Today I went and looked at a 1985 Glasstream Bass boat with an 85 hp Evinrude. I had a concern. Just forward of the transom was a long compartment with a closed lid the width of the boat. 

 

Inside this compartment were two 5 gallon gas cans where one of the cans was hooked to the motor, but next to these gas cans were two batteries, one for the starter and one for the trolling motor.

 

Should your fuel source and batteries be in the exact same compartment? And how long only 10 gallons of fuel last you with an 85 hp motor?

That's the way most bass boats are.  The biggest difference is the fuel tanks are usually are just one aluminum or plastic tank instead of using the old five gallon cans

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ 

1985 you say ?  

32 years or pretty much a full generation old.

Walk away.  Just.  Walk.  Away.

A-Jay

Here is the boat. She is very clean, solid and the motor is in great condition. It has two live wells. My concern was having the fuel supply in the same compartment with the batteries. I looking for my first bass boat, and was not sure if this was the norm. I was concern that the batteries could spark a fire being that close to the fuel cans.

 

https://fortmyers.craigslist.org/chl/boa/6225383617.html

It's normal.

At minimum you should voice the safety concern and use it as a bargaining chip to offset the upgrade cost to make it safe.

Since you are obviously new to boats.  Be sure you have someone with you that's very knowledge of how to check a boat for rotted transom, floor, etc.  It's obvious the boat has been refreshed with new seats and carpet in the recent past and mostly sat out before that.  It's very common for a boat that age and left out to be rotted to the point it's not safe to operated, and the cost to repair those items greatly exceed the cost of the boat.

Also, that's probably only a $1,300 boat if it does check out good, and pure junk if the floor or transom is bad. 

One other point, since that motor does not have factory tilt and trim, someone has added a CMC aftermarket one.  They will probably say that's a $700 unit, to try and make it sound more valuable.  It really does not add that much value to the boat, a couple hundred dollars at most, from the $1,000 it would be worth without it.  It primarily just makes the boat easier to sell, if it works properly, because most of the newer motors that big will have it built in and just goes along as part of the motor, and it would suck having to raise and lower that motor by hand every time.

It's not going far on 10 gallons of gas. Them old motors get 3 or 4 miles to a gallon of gas.