JC,
Only YOU can decide what a boat is worth to you and you need to go and see it in person and determine what is corrosion or damaged as opposed to what is just dirty and will shine like a penny after a little time with the power washer. Up here in NJ, boats are not hanging from davits or sitting on a lift 99.5% of the time...they are usually floating in the salt water or sitting in a marina where they are getting dirty and dusty and afterall the boat is 20 years old. If that one gelcoat crack is the only belmish on the boat, it is in tremendous shape for a 20 year old New Jersey boat. Some guys will only consider a boat that looks like it has been stored in a garage and they will spend season after season looking for that boat. Most of us that actually use our boats seldom have the time to keep them in pristine conditon. I have had more problems with boats that just sat unused...systems are decaying and not getting fixed. Fuel decays, gels and engines get all screwed up by not being run. The best boat you can find is one that is used regularly..the ones that sit are rarely ever "stored" properly. The Grady I bought was dirty and in rough shape..2 gallons of bleach and a weekend of scrubbing and I was out in the ocean fishing..I even brought her home the day after the sea trial which entailed a 30 mile ocean run...after checking the pumps and putting in some fuel, off I went since the seller had run the boat all summer..well some of the summer as he bought a new boat...but it was in the water being used. The boat I bought before the Grady (1988 21 Mako) was stored on a trailer under a cover..it LOOKED in perfect shape until I got it home and started using it...the fuel was old and screwed up..the engine needed a bunch of work as stuff was failing after I started running it, etc...some of the biggest project boats I have owned over the years were ones that did not get much use and sat and corroded/decayed. I have a 36 year old 17' Mako that looks her age as she has been wet-slipped most of her life..she has stress cracks, worn areas, soft sections of the floor (for the last 10 years), etc...some guys would rip her apart and say she is not worth $1,000..but I can climb off my dock and take that boat to sea any day of the week with 100% confidence and she performs just as good as a new boat, but just does not look quite as pretty,but all her systems have been updated and are maintained. I would be more concerned with what I cant see by looking at picture. How dirty is the bilge. How old are the scupper drain hoses. How about the fuel tank..had the deck hatch been kept sealed well to keep water out. Are all the fuel hoses original (non-ethanol rated)..that is the major stuff. Any boat can be cleaned to look good. The 230 I bought is all original and I knew that going in. I can replace hoses, tanks, etc as I have done all that before..a few times. I believe that I got my Gulfstream at a great price for the overall condition of the boat and the newer power on it. I am going to have to spend some time and money to upgrade all the old systems, but once I do that I will have an awesome fishing boat at a reasonable investment..much less than buying a new boat..probably 1/5th the cost of a new one...enjoy your search..this should be a fun time for you. The boat shows are coming up soon..you can go and check out different types of boats and get a feel for different sizes...then go and look for that great deal on a used boat...
