Would it be safe to assume that all reputable boat companies, along with the likes of Cabelas/Bass Pro have given all of their pre-owned boats a good look over before putting them up for sale to make sure everything is ok?

Lets look at one word here assume.

Assume= *** + u+ me

Assumption is the mother of all foul ups

Aaaah the famous saying.  Of course you would want to look it over yourself.  I would assume that they would give it a good look over themselves so they aren't seeling a terribly bad product.

all depends on the dealership    some are good to great some are awful to  worse

A friends cousin bought a used pleasure boat a number of years ago from a local dealership.  On his first trip out, he took off from the ramp and had barely gotten several hundred yards away when smoke began pouring out from under the I/O engine cover. Another boater and I came running with fire extinguishers in hand.  Blown head gasket it turns out.  The dealer fixed it, for a small fee and then that boat proceded to break down on him numerous times on the water after that.

Some dealers check 'em over good, some don't.  Their reputation usually precedes them.

Some dealers check 'em over good, some don't. Their reputation usually precedes them.

Word of mouth is huge here. I personally have a guy that just does boat motors that will check out the motor for me and another guy that is a fabricator for Bluefin Yachts that will go through it structurally for me. I am with him this weekend, looking at putting a 2-3 cyl diesel in my whaler jet. That 2 stroke is just too undependable but the hull is one of a kind. First, my body guy is going to see how much mods we will need to incorporate a stuffing box and thru hull shaft,etc and then my engine guy will figure out exactly which motor and drive combo to go with.

I'm saying that 1 boat, takes 2 professionals (and don't forget the 12 pack each as a tip). Some guys do it all, some are specialists. I wouldn't count on anyone other than these 2 guys to give me a thumbs up or a thumbs down, especially a dealership who is trying to sell the boat. Have your own people/person go thru the boat.

And I'm going to beat Cart to it and give you 2 words of advice.

Compression check

GOOD LUCK!!!

Has anyone dealt with or know someone who has dealt with a Cabelas boat shop?  I know the rest of their stores are pretty good and far as quality control goes but I wonder about the boat shops?