We offer boater education classes. Call us to learn everything you need to know about the boat you just bought!  We will meet you at the lake of your choice, show you how to launch your boat, operate it, put it back on the trailer AND what needs to be serviced.  You will save tons of money over the life of owning your boat!!!

Many of our customers are first time boat buyers who have just bought a boat and have “enjoyed” their first trip to the boat ramp/lake and often that’s about where the boat experience fun ends.

Keep in mind you the buyer are responsible for making an informed, smart decision and checking every part of any boat you buy.  "Let the buyer beware" is a good motto to have when buying any new or used boat or any item for that matter..

Keep in mind there are many things that can go wrong with a boat.  A great idea is to have the boat you want to buy checked out by experts like us, or, barring that, at least a friend or someone who owns a boat or knows a bit about them.

Five things you MUST check out before buying a boat:

1. The motor – check the motor oil if it is an inboard or inboard/outboard/sterndrive.  Does the motor oil have water in it?  Are there any metal filings?  Water indicates a blown head gasket, cracked block or manifold and metal filings indicates some metal part is broken or wearing apart.  Neither is a good sign and indicates a major costly engine repair is necessary.  Be careful also if the oil is new.  It could be that someone drained the bad oil and put new oil in to hide the problem and you will discover the problem the first time you take the boat out for a ride.  We see this ALL the time.
2. The outdrive/sterndrive/lower unit.  Spin the prop – does it spin freely and does it look centered/like the prop shaft is straight?  If not, major expense as the lower unit is likely bad or at least the prop shaft.  Buy it and you will have your check book out within a week.  Open the drain oil plug and allow just enough out to get some on your finger.  Again, is it nice good oil or is it milky/does it have water contamination?  Are there metal filings/shavings/bits/parts in it?  Again, this is a very bad sign.  Same goes for if it is brand new (which could be good but also could be hiding leaking seals which are allowing water in which will grind your gears until they are junk; the owner may have drained out the old, bad oil and refilled it with good, new oil to hide the problem). 
3. Get in the boat and step on/stand on every single inch of the boat floor.  Is it soft anywhere?  Factor in a thousand dollars or more to replace the floor.  Are the upholstery/vinyl/seats good?  If not, factor in two thousand or more to reupholster them.
4. Get under the boat.  Is the hull solid with no cracks, holes, filled holes or problems?  Tap the transom/rear part of the boat with your knuckles all around the motor.  Is it solid with no soft spots?  Are there any cracks?  Is the boat motor or outdrive supported by any metal plates, shims, welds or anything out of the ordinary?  Repairing the fiberglass is a multi-thousand dollar repair.
5. Inspect all of the switches, gauges, lights, horn, bilge pump, aerators, wash down pumps and hoses, deck hatches, the ignition, the throttle control box and then start the boat.  Is it easy to start?  Do all the gauges work?  Is the control box working smoothly/can you easily shift from neutral to forward and reverse and back?  Does the motor accelerate smoothly?  Are there are funny sounds or does anything feel not right?

A few other tips are to try to stay away from all of the following:

Electric shift outdrives – these shift from neutral to forward and reverse by pushing buttons instead of moving a lever with a manual cable shift.  ALL electric shift are bad.  Mostly these were made by OMC/Johnson Evinrude in the early 1970s and discontinued within a few years due to how awful of a system they were.

White Volvo/OMC outdrives marked as 800, Stinger, 400, etc.  If you do not see tilt and trim pistons that look like shock absorbers, run away.  A white outdrive is cause for suspicion.  Many paint them other colors but, if the sides are metal arms instead of pistons, run away.  Usually these are on late 1970s to late 1980s boats.  They are junk!

Rotten floors, rotten upholstery, rotten transoms.

Any rusty motor or outdrive.  jUST WALK AWAY!!!!

Things to do:

Stick with major brands like OMC/Evinrude-Johnson, Mercury, Yamaha, Suzuki, Nissan, Tohatsu, etc. and preferably no older than 1970.  Parts for them are easily available and most mechanics know them well.

With regards to outdrives, Mercruiser Alphas and Bravos and Volvo SX and OMC Cobras are great.

NEVER believe a buyer who tells you what is required to repair a boat which has been sitting for months/years/decades.  At a minimum, oil needs to be sprayed into each cylinder and compression checked to see if the rings are still good around each piston.  Carb cleaning and water impeller changes are always necessary.  (There is almost nothing worse you could do to a boat than not start it for months/years at a time.  Boats need to be started frequently and have fresh gas, oil, and water run through them monthly.)

Have the motor’s compression checked as well as ignition, carburetion and cooling gone over. Any boat motor inboard or outboard rebuild is $1500 to $6000. A carburetor job is $200 to $500 or more. A water impeller pump or impeller kit will be $150 to $300. Ignition parts are costly too.

Everything should be marine equipment.  On stern drives and inboard motors, check there are no automotive parts on carburetors, fuel lines or pumps, starters, alternators, etc. . Anything not marine or BIA certified is not designed for marine use and will likely break down and also can injure or kill you.

Boat motors are designed to be run near wide open at 3500 – 6000 RPM plus whereas most cars are rarely driven over 2500 RPM.  Marine/boat motors are usually housed in enclosed compartments where there are often gas fumes and leaks; if your motor parts are not marine grade spark and fire proof, a costly explosion can occur causing monetary and human harm.

No matter what type boat you have from the smallest metal jon boat to the largest cruiser yacht, make sure there is at least one bilge pump which works to get water out of the boat if there is a leak.  Drain plugs fall out, drive shaft/U joint, exhaust and shift bellows/boots can leak as can bad transoms and engine mount bolt holes.  Untold boats have sunk and motors and interiors been destroyed by faulty bilge pumps and boat owners not checking on the watertightness of their hulls, bellows and engines.  (Ask ole Tom about the time he stopped to help a frantic stranded boater and he had to cut two wine bottle corks to plug not only the bilge drain plug hole but also the bilge pump hose exhaust hole and help out a stranded boater for two hours bailing out water with nothing but a cut open plastic water bottle to stop that boater’s boat from sinking.)

Use common sense in your boat purchase and you should be ok.  Check everything, take a lake test run, check everything again and also try to get the seller to give you at least a two week to three month warranty/guarantee in writing.

Buying a boat can be the best or worst experience of your life.

Never buy a boat if the seller will not let you check out everything you want to check out.  And try to always take the boat out for a test ride and then check all of the above again. Trust me, it will save you thousands of dollars, wasted time and headaches.

We only charge $125 to do a buyer's check for you to give you a good idea of the waterworthiness, value, and issues of any potential boat you are wanting to buy.