Buying used 2006 SV211 - What Gotchas Should I Be Looking for?

[Bdillard]

Hey All! Sorry if this has been discussed. I've been on the forum for a while but haven't been reading up in about a decade since I bought my last boat (1990 Sport Nautique).

I'm looking to upgrade the old girl and move to a 2006 SV211. Photos show its in immaculate condition, about 350 hours, and stored indoors. Includes trailer which also looks to be in great shape. Seems to be selling only because they're younger sons are getting involved in travel sports and their weekends are shot for boating. Asking $31,500 for it. Its about 3 hours away from me, so I want to make sure I check out what I can from afar before committing a Saturday to driving out and test driving. The seller seems very open to sharing whatever I need as he understands the distance between us. So I guess my questions would be, what should I be asking about over calls/texts and then what should I be looking for when I go onsite for the physical inspection and test drive? I'm semi knowledgeable about boats but I'm no mechanic by any means.

On a semi related note...anyone interested in a 1990 Sport Nautique in pretty decent shape for a 35 year old boat?

Thanks in advance!

[SilentSeven]

So...there's a lot of information buried in the board how to inspect boats for purchase. I'd recommend doing some searches and general reading. I'm not familiar with this exact model so I can't comment specifically but here's a few broad considerations.

For boat this old, look for obvious 'pride of ownership' signals and follow your instincts. Unless you feel qualified to evaluate and rescue fix boats (like what NautiqueJeff does), better to stay away. I would buy a pride of ownership higher hour boat over a low hour abuse boat 9 times out of 10.

Here's a few things to look at:

1 / Engine and bilge condition - clean or oily? Oily suggest leaks which are expense to fix and possible abuse.
2 / Prop, strut and rudder - should be straight and tight. Wiggle everything. Prop all dinged up? Suggests an owner that doesn't care. New prop is $500+
3 / Run test - should start and idle smoothly. Check forward and reverse. Listen for odd sounds. Do a 0 to 30 test and see if you feel odd vibrations etc.
4 / Check the engine and tranny fluid levels and condition - clean and correct or low and dirty?
5 / Interior condition - closely inspect all the vinyl...it should be soft and supple. Any hard vinyl or micro tears around stitching suggest its on it's way to retirement. You can purchase factory matching replacement skins but they can be $200 to $500+ each before any installation costs. It's huge money to re-upholster a boat. Same for carpets.
6 / Gelcoat and hull inspection - faded / chips / cracks / blisters. Faded boats can be sanded and buffed out for a price. Small chips can be repaired. Stress cracks are cause for concern as they suggest impact or abuse. Sight the sides of the boat and look for odds spots that suggest significant fiberglass repairs. Look under the waterline for blistering or signs of beaching. Blistering is probably a walkaway condition.
7 / dash and gauges - turn everything on and watch carefully during run test - does it work as expected? There are well known gauge problems with the Faria factory gauges. New parts are NLA, a gauge replacement kit is like $1200. Is the sound system upgraded? Is it a nice clean install or a saber saw disaster?
8 / pumps and ballast systems - do all tanks fill and pump out as expected? Has the system been upgraded or hacked with additional ballast? Is it a quality job?
9 / trailer inspection - the most likely problems will be old tires or a non-functional braking system. During the tow to the lake, the coupler should not bang loudly and all the brake discs should be shiny and slightly warm. Grab each wheel and shake to see if there thunking which is excessive bearing play. Check the tires for dry rot or look at the age code. Look at the tires for odd wear patterns as odd patterns suggest a bent axle. Look at the bunks. Do they need new carpet? Sight the trailer to see if it the rails look straight or bent.
10 / does the boat have a quality cover or will you need to purchase one? Big ticket item - $1500 or more.

I'm sure other's can add more but this would be my starting checklist.

Hope it works out for you!

[bturner]

I looked at responding to this as well but I think I've done no less than 4 of these. Unless it's specific information needed most of this can be found with a simple search. SilentSeven Good post though!

[SilentSeven]

bturner - agree on having done this before....just needed a mental vacation to focus boats during the icy winter.

Hey NautiqueJeff, maybe we can develop a community sticky on boat inspections and point people to it?

[Bdillard]

Thanks SilentSeven - this is great! certainly appreciate the write up and I'll be taking the checklist with me this weekend when I check her out. The local marina we're meeting at is a Nautique dealer and I could get a compression test done on her for $150. I'll likely take them up on that. From what I've gathered, its not an end all be all kind of test, but would uncover some potentially costly issues depending on the outputs. Would you recommend that?