Thoughts on this boat

[kko]

http://www.charlotteskiboats.com/boa...fm?boatid=1282
Have a friend looking at this boat. Anybody in the area know this boat. What's a fair price. I told him I would post up for him and you guys could give him the 411 on this model. Thanks guys. Looking to make a new TO.

[kko]

Thanx you guys are the best. I tell the guy how awesome and helpful you guys are. ............crickets. Sorry Dave this really went completely opposite of what I had expected.

[ChrisBarnes05-12-84]

Haha . I don't know much about that boat. I had a 2001 that looked similar, but it had a tower. The engine is the same as my old 01 and it ran great. I'm pretty sure he would be satisfied with the power. Price is probably about right. Looks like it needs some taillights. I would change the prop back to a brass one as well. I know nothing I said probably helps but I felt compelled to respond after your second post haha.

[WHammond]

I'll bite. Note I am no expert and have absolutely zero experience with the 90s tige inboards (still have a '92 supra comp at the moment), just sharing my thoughts and opinions so take everything with a grain of salt.

My first question would be, what is he trying to do with the boat? Wakeboard? Surf? Ski/Slalom? Float around and drink beer? Cruise around with little kids, etc? And following that, if he is wakeboarding, surfing, or slaloming, how intense/into it does he want to be?

I have found it is best to determine your needs, and then find a boat that will meet them and consider each and every one of your needs while you look.

If he wants to wakeboard and/or surf, that means adding a tower, likely perfect pass, and ballast. Considering its an inboard and not a vdrive, he needs to look at where the future ballast would go (if he has room to hide it somewhere in the back, ski locker, and bow, or if it would have to sit on the floor). Also he needs to note that that particular boat does not have a ton of freeboard towards the stern, therefore you probably won't be able to weight it to oblivion (but you probably wouldn't be able to anyways, based on available space). If this is his intention, consider the costs of adding all of these items and maybe compare it with spending a little more money up front for an older v-drive?

If he wants to ski/slalom, it should be fine for that as is. Note with the ski pylon location, people sitting in the rear bench will be out of the question of course. If he is really into slalom, he might be best looking for a smaller 19' competition ski boat (but that of course would cut down on available passengers).

If he wants to sit around and drink beer with friends or pull little kids on tubes, it'll satisfy those needs and should have more power than he would ever need. From a water sports perspective, that boat is an all-around boat that could do everything, but not one single thing exceptionally well.

Getting back on point to your original question, I think the price on these relatively older inboards is first and foremost directly proportional to the condition it is in, and how it has been maintained and secondly, what newer features have already been added (e.g. tower, perfect pass, upgraded stereo). He needs to check that thing up and down and sideways, and if he is unfamiliar with inboards, get someone who is to check it out. Look for stress cracks and any kind of hull damage. If you notice something swapped out or odd, check out the components that go with it (I really doubt that SS prop is stock, check the strut, shaft, etc for signs of the PO hitting something). Looking at the pictures, aside from re-oiling the teak platform it looks like its in pretty good shape from the outside. The trailer of course needs taillights, and note that it's a single axle for (i'm guessing a relatively light) 21' boat. If he will be towing the boat all the time, may need to consider a tandem axle. It may not be necessary, but at least consider that as a potential future investment.

Mechanically, GM 5.7s are all over the place so he will have many resources for parts, and help on it. Since it is an direct drive, it'll be easy to access and work on. Considering its at a dealer, I would try to get in touch with the previous owner and talk to him about how it has been maintained and what all has been done to it and at what frequency. If he test drives it, drive it at every possible RPM and listen to the drivetrain and try and pay attention to what the boat is doing and how it is acting in the different stages.

One last note: I don't know exactly when tige switched to all composite construction, but if this boat has wood floors/wood stringers, make sure you check those things out. Feel for soft spots in the floor and see how sturdy those motor mounts are. (This plagued the older supra's before '92).

All that being said, $10k sounds pretty fair to me as long as everything checks out and there are no significant problems with it. Considering its at a dealer, I would think they would list for a seemingly higher price rather than a fair one, just something to consider.

[kko]

They are show skiers. So they do a lot of skiing and bare footing. No wake boarding or surfing. Thanx for th replys fellas.