Buying boat - looking for suggestions

Thank you gentlemen, now for some pictures

 

Congrats dude!! Welcome to the club take good care of her and have fun!!! Some people say the best days of owning a boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. Not me bro I love everyday of having a boat. Have a great time!

 

Thank you sir! We're very excited. Looking forward to Friday when we're both off work and can get it on the water.

Any suggestions on good resources for maintenance, especially for this 4.3 merc. The engine manual came with it, haven't had a chance to go through it yet though.

 

By FAR, the most important thing to watch is the hull itself. Do some research to see if it is 100% fiberglass, or some fiberglass and some composite, or some fiberglass and some wood. While wood is not a deal killer, you now have to check the hull quite carefully. Wood absorbs water, and rots. If the transom is a wood-core, I'd pass period. Too many bolts through the transom whether it is an outboard or I/O, and bolts allow water ingress. And water along a bolt when it is passing through wood will eventually produce a spongy transom that will first show stress cracks, then bigger cracks, and eventually it will fall apart. Motors can be repaired, lower units can be cleaned, lubed, and made serviceable. A rotted boat hull has no hope.

Most every hull penetration needs checking. Anywhere a screw or bolt penetrates fiberglass, it can provide a path to the wood sandwiched in the middle, if the hull has any wood. As a general rule, the lower the MSRP, the more wood you will find buried under the floor, in the transom, supporting the bottom or sides, etc.

Other things include wiring. Stick your head under the console and make sure it is not a rat's nest of wires with cracked insulation and such.

Obviously you can find really good deals, and really lousy deals. You can learn a lot by first test-driving, then a good, careful inspection looking for hull and wiring issues. Watch for oil dripping around the prop and such. If I were buying one, I would go with a couple of quarts of lower-unit oil as well, and remove the lower plug and then the upper to let at least a cup or two drain into a clean bowl. Fresh out of the water, it will look a bit creamy due to aeration while running. But after sitting, or before going on the test drive, a creamy look is bad news, water in the lower unit can be expensive.

 

I think, not sure though, maxum boats are wood free. I know my regal was not but i never had any issues. Actually the floor of my regal was carpet over wood. I would always worry about the floor rotting out because it was always puddled up after tubing and skiing. I would always let it sit in the sun for a few hours to dry out and never had any issues. I love my tidewater, no wood at all!! woot woot. however, i forget if it's maxum or someone else that advertises no wood no rot. as far as maintenance bro, I used to change the oil (lower unit as well) and impeller every year. the impeller you can get away with every other year depending on use but i used to do it anyway cause it took 5 minutes. I also hose my shit down with water resistant silicone spray every once in a while, especially if i've been running salt water. Also, if you run salt water always flush your motor as soon as you get out. salt water will eat your motor alive. other than that it's smooth sailing!!

 

I've looked around in the engine compartment and ski locker etc and have yet to find any wood, seems to be all fiberglass so far.

Is there a particular brand of lube I should lean towards, or a place to get it? From what I've read so far, I need marine specific stuff, even for the engine, is that right?

 

yes you need the marine stuff. pretty much everything you use for now on for your boat will be marine grade. wax, oil, etc.. i used to use the mobil1 marine or something like that i forget and have not changed the oil in my 4stroke yet. I will need 4 stroke specific oil for that. But yeah everything will need to be marine grade more or less

 

Op, you do know that boats are just holes in the water that you throw money into, right?
jk, enjoy your new ride. More so than cars, maintenance is VERY important.