I absolutely relate to the anxiety the OP is feeling. I started looking in February and sellers had buyers lined up paying asking sight unseen for boats. I acted fast and made a full price offer on a 1997 Chaparral 2330 pending inspection by a surveyor (not an actual survey, but just a look). Because it was still winter I wasn't able to get it in the water to lake test it. In my case the boat had only 430 hours and the PO was the second owner. The vinyl and upper gel coat is perfect leading me to believe the boat was covered when not in use. Also, the fact it came with the owners manuals and all the canvas, filler cushions, and tables, led me to believe the previous owners all took pretty good care of it. The marina that brokered the sale fired it up with muffs on so I knew the motor at least ran before I brought it home, and it needed an oil change so my shop was able to do a more thorough mechanical exam when it did that. At $18,900 it was way under my budget (although still high imo, but that's the market) so I'm keeping some money aside for things that creep up, but so far on the three days and 8 hours I've had it out it's been great. Until the first time out on the water my mind was planning on the worst case scenario.
