I'm buying a boat...

I may be a first time boat owner next weekend, at the young age of 41. I'll be test driving / riding a 2001 Chaparral 180 SEE with 150 hours on the engine. The carpet and vinyl are in excellent condition (no rips, tears, or stains). It's a clean boat and looks like it's been stored inside. Is there anything I should be aware of? Bad year, etc...?

Now, a bunch of you have more $$ than I'll ever see. As most of you know I'm a public servant and make public servant money, so I'm not buying a brand new Cobalt that cost as much as my first house. This is an entry level boat under $10 G's.

My requirements are that it seats 8 (with most of that seating for kids 12 and under), clean, and have an hour meter. And obviously in good working order. This boat seems to fit that. Yes it has the 4 cyl engine. The larger engines were just too expensive. Just looking to pull some kids on tubes, fish, and drink beer.

 

Congratulations you just became everyone's new best friend


I'm not a boat guy buy a friend of mine has been really happy with the Yamaha ski boat he bought. It was under 30k brand new and has very limited maintenance.

 

good boat for what you describe should e about $7000 with trailer. Biggest questions are how many hours on the motor and when were the risers (exhaust manifolds last replaced?)

and look for corrosion similar to this..

 

a survey is probably isn't necessary on a boat this size but I'd have an unrelated third party check the boat out.

 

This. Definitely worth the fee to have a shop check the boat out before buying it.

 

Sounds like a great run-about. I had something very similar in the past with a 3.0L and Alpha out drive. Both were solid in my case and typically what you find on budget boats. My recommendation to anyone buying a boat is to buy something all fiberglass and fuel injected. The 3.0L is great for running around the lake and pretty easy on gas. It is not the fastest and with a full boat will have a hard time pulling a slalom skier out of the water but will pull a tube or wake-board just fine. I'd keep a couple different pitch props and change them based on what you are going out to do. With a 19 prop mine would do a solid 40mph.

 

Good point JW. The right prop makes all the difference in the world. Think changing sprockets on your bike. I also always had a couple different pitches on hand and would change it based on what I was doing that weekend.

 

i'll agree to disagree on this. Prop the boat so WOT, max speed of the hull and max operating rpm are matched and don't screw with it. The extra power might be nice down low but will over rev the motor at cruising speed. Learn to operate the boat to compensate. Dont' try to pull skiers on full fuel tanks. Redistribute weight.. ie put people up front not everyone in the back. store gear in the front floor storage if available, cooler as far front as possible etc etc etc. At very least spend sevral weekends on the boat before you decide you need to change anything.

 

Practice maneuvering at docking speed...you don't want to be nick-named Cap'n Crunch.
And whatever you do, do not scream at your wife or kids because they didn't stop the boat from bangin' into the trailer, dock, other boat, etc. You will kill it for 'em and they will not go out with you again. You are the one in control of hitting things...choose wisely.

A real skipper never touches the dock on the approach. Take pride in that.

 

I can agree with that too Notbostrom. I always just kept an extra around for the days when a lot of friends (visiting, etc) wanted to go out and tube, ski, etc.

 

+100000000000000000

go out with a friend first, preferable a boater. get your sea legs before taking out the family

 

This is funny because it's so true!! My good friend is a boat captain in Florida(cape coral area) and I've been on tons of boats my whole life with my dad.

Last winter we rolled into Cabbage Key to grab a burger before we kept cruising for the day and and only spot for us was all the way inside on the side of the main dock. Getting there was a bit tight(maybe a foot on either side), lots of maneuvering between bigger boats. We were in a Boston Whaler 320 Outrage and I never moved from beside him to "fend" as we went between all the bigger boats. All their owners were dropping fenders, we laughed and the dockhand was laughing with us.

Tipped the hand, grabbed a burger and a soda for the dockhand on the way out and back to waters! Enjoy it, and just like motorcycle racing --- the more you can slow things down in and out of the slip/trailer you'll get it done a lot faster!

 

Take $500 bucks. Walk down to the dock. Toss said $500 bucks in the water. Walk off.

Repeat process every few weeks. Congratulations. You are a boat owner.

 

Remember when you're yelling that sounds travel easily across the water

 

Thread title made me go back and watch it

 

The two best days in a boat owner's life:

1. The day you buy your new pride and joy.

2. The day you unload that piece of crap on some unsuspecting fool who thinks it will be his new pride and joy.

 

Did you just start looking? I would find a comparable boat with the 4.3. The 3 litre is a good engine but if you want to to ski and tube you'll have a hard time with more than just a couple of adults in the boat. Even with a lower pitched prop.

 

I'm getting it at a local boat dealer. I live just south of DFW and it seems all dealerships are just north of DFW... The dealer is including a 4 month warranty on the engine.

I've been told to get an all fiberglass boat, but there isn't really anything available in my price point. Is having a boat with wood in it a complete no go?

 

I think it depends on the manufacturer. Early to mid 2000's most makers stopped using wood entirely in the structure. I think Glastron was around 2003, but some like Bayliner still use some wood, I've been told. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.