping bud!!

 

[vipertblck]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

Well, boat was clean! Looked very well kept! Seats needed a cleaning but nothing major, just cuz I'm picky and they weren't "perfect". Would probably need an impeller cuz it hasn't been done since his ownership, he bought in 2012. Water flowed but still, prolly time to change it. Bellows seemed fair, bit of crud up in there but bellows seemed in tact. Exhaust bellow had some splitting in the crease areas but still didn't find a rip anywnere. Water hose from outdrive to the transom(one that's tucked by the bellows) was pretty stiff.. Engine and rest of boat was clean! I kinda started getting scared cuz it's a lotta cash and I was ideally lookin for a 4 cyl or the v6, easier to work on. Then this thing popped up and was decent so I looked at it, a lil leary of the v8 though; and man do they cram stuff in there. I don't think I'd enjoy working on that thing. it's TIGHT! Anyway boat overall looked really good and strong. I offered 8 and he said the guy who came this afternoon before me offered 9 but didn't come with cash, so he'll be coming tomorrow with cash to pickup. I told the guy to call me and lemme know what happens. So we'll see for tomorrow.

Few concerns, the trim up didn't work unless you were almost all the way down with the trim, THEN the trim up would work, or you could push the trailer button and it would raise..guy claimed this was a safety thing to prevent you from raising it too high out of water and not being submerged? Also there's a resovior for outdrive oil in the engine compartment? I though the outdrive oil had no connection to the transom?

 

[vipertblck]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

I would never complete a purchase on an inboard-outboard that old without having a qualified marine mechanic checkout the boat fully. That includes checking the compression and running an engine scan.

But what really scares me are bellows on the out drive and the lower unit, as they're a pain in the rear to replace and get sealed properly. I would want the mechanic to drain old lower unit grease looking for water intrusion. And l would want them to perform a vacuum/pressure test to make sure the l/u seals are good. If they're bad, it's a $300 repair. Unless the current owner can document the water pump impeller being recently, it would need to be changed no matter what it looks like.

And cleaning, inspecting and re-greasing the bearings on the trailer should be done on any used boat purchased.

Then if everything is good, it'd be time to exchange funds. I always considered the Crownline to be a very nice boat by any standards, and it's something to be proud of.

I'm new to boating, why are bellows hard to seal? Dont' they just come off and install new ones with the supplied hose clamps?

 

[oldjeep]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

Well, boat was clean! Looked very well kept! Seats needed a cleaning but nothing major, just cuz I'm picky and they weren't "perfect". Would probably need an impeller cuz it hasn't been done since his ownership, he bought in 2012. Water flowed but still, prolly time to change it. Bellows seemed fair, bit of crud up in there but bellows seemed in tact. Exhaust bellow had some splitting in the crease areas but still didn't find a rip anywnere. Water hose from outdrive to the transom(one that's tucked by the bellows) was pretty stiff.. Engine and rest of boat was clean! I kinda started getting scared cuz it's a lotta cash and I was ideally lookin for a 4 cyl or the v6, easier to work on. Then this thing popped up and was decent so I looked at it, a lil leary of the v8 though; and man do they cram stuff in there. I don't think I'd enjoy working on that thing. it's TIGHT! Anyway boat overall looked really good and strong. I offered 8 and he said the guy who came this afternoon before me offered 9 but didn't come with cash, so he'll be coming tomorrow with cash to pickup. I told the guy to call me and lemme know what happens. So we'll see for tomorrow.

Few concerns, the trim up didn't work unless you were almost all the way down with the trim, THEN the trim up would work, or you could push the trailer button and it would raise..guy claimed this was a safety thing to prevent you from raising it too high out of water and not being submerged? Also there's a resovior for outdrive oil in the engine compartment? I though the outdrive oil had no connection to the transom?

Sounds like the trim was working fine - you can only bring it half way up or so and then you use the trailer button. Gear lube reservoir in the engine compartment is normal on newer outdrives.

 

[vipertblck]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

Sounds like the trim was working fine - you can only bring it half way up or so and then you use the trailer button. Gear lube reservoir in the engine compartment is normal on newer outdrives.

how does that work? is that an actual rubber hose/line going from the outdrive through the transom?

 

[oldjeep]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

how does that work? is that an actual rubber hose/line going from the outdrive through the transom?

More or less, athough I think that the hose goes from the reservoir to a port on the inside of the transom and another hose connects on the other side to the bellhousing of the drive and from there the upper unit plugs into a port on the other side of it.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

Its a good thing to look at a bunch of boats, the more the better, increases your education in what to look for, eventually you will find one that you like. That's why I told you to bring someone who knows boats but that's ok doing it the hard way is fine to.

The trim was working properly but you didn't know no biggie, the bellows need replacing and it could use an impeller, none of these things are inconsistent with a boat of this age, not at all.

Keep looking and good luck!

 

[thumpar]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

The V8 is a little tight to work on but really not that bad once you get in there. In this size boat with it's weight I would stick with a V8. They have a big butt. I don't think a V6 would be any easier to work on anyway since it is just a shorter 350/5.7l.

 

[vipertblck]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

Aside from the fact that all the transom should be re sealed in my opinion just as prevenative maintenance(bellows and hoses back there); the rest of the boat was GREAT! Well kept and clean appearance! Even the engine compartment, engine and ourdrive! I guess the major thing that scared me was it neededin the transom resealed (but that's no different than doing a bellows job on any alpha one out there, right?) and the v8 "accessability". Keep in mind i'll be doing all the work myself, only way a marina or shop will get this boat is if it's a MAJOR incident such as engine removal or something crazy. Doing the work myself, that v8 looked like a nightmare....aside from those issues the thing was great. Anyway I offered him 8000 and he's gonna call me if the guy backs out whose suppose to come buy it today..

 

[vipertblck]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

Called around to a local marina today to get a rough price if I bought this boat and had someone change the transom stuff. He quoted for all 3 bellows, the water hose, outdrive gasket, and shift cable; 650-700 total, parts and labor. I'm new to all this, keep in mind, but that seemed pretty reasonable to me, no? If I were to do it myself I have a few hundred in parts alone, plus the price for special tools which from Mercury who knows the cost of that. Does that quoted price seem decent for the work I described?

 

[oldjeep]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

I wouldn't do it myself for that amount The important thing to ask them is - if I bring the boat in tomorrow, when will it be done? You're picking the worst possible time of the year to get the attention of a marine mechanic.

 

[jkust]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

Called around to a local marina today to get a rough price if I bought this boat and had someone change the transom stuff. He quoted for all 3 bellows, the water hose, outdrive gasket, and shift cable; 650-700 total, parts and labor. I'm new to all this, keep in mind, but that seemed pretty reasonable to me, no? If I were to do it myself I have a few hundred in parts alone, plus the price for special tools which from Mercury who knows the cost of that. Does that quoted price seem decent for the work I described?

I'm late to the party but Crownlines are decent boats. I don't like that while other's were starting to offer fiberglass floor with snap-out carpet, Crownline was late to offer it in their smaller boats. You can see it still in their mid 2000's small bowrider that didn't yet have it as standard. As for comparison sake, you can not compare a Cobalt to any other boat below 20 feet from 2002/2003 forward because they exited that small bowrider segment. Back in 1998, you can make that comparison and you will see generally a cobalt as a bit of a better product. As for the price of the service, dealer service can vary from a little bit to a ton depending on the state. I would just mention that at least at my marina, if you buy a pre packaged service such as a 100 hour tune up, it is cheaper than buying the services individually. My outdrive was using gear oil and it was far cheaper to do the 200 hour tune up though I only had 100 hours on it and that 200 hour package included the part that was leaking.

 

[thumpar]

Re: 1998 Crownline 20' open bow

I did the transom seal on my old Alpha. It was not that hard and didn't require any special tools.