Here are a few pictures of problems you can't see but are very real anytime you buy a used boat. 

 

This first picture is of the a transom.  I easily pushed that 10" screw driver into what's supposed to be plywood.

 

 

This next picture is what's supposed to be the wood stringers than run from the front to the back of the boat and keep the hull from breaking in half.  There were supposed to be four but all are basically gone.

 

 

This next one shows you what the old open cell floatation foam can do.  What you are seeing is water coming out of the foam as I pushed the screw driver in.  This can add several hundred pounds to the weight of the boat.

 

This is what happens when I got bored and wanting to check out my chainsaw I just worked on.

You should post that last picture on craigslist and list it as "just needs a little TLC". Lol

 

Good pictures though. Hopefully it helps some on here not get burned when buying used. 

 

PPI's are always a good call!

1 hour ago, riverbasser said:

You should post that last picture on craigslist and list it as "just needs a little TLC". Lol

 

Good pictures though. Hopefully it helps some on here not get burned when buying used. 

 

 

X2 ~ Perhaps offer it as "a Kit - Some Assembly Required" (but without instructions).

A-Jay

 

"Project boat"

"LIKE NEW" or "Garage stored".

2 hours ago, Way2slow said:

Here are a few pictures of problems you can't see but are very real anytime you buy a used boat. 

 

This first picture is of the a transom.  I easily pushed that 10" screw driver into what's supposed to be plywood.

 

 

This next picture is what's supposed to be the wood stringers than run from the front to the back of the boat and keep the hull from breaking in half.  There were supposed to be four but all are basically gone.

 

 

This next one shows you what the old open cell floatation foam can do.  What you are seeing is water coming out of the foam as I pushed the screw driver in.  This can add several hundred pounds to the weight of the boat.

 

This is what happens when I got bored and wanting to check out my chainsaw I just worked on.

It appears you got your chainsaw running in tip top shape! Lol

"As is". Make an offer. No trades.

This was actually my dads first bass boat that I hauled home from the farm.  For sentimental reasons I kept thinking about restoring it (and if it had been just a little larger I may have) but knew I would just let it sit around the house for ever, with that notion I was going to restore it one day.  I offered to give it away for someone a nice project boat but got no takers on that.  Well, I made dam sure I got that notion out of my head and relieved myself of ever changing my mind.   The land fill won't take a boat, but I can put the pieces in the big county dumpster, so I made nice little, easy to handle pieces out of it.

I need a utility trailer and trailer will make me one just the size I need.  

I checked the motor out and it needs a power pack.  Which I probably blew because the starter solenoid was just clicking so I used jumper cable to go straight from the battery to the starter and all the arcing it was doing probably fried the power pack.   It's actually a nice little 1978 70hp Johnson with PT&T so I will stick it away just in case I ever need one that size. 

Firewood

^{Moral of the story. Bring a chainsaw if you're checking out a used boat.}

No, the moral is to check it out before you own it.

 

I had already checked this one out and determined the condition of this boat "BEFORE" I got the chainsaw to it and had decided I was not going through the work and expense of taking the cap off to remove and replacing all the rotten wood even if it was my dads.   I don't usually go around whacking up good boats.

 

If you think it takes a chainsaw to check one out, then I would not recommend you ever buy a used boat, and don't think it has to be an old boat.  A few years back, I checked out the three year old Sprint bass boat a dealer was selling that the customer had bought a new hull and put the motor off the Sprint on the new hull.  The transom on that Sprint was already soft and rotten, and fully water logged where they apparently didn't seal the engine mounting bolts.  Pure junk. 

Two things 

1. You could also avoid this by buying a all aluminum boat. I did to avoid any chance of that crud happening to me. 
2.  That pic says that the chainsaw is working great. Might list the saw for sale with the pic saying works great. 

It was just a little dry rot, most of it was above the water line 

14 hours ago, Way2slow said:

No, the moral is to check it out before you own it.

 

I had already checked this one out and determined the condition of this boat "BEFORE" I got the chainsaw to it and had decided I was not going through the work and expense of taking the cap off to remove and replacing all the rotten wood even if it was my dads.   I don't usually go around whacking up good boats.

 

If you think it takes a chainsaw to check one out, then I would not recommend you ever buy a used boat, and don't think it has to be an old boat. 

 

Gee, no jamming screwdrivers through the boards either then? What about a sledgehammer, drill or blowtorch?

On 12/30/2016 at 7:50 PM, gimruis said:

Firewood

Ain't no way you're gonna get any of that to burn.  Not without more heat than I can afford to generate.

Yea, by the time you got out of jail and thru paying all the fines if you got caught???  Shoot, I can't even guess at the tens of thousands of dollars it would cost.  A whole lot more than I'm planning on taking a chance with.

Believe it or not, fiberglass boat are extremely hard to dispose of in most places.  Like a lot of landfills, ours won't take the whole boat, but chopped up in pieces, I can throw it in of the counties large dumpsters, if they will every empty them so there's enough room.  Still waiting on that one.

Great topic by the way.

 

I've shared it with several others.

On 1/4/2017 at 0:59 AM, Way2slow said:

fiberglass boat are extremely hard to dispose of in most places. 

 

This explains the few I have found dumped out on lonely country roads or powerline cuts.  It takes every ounce of willpower I have to make my inner-hillbilly shut up about wanting to drag one home.  

 

 

A little two part epoxy and some bottom paint, she is good to go imo.