Buying first bigger boat, things to look for?

[Lwapo]

Hi Everyone!

I have had several boats in my life from smaller "rowboats" that were 12' long, to my 16-18' runabouts with 40 HP motors that I fixed up myself. I'm no expert, but I am pretty good a figuring things out.

That being said...

I'm looking for a slightly larger boat now. I'm going to look at a used boat that is a 21' with a cuddy cabin. This will be my first I/O as well as the biggest boat that I've ever purchased. While it's not an especially high dollar boat, I'd like to do what I can to avoid getting screwed or more importantly... injured!

I'm scared to death that I'll get out on the lake and sink or something crazy like that.

What should I be looking for when I look at the boat?

The boat has a 250 Penta Outdrive, is this a good drive? I know nothing about I/O's but I know that the Volvo stuff is popular.

What else should I look for? The boat APPEARS to be taken care of really really well, but I know that looks can be deceiving.

I know the basics of making him start it, looking at the general condition, looking for cracks/repairs/etc. However, I don't know much else of what to look for beyond standard tire-kicking.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

 

[dan t.]

Re: Buying first bigger boat, things to look for?

The first thing you need to check is the stringers,very important. If you are not sure what to look for I suggest you get a profesional survey, then if the hull is sound get the motor and drive checked, again by a pro. Good luck , hope it works out for you.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Buying first bigger boat, things to look for?

The first thing you need to check is the stringers,very important. If you are not sure what to look for I suggest you get a profesional survey, then if the hull is sound get the motor and drive checked, again by a pro. Good luck , hope it works out for you.

The only other thing I'll add concerns the motor/outdrive combination. I googled the V-P 250, and it appears the motor might be (?) Volvo's own (Swedish) 4 cylinder with twin carbs, with which I'm not at all familiar. It's an old motor derived from Volvo's own car engines. You might want to post in the Volvo I/O forum- hard to be sure if all the parts are still available and how pricey they might be.

V-P moved over to American (GM and Ford) motors quite awhile ago. How old is this boat?

 

[Navigator_Victory]

Re: Buying first bigger boat, things to look for?

Why are you concerned about sinking?

My Carver was my first big boat....now I think a 40 foot would be big looking back.....trailer vs a slip one thing to think about,,,, also you need to know your lake depths...some of the places you can go in small boats with a 10" draft is a HUGE difference when you have a 2 or 3 foot draft....so know what the draft is on the boat and know your lake

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Buying first bigger boat, things to look for?

The two biggest concerns have been hit on already: rot in the wooden components of the hull, and an obsolete powerplant. Check the deck very carefully as ANY soft spots are usually indicative of more serious rot below in the stringers. Try to get look at the transom as well. Post up in the Volvo I/O forum with info about your motor and drive to find out if it's going to be a money pit or not.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Buying first bigger boat, things to look for?

Yup. Wood rot in the floor/stringers and transom if paramount. The engine/drive combo obviously isn't used anymore, so research that like ezmobee suggested. I was expecting a thread on 28'+ cruisers, lol, but I guess even 21' is big if you've been running 12' boats.

 

[hog88]

Re: Buying first bigger boat, things to look for?

As all above have said, plus you just might want to crawl down into that cuddy and spend some time. A cc on a 21' boat is IMHO alot of wasted space.

 

[BatDaddy1887]

Re: Buying first bigger boat, things to look for?

I would make sure that you do at least one sea trial. Check the engine compartment for signs of water leakage before you go. Once it's in the water, test the engine performance for at least 20 min. and several miles of travel. After all that, open the engine compartment and check for water leaks, I/Os have a reputation for leaking if not well taken care of.

Also, it's normal for new boaters to have a fear of sinking. If there were ever the situation for the boat to actually be sinking, just remember that a moving boat takes longer to sink. Head for the nearest shore no matter where it is, and maybe think about purchasing a small kicker motor to install on the back as a back-up to your main engine. These usually are of smaller hp and have a separate gas tank and used for emergency's.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Buying first bigger boat, things to look for?

Yup, my first power boat was 24 feet and it did not sink, so don't worry.

Welcome to the 'big boy' boats. . . The others have mentioned some good things. You did not mention the age of the boat., but at and after 10 years of age, start looking for rot in the bulkheads, stringers and transom.

The I/O engines are basically truck engines, with a few different parts, connected to an outboard lower unit through a funky mechanism that goes through the transom. The 2 biggy manufacturers are Mercruiser and Volvo Penta. If you see OMC . . . run (yes run). The engines are mostly GM engines, with some exceptions as has been noted, and the drive units are very similar between the 2 manufacturers.

A sea trial would be a great thing . . . just about every engine runs fine 'on the muffs'. Compression check and even a cylinder leak test would be good to do. Also, on the sea trial, make sure to check everything to see if it is working. Something that is busted may not be a show-stopper, but it figures into the overall condition and negotiation.