HookedOnFishingBoats.com

You want to buy a new boat? It’s perfect timing, because boat prices have NEVER been lower, whether you’re looking at them new or used models. But there are a lot of things to look for on a boat, and you’ll want to know you’ve thoroughly inspected one before you consider buying it. Here’s a list of the top three things you need to make sure you check out thoroughly.

1. The Power Plant - Of course you’ll take it on a test run and see how the engine runs, but also run a compression-check. All reputable dealerships or brokerages will have a compression gauge on-hand, but if you’re buying from an owner, you may need to purchase your own (about $50). Each cylinder should show compression within 10% of each other, or there’s a problem waiting to happen.

Also make sure you check the crankcase oil (of four-strokes) and make sure it’s clean. If you see any milky-colored fluid, run—that means water’s mixed in with the oil. And check the lower unit oil, while noting that lower unit oil will look darker then crankcase oil most of the time, and this doesn’t indicate any damage or problem. If metal shavings show up in the lower unit oil, however, take it as a sign of future failure. Obviously, you should also glance around at the hoses and belts to make sure they’re in good shape.

2. Abovedecks –Start at the bow, and inspect the boat closely until you reach the transom. Check the anchor locker for size, access to the rode (if you can’t get an entire arm and shoulder through the opening, you’ll have trouble when it tangles,) anchor security, and an anchor rode tie-down. Also take a close look at wiring running through the anchor locker (usually for bowlights and/or windlasses).

Next, shake the bowrails to discover if they shake, bend, or move excessively. Look to see if they’re secured with screws or through-bolts, and if they’re backed with backing plates. (Through bolts are a step up from screws, and backing plates are even better.)

Also look for backing plates under the cleats, chocks, and windlass fittings, if the boat is so equipped. In all cases, aluminum, steel, or phenolic (a super-dense fiberglass) backing plates are best; Polyboard is also good, and wood is a whole lot better than nothing. Light-duty boats will be backed with washers, and el-cheapo boats have screws with nothing backing them up.

Make sure to look closely at the hull to deck joint, too. The joints in most modern boats are chemically bonded with Plexus or a similar adhesive (you should see some of the hardened goop spilling out of the seams) but heavy-duty boats will add through-bolts on four-inch centers, fiberglass over the joint entirely, or will run a backing strip around the joint and bolt through it.

            As you move aft, check the hatches on each and every compartment. These are items that you have to look at on an individual basis throughout the boat, as one in the bow may be good while one in the stern may be a mess. Open the hatches all the way, to ensure they don’t smack a gunwale or railing. And if a hatch is on a fishbox or cooler, rap on it with your fist; a solid sound means it’s a solid hatch but a hollow sound means it’s cored. Cored hatches are lighter (read: easier to open and less apt to slam down) and they insulate better.

3. Belowdecks - Make sure all bilge items of importance—pumps, seacocks, valves, batteries, etc.—are within reach (you’d be amazed at how many builders bury these items in spots that only a contortionist could ever access) and in good shape. Any through-hulls below the waterline should be fitted with seacocks that can be shut off in case of emergency, and all hoses and fittings below the waterline should have double hose clamps securing them.

            In the bilge is also the area where you can slap an eyeball on the stringers. These make the backbone of the boat, and are usually either fiberglassed to the hull or are set in a bed of Plexus or similar adhesive. In either case, look along the bottom edges to make sure there are no gaps or cracks between the stringer and the hull. In used boats, any indication of rot (older stringers were usually cored with wood) or stringer separation should scare you.

            While you’re looking around down there, also take a peek at the bilge pump outflow hoses. What you want to see here is a loop in the hose, above the waterline, just before it hits the through-hull fitting. This is called an anti-siphon loop, and if the through-hull dips below the water this loop is what prevents the hose from back-filling the bilge with water.