Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

[MikeSj]

Hello iboats, First post but have been lurking for awhile.

My wife and I are looking at boats and found one we like. Its a 05 Four Winns 210 Horizon, 172 hours, 5.7 Volvo Gi with the SX drive and SS prop. The boat is in great shape and looks to be very clean and well taken care of. The motor starts right up with no weird noises. My concern is with the lower unit. The owner hit a rock at about half throttle in July and he says it now has a slight vibration at low speeds. The SS prop has a few dings but nothing bad. I guess I want your opinions for some more experienced boaters with SS props. If you hit something with an SS prop is it possible that the prop is just out of balance or does it usually take out the lower unit and need a rebuild. I know your not going to know for sure until you take it off but I just want to know what happens most of the time when you hit something with a SS prop. I want to have an idea what to offer this guy if I would have to rebuild the lower unit. Thanks for your help. I look forward to being a part of this community.

Mike

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

Hitting something is a hazard we all have or will deal with some time.
An SS prop is not very forgiving in these cases. But its not the end of the world either. Id guess that you have about equal chances for damage to the, prop, output shaft, complete unit, and coupler.
At worst it may(and i stress may) cost you about $1000 to repair the damage, so take that into consideration.
Take it to a boat dealer and see what they say. They will usually do an inspection for a few bucks and let you know what they think then go form there.
Good Luck

 

[Don S]

Re: Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

A bent blade will cause vibration, he could also have bent the prop shaft.
Depending on how hard it hit the rock, with a SS prop, it is possible to damage the gear teeth with the impact. That is why a lot of people stick with aluminum props simply because they give more and prevent impact damage to the gears.

Past experience tells me that if the gears were damaged from the impact, they fail within the next 25 hours of use.
We kept track of that kind of info at the place I worked at.

 

[Don S]

Re: Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

At worst it may(and i stress may) cost you about $1000 to repair the damage,

The gear set alone lists for 1000. Add bearings, seal kit, and labor to reshim and set gear pattern, and you can easily get between 2 & 3K very easily. If the prop shaft is bent ????????????????
Usually on those drives, if the lower does come apart, the upper gear will get contaminated with all those metal shavings as well. Bad thing is, unlike the lower, the upper gets expensive to rebuild.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

I too hit a rock in July of this year with a SS prop, so voice of experience here. A lot depends on the exact circumstances, which should be evident by the damage to the outdrive and propeller.

In my situation, we were in slightly shallow water and accelerating from a stop, so the boat was 'digging in' - BAM !!!. About 2" of the skeg broke off and about 1/8" of 1 blade of the prop was curled over a bit. no oil in the water or anything disasterous, so we cruised back to home port and I noticed some vibration, nothing seroius.

so, the thing to check for (and that I checked for) are damage to the outdrive case. Is the drive shaft now bent? Is the propellr repairable? these things should be taken care of by the current owner, but you need to look into them as a prspective buyer of the boat. It is somewhat surprising that the current owner has not addressed the vibration issue and put all back to normal.

So, the caution flag is now out on your race track.

 

[Silverbullet555]

Re: Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

I took out a SS prop in my 2nd year with our first boat. We were towing a boarder and I was to stay away from a floating milk jug as it was marking a shoal. What I was not told was to stay to the east of the shoal. As we were towing, it got very shallow very quick. I killed the power and as the boat came off of plane the prop went into the shoal. I bent the prop shaft and the prop. Cost the insurance company about $1700 back in 2005. I would assume the worst and hope for the best, but take the worst into your account for pricing.

If everything else about the boat is great, and the owner does not come down on pricing, have him take it in and get it properly repaired by a reputable shop and then it is a non-issue.

 

[MikeSj]

Re: Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

Thanks for the great info. I'll talk to the seller and see if we can work something out. If not I'll wait for the next boat to come along.

 

[wellcraft19]

Re: Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

Thanks for the great info. I'll talk to the seller and see if we can work something out. If not I'll wait for the next boat to come along.

Boats are aplenty in the fall - but if you truly want this boat, you can always spend a little bit and trying it out with an aluminium prop that you buy (or borrow). For $150, you can have a prop on your doorstep in a few days.

Of course it will not really tell you anything more than whether the vibration is gone or not. Drive can still be damaged from the impact. But, a relatively cheap test, and you can always use the prop on your next boat (as long as you stay VP SX and about the same size), or as a spare.

 

[MikeSj]

Re: Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

I think I'll end up offering a few thousand less and if he sells it to me great if not I will keep looking. I am in no hurry if it takes us tell the end of the next year so be it. We are going to be paticent and get the boat that we want and will not settle for anything less. Well at least I hope we have the will power anyway.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

I would not offer anything until you know for sure the extend of the issues related to the rock attack. If the drive shaft is bent, then a few $K won't be worth it. If it is just the prop that is messed up, then a few $K is worth a shot.

 

[willocreek1202]

Re: Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

On the SX the coupler between the upper and lower is designed to give way to protect the gears. This can be checked out on your own by seperating the upper and lower. Seal kit for this is 28.00, when going back together.
Bent shaft I would be surprised but possible. Put on aluminum prop, if vibration is still there but no gear noise then look at coupler. Parts and schematics are available.

 

[MikeSj]

Re: Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

On the SX the coupler between the upper and lower is designed to give way to protect the gears. This can be checked out on your own by seperating the upper and lower. Seal kit for this is 28.00, when going back together.
Bent shaft I would be surprised but possible. Put on aluminum prop, if vibration is still there but no gear noise then look at coupler. Parts and schematics are available.

Thanks. The owner is going to have it looked at when he gets it winterized next week. So will see how things turn out. I will be asking for proof that he had it looked at so I dont get screwed.

 

[Don S]

Re: Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

Thanks. The owner is going to have it looked at when he gets it winterized next week.

I sure wouldn't buy a boat that I didn't get to do a water test on. Even if it has a slight vibration, take it for a run to see how everything else works BEFORE it gets winterized.

 

[MikeSj]

Re: Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

I sure wouldn't buy a boat that I didn't get to do a water test on. Even if it has a slight vibration, take it for a run to see how everything else works BEFORE it gets winterized.

We did take it out before he brought it in. The prop shaft is with in factory spec .004". Gear lube was a bit dirty but with no water or metal in the oil. The prop is out of balance and needs a rebuild. We are working with banks to get a good loan so will see how low he will go on the asking price.

 

[Don S]

Re: Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

Good luck with getting your new boat, let us know how it all works out.

 

[MikeSj]

Re: Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

Good luck with getting your new boat, let us know how it all works out.

Thanks Don. I'll post back on what we do.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

We are working with banks to get a good loan so will see how low he will go on the asking price.

Will the bank want a survey done before they approve a loan? I believe the insurance company will want one, and the bank will probably want to make sure the boat is insured.

 

[insttech1]

Re: Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

Banks don't need a formal survey; at least my credit union didn't. All they did was have me email a cell picture of the clean title, email the hull and engine numbers, and pulled up the value from the NADA guide, ensured the boat wasn't overpriced, and closed on a boat for me in a matter of hours. My ins' company just wanted the same numbers, and faxed a proof over to the credit union just by calling them up....that took five minutes. Local state farm agent.....good people.

As far as the vibration....props easily cause that. Been through it too many times this year already....chewed up a prop, had it cleaned up nice and neat and re-painted....and chewed it up too....went from 50 feet to 2 feet in the middle of our large local lake....grrrr....took out my spare prop, cleaned it up nice and pretty, and proceeded to ding it up too....glad I waited to order my brand new one!

Good luck with it, and let us know what comes of it.

 

[MikeSj]

Re: Looking at buying boat. ? on Volvo Penta after owner hit rock

Well we did not get the boat. We could not agree on price. I want to thank all who responded, you were a great help. My wife and I are going to keep looking and saving. Might not be until next season but thats ok we will have money to spend.

Thanks again
Mike