I appreciate that it can be frustrating trying to figure out your unknowns - IMO you are doing a decent fist of it
I was on post 6 or 7 before I realised you were probably talking motorboat and not sail - and Mr Google then revealed a (very nice looking) flybridge cruiser
.
IMO the value of the boat is principally in the engines, including the gearboxes (if they go pop the boat will essentially be worthless). On the boat itself, at 15 years old you have to expect that some things won't work, some you / the surveyor will spot before buying - and some you won't. If you want the straight from the factory experiance and a guarantee to go with it - you will need to buy a new one. A s/h boat is much like a s/h car.
If you want to frighten yourself witless - try and get some ball park figures on replacement Engines
and gearboxes
and then you will get some insight into the asking price vs new cost
and also find out how the engines would come out.....some don't without major surgery
The good news is that
Marine engines don't tend to wear out - the bad news is that they can
rot away from the inside, from lack of use / lack of TLC.
In your shoes I would firstly want from the Vendor details of all engine work (and other maintanence performed) - over entire period of
ownership would be nice - or 5 years whichever is longer
In practice likely that will be a collection of bills and some vague recollections from the Vendor
- which together you may have to combine into a coherent
record, albeit with large gaps.
I would treat any claims to self servicing with scepticism, not to say that aren't plenty of folk around who can do as good a job as a professional (if not better), but if that is the case the Engines will likely look well kept
and the Vendor will not only be able to talk you through the engines and the work done, will also highly likely enjoy the chance to bore you rigid on the subject
...........If the Vendor doesn't sound like he could identify a dipstick even if he sat on it
then I would treat claims of "all annual servicing done myself" with scepticism - if not fear
(some folks should simply not be let loose with spanners.............). I would also be fearful of
ownership less than a few years.
I would then get a qualified marine
engineer to give the engines and
installation a
thorough going over and a written report, including recomendations if you bought (some things are not "wrong" or broken - but will fit under the category of "if she was mine, I would XXX"). and whilst he is at it, a
service / maintanence schedule (with an indication of costs) sounds like it would be useful to you. Also no harm in getting his ideas (in writing) on what is coming up for replacement / would be prudent to do - if not already done (and bills to prove).
If you can talk through your "coherent story" with the Marine
Engineer in advance then gives him a heads up and he can advise how that story fits into the reality. If he says that the cobwebs and rust don't match the story or that he can see some major components have been removed and replaced recently (and which the Vendor somehow forgot to mention
) then I would run away.......
IMO worth paying top dollar on getting the engines a thorough going over (and a seatrial), but nonetheless at the end of the day you are still taking a punt on the engines - could get another 5 or even 10 years......or days
FWIW me father has a similar twin engined motorboat (albeit a bit smaller) - probably around 12 years old when he bought, with twin Mercedes diesels. After a couple of years what started as an engine tidy up (Father abides dust in the bilges
let alone the odd weap of water, let alone oil) turned into a full engines out
rebuild - and then the Engines (and gearboxes) were scrapped (basically they / the ancillaries had rotted away - so that not much more to replace by a pair of new Volvos (and new gearboxes)...........albeit none of the engines had turbos and were less
power than yours (I think around 60hp each)..........I mention that because no matter how careful you are when inspecting an engine, the only certain way is to take them apart on a workbench.
The "new"
Volvo engines are now about 12 years themselves. No dust
Finally, just to mention a mate of mine just
sold a small motorboat with an inboard deisel 14Ohp (turbo). Both boat and engine just turned 30. Mate had the boat around 5 years, but in the last few stopped using it - from lack of interest (in boats
) and simply because he got bored of the engine always seeming to need
something doing (one of the downsides to using a professional is they can always find something that needs / should be / could be done on a 30 yo engine)...and with bills always in the medium hundreds.........with the sneaky feeling in the back of his mind that one day the bills would be in the 1000's -
before discovering would be better off with a new engine /
installation (£££)
. - BTW wasn't the cash itself that scared him off, the new "toy" is likely an aeroplane (or a Helicopter
) - simply the drip drip of £££'s and aggro to get the work done.
One day those engines / gearboxes
will go pop - in your shoes I would certainly hope for the best
but would also plan (including financially) for the worst. Or buy a new one
The surveyor says again...
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