Hey all, I haven't ever posted in this section of the forum. I currently have an open bow 17.5" boat with a Merceruiser 470. However, my wife and I are wanting to bump up in size slightly and have a boat with a cuddy. After searching for over a month, I have my eyes set on a 1990 Rinker Captiva 206 cuddy with a 5.7 Mercruiser/Alpha 1 outdrive. Only 300 hours, and seems to be extremely well taken care of as the gelcoat and interior are in great shape. The current owner winterized it in October.
I am wanting to purchase a boat during winter time (I know, not ideal, but that is when you can get deals on nicer boats in the northeast US since the market is not "hot" during the winter). I realize I will not be able to do a full test run in the water, since it is extremely cold here in Ohio (10-30 degrees, supposed to be near 0 degrees this weekend!!). I also would hate to de-winterize the boat, purchase it, and then drive it over 5+ hours home in near-zero degree temps... At the very least I would do a compression test, test the ignition using a spark tester, and then maybe even turn it over for a few seconds and shut it right back down? Can that be done on a winterized boat? What about setting up a system that pulls antifreeze through muffs instead of water? Has anyone done that?
However, considering the condition of the boat, low hours, maintenance records, and the owner's demeanor, I am almost willing to take the chance. I feel there is no way I'd be willing to pay summer market pricing on a boat like this. He is asking $6,000 "or best offer". This is easily a $7-9k boat during the summer here.
I have attached pictures. I feel as though I can get the price down a little below $6k. Please let me know what yall think?
I am wanting to purchase a boat during winter time (I know, not ideal, but that is when you can get deals on nicer boats in the northeast US since the market is not "hot" during the winter). I realize I will not be able to do a full test run in the water, since it is extremely cold here in Ohio (10-30 degrees, supposed to be near 0 degrees this weekend!!). I also would hate to de-winterize the boat, purchase it, and then drive it over 5+ hours home in near-zero degree temps... At the very least I would do a compression test, test the ignition using a spark tester, and then maybe even turn it over for a few seconds and shut it right back down? Can that be done on a winterized boat? What about setting up a system that pulls antifreeze through muffs instead of water? Has anyone done that?
However, considering the condition of the boat, low hours, maintenance records, and the owner's demeanor, I am almost willing to take the chance. I feel there is no way I'd be willing to pay summer market pricing on a boat like this. He is asking $6,000 "or best offer". This is easily a $7-9k boat during the summer here.
I have attached pictures. I feel as though I can get the price down a little below $6k. Please let me know what yall think?