Purchasing a 1995 272

[sming250r]

We are looking at buying this 272. It has been sitting for a couple years covered under a carport. It definitely needs a good cleaning and needs some attention to a few small chips in the gel coat. The boat and motor have 400 hours on it with the outdrive being replace 15 hours ago due to hitting rocks and was replaced by insurance. It appears the props were not replaced at the same time. The drive appears to be leaking where the line comes through the transom and is dripping down just one side of the drive itself. Carpet is in rough shape and plan to replace that with aqua marine deck or something similar if purchased. The only thing that wasn't in working condition was the electric trim tabs on either side. Captains call worked the last time it was started.

The trailer is in nice condition with brand new tires all the way around. There a few of the pads that need carpet replaced but nothing is down to bare wood.

My main concerns on the boat are some spider cracking of the gel coat around the exhaust and the trim rams. I guess I am looking for a little guidance, as this will be our first boat purchase. We are located in Iowa and this is about the worst time to be looking at boats but I feel like I shouldn't pass this boat by. Ill try to attach some pictures.

Sorry for the image sizes

[sming250r]

more pictures

[sming250r]

last of the pictures

[VTENGR]

At the very least, before buying it, throw the muffs on it and have the owner start the engine.

[sming250r]

At the very least, before buying it, throw the muffs on it and have the owner start the engine.

Ok thanks, The seller has agreed to let me take it to a shop to have them look it over. That gives me a little bit of comfort knowing he is ok with that. I think it will be worth the added cost to take it to a shop though. If it weren't supposed to be getting down in the teens at night all week I would be more apt to ask to do that. The boat is being stored outside

[dustinm]

Im pretty sure that year of 272 had a wood transom. It looks like most of the spiderwebbing came from the install trim tabs, which applies pressure in the areas you see cracking.(normally I wouldnt worry about spider webbing on the outside of the hull, but because of the location it raises flags) This could be compounded if the transom is seeing some rot - I would want a pro to perform a marine survey on this boat or at the minimum test that transom. From the looks of the engine bay this boat does not look like it received the highest level of care, which only makes me question the integrity of the transom more.

[sming250r]

Ok thanks for the input. I wasn't for sure on the wood transom so is good information. The tech that I'm talking to said he would be able to "test" the transom out and make sure it was going to be good. He seems to be very knowledgeable.

I've been trolling this forum for the past month or so and finally decided to join and make a post. I really appreciate all the information and the help from everyone.

[Big Block Power]

The first thing I do when buying a boat is look at the bilge. This one looks pretty darn clean so I would buy it!
I wish mine was that clean. Not sure what Dustin was seeing?

[AsLan7]

.
Hey sming250r. So glad you found us!

How handy are you? If you can get this boat at a great price and you have some mechanical knowledge then I’d go for it.

…and get those props replaced.

Welcome aboard mate!

.

[VTENGR]

The first thing I do when buying a boat is look at the bilge. This one looks pretty darn clean so I would buy it!
I wish mine was that clean. Not sure what Dustin was seeing?

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not, but can you specify exactly what you look for? Rust stains? From my, admittedly untrained, eye this bilge is filthy.

[sming250r]

I'm pretty mechanically inclined. So most of the repairs I feel comfortable doing. I really just want a professional tech to look at it for negotiation purposes. Since this is a new boat to me I know I'll need to replace the impeller. After the first replacement is that something that should be done every season?

[Big Block Power]

The first thing I do when buying a boat is look at the bilge. This one looks pretty darn clean so I would buy it!
I wish mine was that clean. Not sure what Dustin was seeing?

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not, but can you specify exactly what you look for? Rust stains? From my, admittedly untrained, eye this bilge is filthy.

I was very sarcastic. The bilge tells a story about the boat and the owner. One that cares well care about every inch of his boat and not neglect any of it. When you see that much neglected they also neglected alot more that the eye can't see. I wouldn't buy any boat if it looked like that. It will be a pain to clean and fix non stop. Also if the insurance paid for the drive why are those props on it? They always pay to repair or replace them. Something fishy there. My bilge looks like this and this is what the bilge looked like on the boat I sold also.

[VTENGR]

The first thing I do when buying a boat is look at the bilge. This one looks pretty darn clean so I would buy it!
I wish mine was that clean. Not sure what Dustin was seeing?

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not, but can you specify exactly what you look for? Rust stains? From my, admittedly untrained, eye this bilge is filthy.

I was very sarcastic. The bilge tells a story about the boat and the owner. One that cares well care about every inch of his boat and not neglect any of it. When you see that much neglected they also neglected alot more that the eye can't see. I wouldn't buy any boat if it looked like that. It will be a pain to clean and fix non stop. Also if the insurance paid for the drive why are those props on it? They always pay to repair or replace them. Something fishy there. My bilge looks like this and this is what the bilge looked like on the boat I sold also.

Thanks for the response. I'm obviously a noob when it comes to boat ownership so it sometimes hard to pick up on the sarcasm.

[sming250r]

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not, but can you specify exactly what you look for? Rust stains? From my, admittedly untrained, eye this bilge is filthy.

I was very sarcastic. The bilge tells a story about the boat and the owner. One that cares well care about every inch of his boat and not neglect any of it. When you see that much neglected they also neglected alot more that the eye can't see. I wouldn't buy any boat if it looked like that. It will be a pain to clean and fix non stop. Also if the insurance paid for the drive why are those props on it? They always pay to repair or replace them. Something fishy there. My bilge looks like this and this is what the bilge looked like on the boat I sold also.

Thanks for the response. I'm obviously a noob when it comes to boat ownership so it sometimes hard to pick up on the sarcasm.

Same! Thanks for the response and the clarification.

[sming250r]

The first thing I do when buying a boat is look at the bilge. This one looks pretty darn clean so I would buy it!
I wish mine was that clean. Not sure what Dustin was seeing?

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not, but can you specify exactly what you look for? Rust stains? From my, admittedly untrained, eye this bilge is filthy.

I was very sarcastic. The bilge tells a story about the boat and the owner. One that cares well care about every inch of his boat and not neglect any of it. When you see that much neglected they also neglected alot more that the eye can't see. I wouldn't buy any boat if it looked like that. It will be a pain to clean and fix non stop. Also if the insurance paid for the drive why are those props on it? They always pay to repair or replace them. Something fishy there. My bilge looks like this and this is what the bilge looked like on the boat I sold also.

That thought had crossed through my mind as well about the props. There are definitely some flags starting to come up, which was why I wanted to get some more eyes on some of the problem areas that I had thought of.