Greetings!!!

[normlguy19]

My girlfriend and I are looking to get into the world of boating next spring, and we are going to look at this boat tonight. For $1500 it seems like a good deal, and something to get us in the water without too much cost up front to see if it's for us or not. We both love the water and all, but we don't know a thing about boats really. I am fairly mechanically inclined, and there are a lot of garages around us that work on boats. Thoughts?? Would really appreciate it!

Thanks!

https://akroncanton.craigslist.org/b...351235309.html

[Pcpete]

Welcome! I'm probably going to get in a bit of trouble here, others will have different opinions. First, the Capri hull is a good starter. We had a 19' 1984 cutty with a Volvo outdrive that we put 400 hours on in five months. Yes months. My first hesitation is the motor. The Force predecessors are Chrysler (low selling largely due to lack of reliability), and Homelite, same story. It sad to say that the Force brand didn't improve when Bayliner bought the brand to ensure a supply for outboards rather than being linked to an allocation from say Evenrude which would limit boat sales. One of the downsides of offering a boat, motor, trailer package. When Brunswick bought Bayliner they already owned Mercury Marine so Force basically was killed off as a brand. So, in my eyes, what you are looking at is a boat and trailer with a motor you can sell for parts for $1500. Still, not bad. The next thing you need to do is crawl in to the inside of the transom with a flashlight, a small, preferably brass, ball peen hammer and an ice pick. Get in where you are just above the inside of the drain plug and tap with the hammer, then move around continuing to tap. If you hear anything that sounds dull rather than tike you are tapping on a piece of oak, gently, it's not your boat yet, poke with the ice pick. If it goes in, there's a problem and it's a matter of how far it goes from the plug. The plywood reinforcement has gone soft, aka rotting, and that area needs to be replaced. Cheap but ugly if you know how, pricey if not. The, at the top of the transom next to the motor, look carefully at the screws holing in the trim to see if there is evidence of sealant, white goop. If not, with the owners permission, remove a screw and probe the hole with the ice pick. It should feel solid at the bottom.

Tap around the bolts holding the motor on the boat and any other penetrations from outside like a transom mounted transducer for the depth finder. You should see a ring of sealant around the head of the screws.

The other place I would look is the base of the seats and floors. Same thing with the hammer pay particular attention to anyplace something is mounted. Water loves to along a screw or unfilled hole into the wood.

If the boat and trailer check out, the price doesn't seem out of line. I'd look at some outboard dealers to see what a new or not very used package would cost. You may be able to reuse some parts of the engine controls, like the cables, but the electrical will be different.

I hope haven't thrown too much cold water at you or overloaded you enough to scare you. It's the same as buying a car, there are certain things that really need to be examined. You wouldn't buy a used car that looked as good as that boat without really looking it over, right?