Brand new to Bass boats, looking at older boats and need advice

[Darren Thomas]

Hi guys,

First, I will admit I haven't yet used the search. I'm about to head out to look at a local boat and needed to get what advice I could while I searched. Feel free to point me to existing threads on the subject. I would appreciate it greatly. I'd like to be able to do a preliminary check to rule out bad boats before I take one I get serious about to a shop to have inspected.

I'm looking at mid 90's Bass boats. I'm about to head out and look at a 1993 Nitro 180FS. As I understand it there isn't much difference in the Nitro FS and standard bass boat. Let me know if I am wrong.

I want to know how much wear is acceptable on the hull. IE: quarter sized repairs, chips, dings... what about spider webbing in the gel coat? Is this normal and a non-issue? How do I test or tell if the transom is beginning to fail? Any other things I really need to pay attention to besides controls etc?

Thanks,
Darren

 

[AirForce]

I've got a 1993 Nitro with a 1990 Johnson 115hp for sale now for 4 grand. Had completely rebuilt it. New floor, guy that did the repair said transom great shape (whew). Look hard at the bilge area as stringers will go if problems with transom. Grab motor lower unit and shake it and see if you detect any movement in where the cap meets. Take a hard pointed object and probe bilge/stringer area. Look for any signs of fiberglass completely missing, poke not hard, just probe it for soft spots. Get in it and bounce while walking around. Look at the motor mounting points to see what sealant was used and is it in good shape. Look where the transducer(s) were mounted on the transom plus any other screw holes that have been patched, could be signs of trouble (emphasis on COULD). I had my guy patch the bottom area of anything that didn't look good while he was doing the floor. Drain area was soft, which is expected for an old boat. Back in the day they didn't resin the bottom side of the wood around the drain which is where we found the rot at but we caught it in time.

I put all new marine grade wire in including new harnesses, added a bunch of LED"s, VSR, battery switch. I spent a year and a half on it (normal guy could have done it in less than 2 months but I'm 100% disabled and too much activity still gives me chest pains) so anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours, depending on what I'm doing. I replaced the stock Nitro switch panel and made one going from 3 switches to 7, put in new bilge pump and auto pump plus new blower (didn't have one before - but I don't like batteries next to a gas tank so I blow it out first). New marine stereo, speakers, I mean I put the works to it. THEN went to bass pro to get a new 4 stroke and they didn't have any in stock, so bought a new boat LOL.

Get a test drive, running on muffs is ok and I can always get an older Evinrude/Johnson running pretty easy, but an old Merc NOT, too hard to find parts for mid 90's. I can easily get parts for a mid 60's Evinrude no problem. But I LOVE 4 stroke merc's, so got 2 of them, one on the pontoon and on my new Tracker Pro 175TF. Decide up front how much you think you'll spend to repair it IF you're doing it yourself. If you gotta get a good mechanic involved, prices go way up (and parts are expensive enough and more so for a so so mechanic).

I'll let you search around, and others will soon be in to chime in their good vibes (or bad) LOL. Welcome to the forum. Where are you located?

 

[rbstern]

Darren, welcome.

All older boats will have dinged up hulls. As far as I am concerned, it's a non issue with a twenty year old boat as long as the structural integrity of the boat is good.

Figuring out if the transom is solid is tricky. First of all, the less holes in the transom, the better. Look for user-installed items where the transom has been drilled. It's not a question of if they leak water in, but when they leak water in. If the boat didn't spend time moored in the water, and lived 99% of it's life on the trailer, that helps. You can try "sounding" the transom. Use a plastic headed hammer or mallet and tap all over the transom, listening for spots that sound "dull" in comparison to the rest of the transom. It may or may not be obvious. Depends on your ear and attention to detail. You can also try leaning heavily on the motor skeg while the motor is tilted up, to see if the transom is flexing. It helps to have two sets of eyes for this, and you have to be careful not to confuse boat or trailer movement with transom movement. Looking at the transom from the inside of any compartments may gives clues. Sometimes stains on the inside from thru-hull fixtures show someplace where water penetrated a poorly sealed hole.

You also want to check the floor, and to the extent you can, any stringers that are accessible. Bring a small, bright flashlight and get your head down in every compartment you can. Where you can't see, but can feel, reach your hand and see if you can find soft spots. Look for corroded fasteners. That's sometimes a giveaway for water penetration. Prod around on the deck, feeling for soft spots. They often happen at joints, like where the gunnel or console meets the deck.

Don't be afraid to keep looking until you gain enough experience to know what you are looking at. I guarantee you there will never be a shortage of older boats for sale.

 

[cq]

And do not let the owner try to BS you. When they said I had this done, my question was "Why?" And do not be afraid to ask for records.
A young child always ask "Why?" just keep it up.

cq

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

http://www.insideline.net/index.php/equipment/1209-shopping-for-a-used-boat

Little piece I wrote for Yamamoto that everyone should read for a refresher!!

 

[rbstern]

http://www.insideline.net/index.php/equipment/1209-shopping-for-a-used-boat

Little piece I wrote for Yamamoto that everyone should read for a refresher!!

Thanks for the link. Good list.