Boat shopping. Found an '00 Doral

[Jimwhall]

Does anyone here have any experience? It looks to be in great shape, while the age is a little daunting. It is relatively inexpensive for this boat market ($10,000).

I’m hoping to do a lake test and walkaround this weekend, is there anything I should be looking for with regard to the engine (4.3 L mercury) in terms of temperature or sound?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Brand means nothing when a boat is more than a few years old. at the top of the forum is a sticky with a check list for buying a used boat

use that. stick your head under everything. look for rot and damage. do not get emotionally attached to the boat as that is when you buy a boat that may need a lot of work.

upholstery and carpet are probably past their life. same goes with canvas.

The price is a little high, however this is currently a sellers market. for that price I would want a boat that was garage kept and wiped down with bath towels. has a newer trailer and maybe new snap-in carpeting. as a reference, that is about what a 10 year old boat would have went for just 3-5 years ago

ask the owner when the last time the drive was off for maintenance (should be every year to check alignment and bearing/u-joint inspection) impeller and bellows should be replaced every 3-5 years

a 22 year old boat should have 1000-1100 hours on it (average of 50 hours per year). really low hours means the boat sat a lot and was neglected alot.

 

[Jimwhall]

Brand means nothing when a boat is more than a few years old. at the top of the forum is a sticky with a check list for buying a used boat

use that. stick your head under everything. look for rot and damage. do not get emotionally attached to the boat as that is when you buy a boat that may need a lot of work.

upholstery and carpet are probably past their life. same goes with canvas.

The price is a little high, however this is currently a sellers market. for that price I would want a boat that was garage kept and wiped down with bath towels. has a newer trailer and maybe new snap-in carpeting. as a reference, that is about what a 10 year old boat would have went for just 3-5 years ago

ask the owner when the last time the drive was off for maintenance (should be every year to check alignment and bearing/u-joint inspection) impeller and bellows should be replaced every 3-5 years

a 22 year old boat should have 1000-1100 hours on it (average of 50 hours per year). really low hours means the boat sat a lot and was neglected alot

 

[Jimwhall]

Thank you, I appreciate it.
I got the sticky and I'm going over it. I do admit, every time I look at it I despair of ever getting a new to me boat. The market right now is absolutely insane, and I'm not a super mechanically inclined person. I have had two or three boats sold out from under me. Unwilling to go up to 25 or $30,000, but I just can't find much. Five years ago I would've thought I could've walked away with a pretty solid boat with that kind of money. I'm not sure what has happened.
I really appreciate the advice, I had a 16 foot aluminum for 26 years now; but I do not know much about fiberglass boats or I/O drives.

I have had people warned me away from Larson and Volvo Penta, which seems to take a lot of boats out of the running. The Volvo surprises me because I have seen them on the lake a lot but am told they're very hard to find parts for.

 

[southkogs]

OMC would be the harder one to get parts for. Volvo, not so bad. Merc is probably the easiest.

Might be worth it to see if a marine tech in the area would be willing to look it over with you. Might cost ya' a couple hundred bucks, but help with the peace of mind.

 

[Jimwhall]

OMC would be the harder one to get parts for. Volvo, not so bad. Merc is probably the easiest.

Might be worth it to see if a marine tech in the area would be willing to look it over with you. Might cost ya' a couple hundred bucks, but help with the peace of mind.

LOL, I have an OMC now. Luckily it's SPL series Johnson. Which I think they started making slightly after the age of sail.

 

[crazy charlie]

Does anyone here have any experience? It looks to be in great shape, while the age is a little daunting. It is relatively inexpensive for this boat market ($10,000).

I’m hoping to do a lake test and walkaround this weekend, is there anything I should be looking for with regard to the engine (4.3 L mercury) in terms of temperature or sound?

What model? size? engines ? Drive? Have a buddy that had one and it was a very nice boat with mechanical setup similar to Searay and Regal.Charlie

 

[southkogs]

LOL, I have an OMC now. Luckily it's SPL series Johnson. Which I think they started making slightly after the age of sail.

OMC outboards don't have the same parts issues and reputation. I've got a '57 Johnson too. It's the stern drives that get the trouble.