1994 Chaparral - potential new boat owner?

[Road Head]

Hello everyone! I'm obviously new here (post count = 1) and hoping to get a boat and enjoy the lake this summer. I am looking at a '94 Chaparral 2130 Sport. It is 21' with an 8'4" beam. It has the 5.7L Mercruiser and a whole bunch of storage. Price is $10k which seems to be pretty fair. It looks to be in excellent condition. Hull and seats are all in excellent condition. Engine compartment is clean, lower unit looks good. Aside from the fact that it is a used boat and there are always potential hidden problems or whatever, does anything jump out that just screams "run away".<br /><br />Thanks for the help and hopefully I will soon be a boat owner!!

 

[one more cast]

Re: 1994 Chaparral - potential new boat owner?

I don't know anything about Chaparral's but WELCOME to iboats.

 

[SwampNut]

Re: 1994 Chaparral - potential new boat owner?

That's well over high book value, so it would have to be truly exceptional or have a lot of extras. Book isn't always right, but I think I would spend some time looking through the boat trader and other sources for comparable boats. Gut instinct tells me the going rate should be a couple grand less.<br /><br />As for condition... Does it have an hour meter? Does the seller have service records or receipts? Can he tell you when he did service off the top of his head? <br /><br />Was it garaged or outdoors?<br /><br />How are the details like guages, throttle/steering motion, vinyl (look in the seams), etc?

 

[SwampNut]

Re: 1994 Chaparral - potential new boat owner?

Oh, and a 12 year old boat could be a LOT of trouble. Not that it necessarily is, but it all depends on the care it had. At 12 years, bad care would lead to a boat ready to cost a lot to fix. With good care, it could go another 12 without major issues.<br /><br />There are some semi-pricey service items that have to happen over time, such as replacing the bellows and possibly joint/bearing in the outdrive, and similar things. I think that's typically done around every five years or so. If you ask when the bellows was last replaced and he says "dunno," figure it will need to be done soon, which required removing the drive. If you ask about the water pump and he says "don't know," then figure on one of those.<br /><br />Casually ask what kind of "ears" he used for flushing the motor and testing. If he doesn't have them, then he didn't flush. Not a big deal in fresh water, but critical if used in salt.<br /><br />Since it's your first boat, consider a marine survey. For a small boat it's relatively cheap. Make sure the surveyer will let you watch and learn as he checks things, so if this boat doesn't work out, you know what to look for on the next.

 

[craze1cars]

Re: 1994 Chaparral - potential new boat owner?

Chapparal makes boats as good as anyone else, and the 5.7 Mercruiser is a fine motor and easy to find parts & mechanics for it. I agree that $10K does sound a bit high, in my opinion, but your local market (and condition above all) will dictate the true value. Is there a trailer included? www.nada.com is another source of boat book values to help you negotiate. And I fully agree with everything else SwampNut wrote.<br /><br />The 3 most important things in a 12 year old boat are condition, condition, and CONDITION!<br /><br />Check the structural condition of the fiberglass encased stringers, engine mounts, and transom (probably all of which are untreated wood, and prone to rot if the boat was not properly stored in-season and/or off-season), bellows, ujoints, engine/drive alignment, check for runout in the prop shaft, check engine compression, etc. Most of the above is "hidden" stuff that the average Joe cannot check for himself. And some are very COMMON problems with older boats, and most of them are VERY expensive to fix.<br /><br />So if you can't check all of above yourself, then I strongly recommend you pay a marine surveyor or at least a local marina mechanic to do it for you.<br /><br />The biggest thing to recognize is that there's a lot of $10,000 boats out there that need $5,000 worth of work due to hidden damage....and they look absolutley beautiful sitting on the trailer...AND the seller may honestly have no idea at all that the boat needs so much work.<br /><br />I'm not ashamed to admit that this post was written by someone who's been burned before...I learned my lesson the EXPENSIVE way. You're smarter than I am in that you're asking and researching BEFORE you buy.<br /><br />Don't fall in love with the shiny gelcoat and flawless vinyl seats. I did, and I learned how to do a complete down-to-the-bare-hull restoration on a 1992 Rinker boat because I was too dumb to inspect the parts of the boat that cannot be seen. That was 3 years ago. So it is entirely possible that this 1994 boat needs the same treatment. Then again, it may be perfect. With boats you gotta look way beyond the outer skin. And remember there's ALWAYS another boat for sale if this one doesn't check out well.

 

[SwampNut]

Re: 1994 Chaparral - potential new boat owner?

The biggest thing to recognize is that there's a lot of $10,000 boats out there that need $5,000 worth of work....and they look absolutley beautiful sitting on the trailer...

Hahaha, so true. Should be posted at the top of the forum.

 

[Road Head]

Re: 1994 Chaparral - potential new boat owner?

Thanks for all the input. I forgot to mention that it comes with a dual-axle trailer with surge brakes. Also, it was serviced regularly at a local dealer, I can get in touch with them and see what kind of records they have on it.<br /><br /> http://www.marineworks.net/boats/94chap/ <br /><br />This is the link to the boat. I am not buying it from an individual, rather a business, Marine Works. This guy is a certified mechanic, he does everything except fiberglass work. He does standard maintenance to rebuilding engines, lower units, etc. He currently has a $50k wakeboard boat that he will be rebuilding the engine on for a customer because the customer didnt winterize the boat and the block froze and cracked. The next 50+ degree Sat/Sun we are going out for a full test drive.<br /><br />As I understand it from the guy, he has worked on (mechanically) boats for 30 some-odd years, not to mention selling. He is currently semi-retired but still does boat work along with selling. He buys trade-ins from the local dealers and then sells them. He gives each a full inspection before picking it up from the dealer. He has a VERY nice garage setup. It is probably 50'x50' warehouse/garage complete with more tools than I could imagine, not to mention his walls are lined with technical manuals.<br /><br />I do wish the price were a little lower, but I feel that if it is indeed in excellent condition, then it may be worth it - that being said, I certainly plan on trying to get him to come down a little bit. Around here, used boats are very hard to come by. Pardon the phrase, but the nice used boats "sell like hotcakes". <br /><br />Thanks again for the input though. I appreciate it. Its just scary jumping into - as mentioned above, you really dont know until you buy it and something breaks.

 

[Reel Poor]

Re: 1994 Chaparral - potential new boat owner?

Here is some advice I would give to anyone buying a boat.<br /><br />*What ever you do dont buy any boat without a test drive. <br />*Make sure the engine is cold and has not been previously warmed up. You will want to see how it cranks and runs after its been sitting for an extended period.<br />*Always check all fluid levels before test drive. <br />*After the test drive ck all fluid levels again for color and consistancy, looking for any water intrusion or fluid level changes. <br />*Make sure bildge area is dry before and after test drive. <br />*When test driving dont make a quick trip out and back, give it a real test drive. Put it thru the paces, run it hard, hit some waves, run it long enough to show up any problems. <br />*Pay special attention to how solid the boat feels when you hit a wave, if it feels loose/shakey it may have structural problems. *Reach under the floors and try to dig your hands into any exposed wood.<br />*Stop and restart the engne several times. <br />*Make sure everything on the boat works, guages, bildge pump, blowers, lights, wires are still in their looms, ect. <br />*Make sure all thru hull fittings are tight, in good condition, and well sealed.<br />Make sure all deck hardware i.e. bow rails, cleats, tow eyes, windshield, seats, and ect. are solid on their mount.<br />*Dont just accept it. <br />*Dont buy while your overly impressed. <br />*Take your time and look it over well.<br /><br />Something I noticed in the pics you posted, the battery looks like it is not mounted properly (held in place by wire) and is missing terminal post covers.<br /><br />Good luck

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: 1994 Chaparral - potential new boat owner?

The price is definately a little high. But if after a water test it operates well, it may not be that high. From the photos it seems very nice.<br />Check out the hinges and the gas shocks on the engine cover/sunpad very closely. The hinges are bolted to the gunwale, but the sun pad is held on by lag screws, with a spacer block in between the hinge and the plywood of the sun pad. The lag screws do not go far enough into the sunpad, and this all eventually just falls apart. That sunpad is HEAVY, so working on it is a pain. Also, those hinges were $28/ea when I replaced mine two years ago. And the gas shocks weren't free either, but I didn't buy them from Chap. Also, check the stitching real close on the bench seat. That's the only place to get into the boat, so everyone always steps on it. Mine is starting to tear at the stitching (1997 with 650 hours!) That motor would be rated at what 260hp? The boat won't be a total rocket, but it'll run pretty nice too.

 

[SwampNut]

Re: 1994 Chaparral - potential new boat owner?

Hard to tell from the photos, but it looks very clean. Is all the colored gelcoat and vinyl still shiny and without any chalky look?<br /><br />See what you can do on the price. If the guy is a boat mechanic, maybe something else to negotiate in is some sort of warranty term, say at least for 30 days.