Re: boat fiberglas bottom suppose to be shiny and new?
No, I didn't get the boat. I believe the boat I went to see was wrecked by coming onto land along it's starboard side. The starboard side had a "bondo/clay" look to it all along the bottom. When I looked very close, I could see little holes about the size of sand on the surface. I think this is when the clay/bondo chipped. I went over to look at the port side and it looks different than the starboard side. I glided my hand on the bondo surface and it was not smooth. I continued to tap on the bondo w/ my knuckles and it made a different sound from the rest of the fiberglass. I pointed to one spot right at the keel about 3" by 5" in size. It was "tan" in colored and stood out like a sore thumb if you know where to look. I pointed this out to the owner and said "what happened here". He acknowledge that it looked different in color from the rest of the boat. His response was "I don't know". I said "What do you mean, you don't know. This is a one owner boat." He had no response.
I was dissapointed as heck at this point. However, I continue to check the rest of the boat as I already drove 3.5 hours. If anything, it will give me clues on what to look for/compare on the next boat. Everything else looked fine. I took it out on the river and the wind was probably blowing ~30-40mph. The boat did not ride as nice as I'd hoped. My buddy was sitting at the back and got all wet somehow? Then I find out the speedometer doesn't work. I specifically asked him if "everything is in working order" numerous time and he said "YES". As we're riding over the waves, I noticed that the gauges (battery, fuel) were jumping around. Is this normal? At this point, I'm thinking "Great, this boat as electrical problem as well". Though, he did point out that the boat died once while crusing as a relay went out all of a sudden. We ended the test ride after half hour. One thing I noticed was that he was having the most difficult time trying to get the boat onto the trailer. I don't know if it was the wind or what? When he approached the trailer, the boat would not glide in straight and he ended up going out and coming in again. This lasted for like 10 minutes. I had enough fun for one day and just left...The search continues.
P/S: I think most people would have bought this boat as on surface was in good condition besides the bad speedo. However, I've been burned before and if I don't feel 100% confident, I'd pass. Even after driving 3.5 hours. Just goes to show you people will lie straight to your face when you confront them. I guess he was hoping I wouldn't inspect the boat so closely. He was mistaken and had to tow his boat 11 hours back to Reno. So any Reno iboaters watch out for a White/Black '05 Larson 208.
