288 / 2858 Issues to Watch at Survey?-gctid807851

[mtcaprio]

288 / 2858 Owners, I would appreciate your input on any Specific Known Issues with 288 that I should have the inspectors pay particular attention to, as I'm having a prepurchase survey & mechanic inspection on a 2004 Bayliner 288 next week.

Boat is:

2004 288

Engine Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI, private owner indicates that computer reports 300 hours (no analog hour gauge)

Outdrive Bravo III Duoprop (all new outdrive in Jan 2016 after log collision)

Sitting in salt water (Seattle WA area) since Jan 2016 on same zincs

I appreciate your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks!

[TenMile]

I owned a 2004 288 for 4 seasons. Purchased it from an owner that had let it sit in the water for 2 seasons - batteries ran dry, leg rotted and damage was considerable and I expect much worse than what you will find.

- take a very close look for signs of corrosion particularly on the drive -- looking for bubbling around seams in the drive housing

- get a flashlight and closely inspect the transom area inside of the boat -- look for rust stains and/or water intrusion around the transom area -- I'd really want to know more about the repairs that were part of the collision with the log -- the drive will usually pop up, but it depends on how hard they hit and what was damaged here -- could have damaged the transom assembly too

- closely inspect all the stainless fasteners for the swimstep stanchions and trim tabs - these can corrode (mine did) and leak

- in engine compartment, look for signs that the raw water pump may have been leaking -- the belt driven pump on the 5.7L MPI is a weak point and they fail often -- find out when the impeller was last changed -- should be done every 2 years.

- if the boat has not been run since it was put away -- you may find the injectors somewhat gummed up -- performing the SeaFoam "Shock Treatment" on this engine always lead to great results.

- this engine has a distributor and they tend to get moist -- can lead to hard starting and misfires

- get a mechanical survey and have them pull the fault history off the ECU (IAC valve is another common component to fail and can be replaced for about $45 in 5 minutes).

Otherwise, these are a great boat. You will likely find some of the equipment is simply starting to age out now at close to 15 years. Water heaters, pumps, chargers, electronics, etc.... are all getting to the end of their useful life so expect some of these things to either not work, or need replacement soon.

[mtcaprio]

Thank you TenMile, helpful info.

*Are hull blisters a common issue on these boats?

*What is a normal compression range on the 350 Mag MPI?

[Four_Pyrates]

"mtcaprio" post=808142 wrote:
Thank you TenMile, helpful info.

*Are hull blisters a common issue on these boats?

*What is a normal compression range on the 350 Mag MPI?

How many blisters? Got a photo of them? Usually a blister must be ground down, filled, sanded, and re gel coated. Many blisters come from leaving a hull in the water without bottom paint or a bad paint job. A correct bottom has several coats of epoxy first and then at least two coats of bottom paint. If you trailer, the paint must be the type that doesn't lose its toxicity when out of the water. I always use two colors of bottom paint. First is red or green followed by black. When I see red/green it is time to repaint.

Compression: about 8 or 9 to 1. If all the cylinder have about the same number, that is usually OK.

Sitting that long? Get a professional survey.

[TenMile]

"mtcaprio" post=808142 wrote:
Thank you TenMile, helpful info.

*Are hull blisters a common issue on these boats?

No, not common. In fact with mine having had sit in the water so long, it didn't have any blisters

*What is a normal compression range on the 350 Mag MPI?

If I recall, the compression was ~170PSI. Generally you want to see all cylinders within roughly 10% of one another.

[Ruffryder]

Upper SQ shaft seal

[Guest]

Yes upper square shaft seal, its a really common problem and all 288's at some point will get it. Make sure the survey guy checks that its not leaking. Its an expensive repair otherwise.

[boatworkfl]

"Four Pyrates" post=808176 wrote:

"mtcaprio" post=808142 wrote:
Thank you TenMile, helpful info.

*Are hull blisters a common issue on these boats?

*What is a normal compression range on the 350 Mag MPI?

How many blisters? Got a photo of them? Usually a blister must be ground down, filled, sanded, and re gel coated. Many blisters come from leaving a hull in the water without bottom paint or a bad paint job. A correct bottom has several coats of epoxy first and then at least two coats of bottom paint. If you trailer, the paint must be the type that doesn't lose its toxicity when out of the water. I always use two colors of bottom paint. First is red or green followed by black. When I see red/green it is time to repaint.

Compression: about 8 or 9 to 1. If all the cylinder have about the same number, that is usually OK.

Sitting that long? Get a professional survey.

If there are blisters, in addition to grinding them out, there is often a pin hole in the middle, that must be removed or it may well come back.

[mtcaprio]

Are exhaust manifolds or Risers a typical corrosion issue on these boats?

Thanks ALL for the valuable tips. Professional marine hull survey & pro mechanic inspection, then sea trial, with haul out, bottom clean, and new zincs are all happening tomorrow. Now I know what to look for and where to direct their attention.

[mtcaprio]

Thanks- have not hauled out yet or inspected. So no blisters known yet, just wondering how likely they may be- sounds unlikely on these boats, I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[Ruffryder]

Closed cooling engine or raw water cooled?

exhaust manifolds or Risers corrosion is something every saltwater boat deals with, unless you have a full closed cooling system.

[aluxury1]

Are you sure you want a 5.7L small block in a 10,000lb boat? Most on the inter webs say that not enough motor.

[Ruffryder]

Not just regular 5.7...350 MPI 300 horses.

I personally like it better than the big block.

[aluxury1]

Why? What RPM can you stay on plane with? GPH is within 2 right?

[mtcaprio]

Follow up- thanks for all the input, hull survey complete, marine mechanic inspection still in progress. I'll summarize findings relative to the forum's watch list:

Swim step stanchion fastners- YES, signs of leaking through transom, rust stain trails. Hammer 'Taps out' ok for conventional acoustic testing of transom, but moisture meter detects elevated moisture levels in transom and in stringers under engine mounts. (Major finding, but says this is common in Bayliners)

NO sign of leaks around transom shield of I/O.

Injectors gummed? UNKNOWN. But engine would not achieve full RPM at WOT on short limited run from slip to marina haul out. Mechanic will repeat after bottom clean and prop polishing (was heavily fouled with barnacles).

WOT = 3400 RPM, max speed achieved 9 knts (per GPS). Suspect major prop fouling was cause of churning, but will perform professional sea trial following bottom clean and compression test etc.

Thoughts? about 3400 RPM @ 9knts? Can prop and bottom biological fouling alone explain this? Guess I'll find out tomorrow.

Upper square shaft seal - OK. (If I understand the right seal, and this is the shift linkage through the drive), Mechanic did initial inspection of this at my request, and sees no sign of water pooling or corrosion, but says it eventually happens to most of them, and is pricey repair.

IAC valve- UNKNOWN, mechanic will pull codes tomorrow.

Raw water pump Impeller- UNKNOWN, no repair records on this, so I'll replace preventatively if all works out and I buy the boat.

Hull blisters - NONE. (says this is common in Bayliners)

Deck delams - NONE (says this is good/rare in Bayliners)

Zincs / outdrive corrosion - Outdrive OK after 15 months in salt water - no corrosion or bubbling. Zincs barely there, but did their job.

Props- SS, are 48-823661/2 20P standard on the 2004 288 / Mag 3350 MPI?

Alternator - NOT OPERATIONAL. Low voltage on gages (after unplugging from shore power) while cruising from slip to haul out, beep-beep engine alarm sounded. Surveyor put voltmeter on back of alt terminals while running, and only 12.15V. Marina installing new alternator in morning before sea trial at owner's authorization.