2003 SANTE- possible new purchase and would like some input

[sanscooter]

Hello All,
I have been a lurker for a while as I have been searching for a boat and may have found one. I am in the Gainesville, GA area and have an opportunity on a 03 SANTE. It has been neglected for a few years it seems and was flooded at some point(mice chewed the bilge pump wires). The mechanic has already been through the engine and everything checks out fine with it there. The seats are probably a 8/10 and everything seems to be there. We are going to test drive and try to do an inspection on it tomorrow afternoon and wanted some input on what to look for. Not sure if the stereo works as I think the amps were submerged at some point. The boat is pretty dirty but it looks like it will clean up really well. Just mold and neglect, nothing some elbow grease wouldn't fix.

Thanks in advance for the help!

[TRIP]

Nice project. Mold is a b!tch though. Often just some elbow grease is not enough. Good luck!

[Paxdad]

Without a water test I would low ball the seller. No more than $15K. There is a host of information here on the year of boat so use it frequently. I have a friend that bought the same boat earlier this winter for $17K no water test and he ended up out of pocket for another $10K. It had a bent shaft and rudder, bad water pump, neglected interior, trailer was garbage, etc. He bought the boat in Augusta and it is now on Lanier. Good luck.
Things to look for:
Excessive water leak around rudder shaft.
Engine temp should not go above 165 degrees max.
Depending on engine make sure the transmission light on the dash works.
Digital tach and speedo working? If not you will need to upgrade.
Check for speedo tube water leaks behind dash pad and over the key pad.
Any vibration in the drive line while under load. (visible prop damage).
Steering should go full circle with two fingers (effortlessly). Steering cables do not like to be submerged in water.
Even temperature on both exhaust manifold and risers should be able to hold hand on them.
Check to see if equipped with perfect pass that it powers up, and holds speed.
Check the ballast control valves and entire system for leaks etc.

I am sure there is more but these will tell you quite a bit of what you may be up against.

[Quinner]

Things to look for:
Digital tach and speedo working? If not you will need to upgrade.
Check for speedo tube water leaks behind dash pad and over the key pad.

It's an 03' and a Team so keypad, all digital gauges and a gateway box, all not water friendly and $$$. If any gauges are not working the gateway may be wet & shot, can't get them so a retrofit is required and I believe that means all new gauges, again $$$$.

Whose mechanic checked it out, the sellers or yours??

Cool colors and could potentially be a great boat but as Pax said, beware!!

Good Luck!

[sanscooter]

Thanks for the feedback. I can definitely get it for less than 15k so I thought that was good. The hull, rudder and prop are all in really good shape. Does not look like it has ever touched anything. I am concerned about the whole thing being a keypad and not being able to have a key to start. When I first saw the boat, I noticed that there was a little leak from when he was cleaning the bilge around the plate for the rudder and looked like there was a small drip where the shaft comes out. Steering seemed okay out of the water, not super loose and not hard to turn. Here are a couple of other photos showing the leak places on the bottom.

[sanscooter]

Do you think it would be worth getting a survey done on it?

[surroundsound64]

If the digital gauges aren't already out, be ready to buy them any day. Easy swap, but takes money.

Simple Green home and vinyl or vinyl and siding or something has worked the best on mold in my experience. Spray it on and let it sit then SCRUB. You won't get it all out, but you'll get a good bit then hopefully the sun will do the rest. Good luck! and Caveat emptor!

[sanscooter]

Any idea on cost of swapping the gauges?

[slidin_out]

It appears there is a water line about 8-10" high under the dash. Lots of the electronics are screwed to the back of that board under the dash that has the water line. If you are mechanically and electrically inclined and it runs, has little to no vibration and PerfectPass works I would go for it but that's me. Try to find out how long it sat in water. For a short period it's probably not a big deal but if it sat in a dock for days on end half submerged I would be more hesitant.

[seth]

03 does not have the digital gauges so you dont have to worry about that.

[Quinner]

03 does not have the digital gauges so you dont have to worry about that.

2 Gauges have the digital LED window and the rest are analog, Faria gauges and a Gateway box, they are not the same 00' thru 02' teleflex digital gauges that are junk. As I mentioned earlier, gauges are not the issue, the Gateway box is the concern and unfortunately they are NLA if it is toast.

[sanscooter]

Yes, it does not have digital gauges. It that panel under the dash where that stuff is housed easy to remove? I may just take it off this afternoon when we have it at the ramp. Hopefully, we crank it up and everything works, but I am thinking that at least the stereo system is shot since the amps were under water. What is the solution if it is the whole gateway? I saw some on Nautique parts and if I can get the boat for cheap enough, still may be able to make it work out.

[Paxdad]

Yes, it does not have digital gauges. It that panel under the dash where that stuff is housed easy to remove? I may just take it off this afternoon when we have it at the ramp. Hopefully, we crank it up and everything works, but I am thinking that at least the stereo system is shot since the amps were under water. What is the solution if it is the whole gateway? I saw some on Nautique parts and if I can get the boat for cheap enough, still may be able to make it work out.

yes the gauges and all related items are easy to remove/ replace. The dash comes off with 4 knurled end screws and the electrical connections are molex type. Very easy......
I would be concerned that the Perfect Pass control module under the dash was submerged or partially based on the waterline.

[sanscooter]

So... on this boat, the dash gauges were working and now they are not. If it is the computer that is bad, is this a waste of money or is there a way to fix it???

[Paxdad]

Sounds like a ground or power supply issue. Which should be easy to isolate.


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