need advice - looking to buy a used boat

[fisher]

Going to a boat dealer to look at a used 2001 Bayliner Trophy 1802.

 

My questions are:

 

- The dealer indicated that they will provide a 30 day warranty - is that normal or should it be longer?

- Anyone have/know about this boat and if so, any comments/advise?

- Dealer said they would do a compression test on the motors (115 hp and 9.9 hp) in front of me. Can anyone give me a clue as to what I should expect/look for?

- Any other advise as to what/how I should inspect the boat? They said they would let me take it for a ride on the lake for 45 minutes-1 hour to try it out.

- the 2" ball on my hitch (which is a 3500 lb rated hitch) says 2000 lbs on it - is that the tongue weight or the allowed weight of the boat being trailered?

 

Sorry for all the questions and thanks for the anticipated responses,

Fisher

Edited May 2, 2008 by fisher

[outllaw]

good boats. questions

what power plant.

outboard??

i owned a trophy. they dont rot like stringers and transoms in other makes.

[ccmtcanada]

For compression testing, I believe the important thing is that all the readings are close to eachother. If there is a large discrepancy between the readings, then you could have problems. At least that's what the repair manual that I bought says.....

[fisher]

125 HP and 9.9 HP Mercuries - both outboards.

[bigfish1965]

Bayliner had issues with this model leaking through the transoms...not sure what year it was..Google it and find out.

Personally I would not buy a Bayliner and I think you may find that boat underpowered. An 18 foot Trophy is a heavy boat.

[Sinker]

No personal experience, but I've heard some bad rumours about bayliners.

 

My dad looked at a few when he bought his big boat, and they seem to cheap out on the extras. Not sure what their quality is like, but I haven't heard much good.......

 

Sinker

[Guest gbfisher]

I know of one for sale right now. PM sent

[SlowPoke]

- The dealer indicated that they will provide a 30 day warranty - is that normal or should it be longer?

Any warranty is better than no warranty but ask very specific questions about what it applies to. You might also try to negotiate hours instead of days.. ie. 60 engine hour warranty.

- Anyone have/know about this boat and if so, any comments/advise?

Bayliners have always had a bad reputation. Sometimes deserved, sometimes not. Overall they are much better than they used to be but still suffer from low resale value and they are often under-equipped. They're a bit of a budget brand and most well used Bayliner's really show thier wear. The Trophy model in my opinion is the best of the brand but still middle of the road quality-wise.

- Dealer said they would do a compression test on the motors (115 hp and 9.9 hp) in front of me. Can anyone give me a clue as to what I should expect/look for?

Have them show you in the manual what the compression should be for those motors before doing the test. Have them do a dry test first, then a wet test. The numbers may be all close but way under factory compression. ie. 109,107,105 work work out to be around 7.3:1,7.2:1,7.1:1 which is okay as long as the factory compression is 8:1 (117). Not so good if factory is 10:1 (147). I can't emphasize enough doing both dry test and wet test! This will absolutely reveal bad head gaskets, rings or valves.

- Any other advise as to what/how I should inspect the boat? They said they would let me take it for a ride on the lake for 45 minutes-1 hour to try it out.

Check every square inch of the floor, if it's soft you will know. Check the transom for discolouration, especially near mounting bolts. Tap it hard handle screwdriver or small hammer. If it goes thud, run away. Make sure the boat gets on plane quickly with the maximum number of passengers allowed in thier seats. It might plane out fine with you and the salesperson but it might not with a family of four.

- the 2" ball on my hitch (which is a 3500 lb rated hitch) says 2000 lbs on it - is that the tongue weight or the allowed weight of the boat being trailered?

Your tongue weight is probably 500lbs. The 2000lb number might suggest that you have a Class I or II 2" ball with a 3/4" thread. A Class III or IV 2" ball will have a 1" thread and 5 or 6000 lb rating

 

-Brian

[lew]

Brian, that was alot of excellent advice you offered there, good of you to take the time !!

[SlowPoke]

Brian, that was alot of excellent advice you offered there, good of you to take the time !!

Thanks Lew but now my brain hurts.

[fisher]

Brian, I really appreciate the time you have taken to go into so much detail and for answering every one of my questions. I will definitely print out this thread and take it with me when boat shopping (as I am sure a few others will be saving a copy as well). Now, if I could, I'd like to send you some tylenol for your head ache

 

Again, thanks to you and others for their responses.

[Billy Bob]

Bayliner has always suffered a bad rap but at least this boat is powered by a Merc and not the old Force motors they were package with years ago.

 

My concern would be, is this your first boat and do you really need a boat this large. If you are going to be always trailering this boat it gets to be a chore after awhile. The rule of thumb is the larger the vessel the less it see the water.

 

Bob

[bassfighter]

Compression test the engine is a must, One can tell if the engine is fine, by runing at slow speed , if it is smooth, chances are the engine is fine.

 

Test the charing system, if it is charging as well, if it has a bad charge and running on new battery, it will run for a while and then dies afterwards.

 

Check for the condition of the floor, it cost money to fix the floor if it need some fixing.

 

Older engine also eats gas, therefore think twice of buying older engine. Unless the boat price is a steel or bargain, you will save now , and will pay for it in the long run.

 

Make sure the boat doee not have any water leaks as well.

 

Other thing to take into consideration are the accessories such as trolling motor, fish finder, downriggers, paddle,etc.. , they all add up at the end, if they come with it as well would be a bonus.

 

Ask why the person is selling it.

 

It is always a buyers market, so be ready to walk away from it, if you are not sure.

 

Nothing is worse than owning a bad boat, and being stranded on Lake Ontario or Simcoe on a weekday and no one on site.

 

A good size fishing boat is from 15-16.5ft , enough to park it and the trailer inside a normal car garage.

[OhioFisherman]

My brother had a Bayliner 2350 trophy I think, I/O. Bought it new from the local Bayliner dealer, problems, poor service, always some sort of a problem and service issue and sold. Bigger ones were lighter than a comparable sized Searay or WellCraft and didn`t ride as well, just cheaper.

[irishfield]

They've always been referred to as a "K-Mart" boat here on GBay... but there's lots of them out there, so they must float. As pointed out.. it's got a Merc on it so suspect it runs good and floats = on the water and fishing. If this is the boat layout you like and the money you can afford then go for it... but give some thought to many other boats out there in the used department.