1984 Bayliner Ski with 94 Merc Black Max 150HP 2.5 V6 Outboard

[matt167]

2003 may be a project, it may not.

A safe bet is to avoid a glass boat and get a nice tin boat. Even a later fish and ski from sylvan or StarCraft/smokercraft or even an older Bluefin. You will find one in your price range. Tin boats eliminate 90% of the structural wood. The only remaining wood is the deck and the transom.

I own 2 fiberglass boats, and 2 tin boats. The fiberglass boats are junk parts boats and one of them is a 2001. Ones waiting to get cut up. The other is holding a replacement I\O mercruiser for my big starcraft

 

[JimS123]

The pundits claim that the service life of a fiberglass boat is 15 years. Chances of a 21 year old boat being still in good shape are rare. Many (most) people that are not boat savvy don't take care of their boats very well.

Having learned along the way it has been my personal policy to save my pennies until I can afford what I want and need. Many first time boaters jump at what looks good, only to find out that the expenses to fix it are beyond the budget. That's why many first time boaters don't turn out to be second time boaters.

 

[DustinAZ]

Ok thank you all for the feedback

 

[redneck joe]

it don't rain much in AZ, you have a chance

 

[DustinAZ]

I have to say I’m a little scared to get a boat now. Haha
I’ve looked at a couple and they have covers on them etc. pretty clean with a few rips in the seats and they fire right up.

 

[redneck joe]

Firing right up is good. Looking an engine off the back from a bad transom is not good.

A quick test on the bayliner transom is you should be able to essentially stand on the pop of the tilted engine and bounce with ZERO flex in the transom. Or bring a socket set and see if you can tighten the bolts, if you can were they just loose (almost certainly not) or is the transom sucking together?

 

[DustinAZ]

I’ve scratched Bayliner off the list completely. It’s sea ray, four winns and wellcraft. All with Volvo or mercury motors. Omc c motors and out drives off the list too.

 

[redneck joe]

Ok, just remember newer and better name doesnt mean it was well taken care of. Get to know those lists scott and i posted better than you know yourself.

 

[redneck joe]

Oh and start a new thread with a generic title if youre going to be bringing us boats to look at.

Enjoy the hunt

 

[Chris1956]

Gee, Bayliner is made by SeaRay. IMO, with all the liability issues, I would expect the hull quality to be pretty close between the two.

Let's say that you the lawyer for SeaRay/Bayliner and are a defendant in a court of law due to hull failure of a Bayliner. The plaintiff asks "So you intentionally make Bayliner hulls inferior to SeaRay hulls?". Explain how you defend that?

 

[JimS123]

Gee, Bayliner is made by SeaRay. IMO, with all the liability issues, I would expect the hull quality to be pretty close between the two.

Let's say that you the lawyer for SeaRay/Bayliner and are a defendant in a court of law due to hull failure of a Bayliner. The plaintiff asks "So you intentionally make Bayliner hulls inferior to SeaRay hulls?". Explain how you defend that?

There are some semantics involved here. Bayliner and SeaRay have the same parent company, but neither makes the other. Bayliner is merely the budget division. It's kinda like saying a Lexus and a Toyota are the same.

 

[Chris1956]

OK Jim, Both brands are made by Brunswick. So you are an attorney for Brunswick and are asked the same question. So explain to the plaintive, why it is OK for the Bayliner Hull to fail and injure someone, when the SeaRay Hull doesn't fail under the same circumstances.

Is your argument that the SeaRay hull exceeds the minimum safety standards and Bayliner meets them? You had better be able to prove that statement, or you will have a short, not sweet career, as an attorney.

You want to say the Bayliner has a service life, and is expected to fail after 15 years. You had better hope no one was injured at 15.1 years.

It is cheaper to make the hulls the same, and charge more for the SeaRay because of better non safety stuff like bow rails, seating, fit finish etc.

 

[redneck joe]

I'm just gonna go grab some popcorn.....

 

[Scott Danforth]

Yea, today, Brunswick owns both SeaRay and Bayliner

HOWEVER.....In 1984 Bayliner was NOT owned by Brunswick. Brunswick bought Bayliner in 1986 from Orin Edson. And Brunswick didn't move the 25' and shorter boats to Mexico until 2001

 

[QBhoy]

eh...did Brunswick not have ownership of Mercury Marine and even Sealine, at one point ? Maybe still have with Mercury ? certainly at one point I am sure they did ?
Not that I am saying this particular Bayliner is of any real quality, but should maybe be known that it was likely considered a sort of fancy one at the time. Just with it being an arriva model. A few of them made it over here to the UK. I knew of a couple locally. One with a 150 Merc and another with a 200 merc. Both were quick machines. Fast hull to be fair.

 

[JimS123]

eh...did Brunswick not have ownership of Mercury Marine and even Sealine, at one point ? Maybe still have with Mercury ? certainly at one point I am sure they did ?
Not that I am saying this particular Bayliner is of any real quality, but should maybe be known that it was likely considered a sort of fancy one at the time. Just with it being an arriva model. A few of them made it over here to the UK. I knew of a couple locally. One with a 150 Merc and another with a 200 merc. Both were quick machines. Fast hull to be fair.

At present, Brunswick owns Mercury, Bayliner, SeaRay, Bostom Whaler, Crestline, Lund and a few more. So, In other words, from medium to premium brands.

But this is all a moot point anyway. We're talking about a very old boat here. Even if some lawyer wanted to argue about "quality", the manufacturer isn't even in business any more. How the various brands manufacture their products TODAY is of no concern.

The only issue here is how well the boat was taken care of. Paying the price for a survey (even if the purchase is ultimately NOT made) is money well spent.