232 Gulfstream: Would like to make an offer, but first would like to hear thoughts

[imakevideogames]

Firstly, apologies if this doesn't belong in For Sale/Wanted - seemed the best match.

Would just like to know if anyone has any thoughts on going for it or not before writing a purchase contract...?

I've researched and researched and researched and researched. Gone over the survey 10 times. Read through the 2014 232 owners manual. And read forum thread after forum thread here and elsewhere - and I can't recall seeing a single person regret buying their 232 and most love it. Would love to join them. Mostly concerned what some seasons of disuse during the pandemic may have done to boat and motors.

The listing in question:

Everett Bayside Marine - Used Boats, Service, and Parts in Everett, WA, near Snohomish, and Mukilteo

Everett Bayside Marine is a marine dealer in Everett, WA. We feature used boats, as well as parts, service, and financing.

www.baysidemarine.com

Thanks in advance to anyone offering input!

 

[seasick]

what did the survey say?
Did you do or have a sea trial done?

 

[imakevideogames]

what did the survey say?
Did you do or have a sea trial done?

Thanks for your reply @seasick.

I have not done a sea trial yet but any offer would be contingent on a sea trial and trailer test w/ boat loaded.

Survey said:
Valued at $129k for hull + engines + trailer (current asking price is $120k)
No major problems - much in above average condition, some portions in typical condition.
Engines were compression tested (no problems) but were not started or surveyed individually

--

B. DEFICIENCIES NEEDING IMMEDIATE ATTENTION:
Found: No deficiencies needing immediate attention sighted.
C. OTHER DEFICIENCIES, NOTES AND COMMENTS
Found: Renew anchor shackle.
Found: Evidence of seawater weeping from various exterior fittings.
Recommend: Rebed all exterior fasteners to prevent moisture intrusion to the vessels core.
Found: Various unsupported wiring. Support wiring at 18” intervals and maintain protected from
damage. A breaker above the battery for the stereo is unlabeled.
Found: Fwd. raw water intake tee fitting made of pvc plastic. It is recommended below waterline
fittings be made of bronze and rated for below waterline use. Remove faucet gate valve and replace with
secured 90-degree ball valve.
Found: Auto pilot displaying set up wizard.
Recommend: Verify connectivity to autopilot computer and hydraulic pump.


--

1. HULL STRUCTURE
--
Condition: All accessible strength members were visually inspected, and percussion sounded and are in
good condition. No previous repairs sighted. Weeping and elevated comparable moisture readings adjacent
to various fittings and fasteners typical with Pacific Northwest moorage. Rebed fittings and fasteners using
a marine type of sealant and secure to tight. Less than typical FRP nicks, scratches and gelcoat crazing for
vessels age and service.


2. MAIN ENGINES
--
Note: A mechanical survey including compression was conducted by Bayside Marine with satisfactory
results. Engines appears in 2013 condition with less than normal operating hours for engines age and
recreational service. Engines not started during survey.

 

[seasick]

The survey sounds pretty good, As I read about the weeping fittings, I said to myself that the hull must be wet. At first nothing was mentioned but later on the surveyor mentioned typical moisture around hull fittings. That made ne feel better about the survey.
Were all systems and components tested? Did you get a look at canvas, isinglass etc. All those 'little' things ' if deficient reduce the value.
Electronics like MFDS, radio etc should be tested and their age taken into consideration.
An oil sample should be inspected for each power head and importantly each lower unit.
The surveyor may not do those kinds of tests.

Good luck with the process.

 

[imakevideogames]

Great, thanks much for your thoughts @seasick.

Yeah, good point - I did not see where the surveyor had inspected oil samples for either the powerheads & lower units.

As for the rest was well covered by the survey and my own inspections - nothing remarkable.

Thanks again for your thoughts, planning to move forward.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Did Bayside Marine do the survey or just the compression check? If the answer is Yes to either question, and especially if it's Yes to both questions, I'd hire an independent surveyor to double check everything and make sure they're being honest and forthright. An independent survey can be done for less than $1k and if you're paying $120k for the boat as well as 10% for sales tax, the extra $1k spent on a survey is money well spent in my opinion. I'm honestly not a huge fan of BM, my uncle and I looked at a 21' Arima that was being sold by them a few years ago. We wrote up a contingent offer based on a favorable sea trial run, took the boat out and it was much too jarring and uncomfortable for us, so we ended up passing on the boat. That being said, the sales associate was quite pissed off at us and said that we took advantage of him. Not sure how that was possible as they have their own lift to put the boats in the water right in front of their business and we were out for maybe 15-20 minutes before we realized it wasn't anywhere close to the right boat for us. I don't recall the name of the sales associate and it's quite possible that they don't even work there anymore, that being said it definitely left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth for them as a business.

I live near Everett and prefer going to Harbor Marine instead, and Jacobsen's in Edmonds is a Grady White dealership that has done maintenance on my boat before without any issues. I'd maybe give Jacobsen's a call and see if they have any input on the boat at question and/or if they could recommend someone to survey it for you. I'd also recommend reposting this question in the General Discussion part of the forum as you'll get more opinions and responses there as the amount of traffic in the For Sale section of the forum is quite a bit less. I always buy my boats on the east coast because I'm cheap and don't want to spend double the amount of money out here or more just because of the convenience factor. I bought my boat in October of 2021 back in Maryland for $26.5k and have seen two almost identical boats sell out here on Craigslist for $55k-$65k. Lastly, the boat has been listed on Craigslist since at least August 8th, or at least that's the date shown on the ad, of which I'd be making them an offer as opposed to offering their full asking price. My thought process would be that if the boat was actually valued at the $129k, which again is this BM coming up with this number or someone else? but anyway, if it was actually valued at $129k and their new asking price is $120k, why hasn't it sold yet? It's peak season and you'd think that if it was really valued at that price then it would've sold by now, so is there actually something wrong with the boat or is it overpriced? I don't know much about pricing in the PNW here for a 232 Gulfstream, but that would be my first suspicion.

 

[imakevideogames]

Thanks for that @Mustang65fbk. I value the opinion!

That's a great idea, idk why it didn't occur to me to look for the same boat on CL. I watched CL for most of the summer, too. Great idea.

What I know: 232 is the right boat.
What I'm working on: verifying the boat in question is in the condition represented, and get to a fair price for that condition if not there yet.

So, moving forward, carefully.

I live a 5 minute walk from BM, and don't want the boat kept on a trailer or in a slip so assuming this goes through I plan on keeping it inside on a rack there. Pricey but IMO good match for my needs.

 

[imakevideogames]

Did Bayside Marine do the survey or just the compression check? If the answer is Yes to either question, and especially if it's Yes to both questions, I'd hire an independent surveyor to double check everything and make sure they're being honest and forthright. An independent survey can be done for less than $1k and if you're paying $120k for the boat as well as 10% for sales tax, the extra $1k spent on a survey is money well spent in my opinion. I'm honestly not a huge fan of BM, my uncle and I looked at a 21' Arima that was being sold by them a few years ago. We wrote up a contingent offer based on a favorable sea trial run, took the boat out and it was much too jarring and uncomfortable for us, so we ended up passing on the boat. That being said, the sales associate was quite pissed off at us and said that we took advantage of him. Not sure how that was possible as they have their own lift to put the boats in the water right in front of their business and we were out for maybe 15-20 minutes before we realized it wasn't anywhere close to the right boat for us. I don't recall the name of the sales associate and it's quite possible that they don't even work there anymore, that being said it definitely left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth for them as a business.

I live near Everett and prefer going to Harbor Marine instead, and Jacobsen's in Edmonds is a Grady White dealership that has done maintenance on my boat before without any issues. I'd maybe give Jacobsen's a call and see if they have any input on the boat at question and/or if they could recommend someone to survey it for you. I'd also recommend reposting this question in the General Discussion part of the forum as you'll get more opinions and responses there as the amount of traffic in the For Sale section of the forum is quite a bit less. I always buy my boats on the east coast because I'm cheap and don't want to spend double the amount of money out here or more just because of the convenience factor. I bought my boat in October of 2021 back in Maryland for $26.5k and have seen two almost identical boats sell out here on Craigslist for $55k-$65k. Lastly, the boat has been listed on Craigslist since at least August 8th, or at least that's the date shown on the ad, of which I'd be making them an offer as opposed to offering their full asking price. My thought process would be that if the boat was actually valued at the $129k, which again is this BM coming up with this number or someone else? but anyway, if it was actually valued at $129k and their new asking price is $120k, why hasn't it sold yet? It's peak season and you'd think that if it was really valued at that price then it would've sold by now, so is there actually something wrong with the boat or is it overpriced? I don't know much about pricing in the PNW here for a 232 Gulfstream, but that would be my first suspicion.

Oh, also... The answer is - the survey was independent, but it cited a compression check done by BM. They say they changed the oil in both the powerhead and lower unit and inspected it, but I'll have them pull some again after any sea trial. There's no penalty for being thorough - only upside.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I’d definitely make sure it’s a third party surveying company and not just BM telling you what you want to hear, etc. I’m not sure if they’re a Yamaha certified dealer but if they aren’t, I’d definitely have a Yamaha tech check out the motors. I’m sure with only a 100 ish hours on the motor that they should be fine. But as we both mentioned, doing your due diligence is only going to be advantageous. I’d make sure you have a copy of the report or survey for the surveyor and make sure it wasn’t done by BM as that just furthers my suspicion a bit. Sounds as though you’re on the right track though, definitely double or triple check the condition and validity of everything first before buying.

 

[Surely Bassey]

Some really good advice in there....

 

[glacierbaze]

It is unclear, whether you hired the surveyor, or are using a previous survey provided to you by the brokerage or the seller, which would be useless if I were spending that kind of money. They may have a surveyor who gives their boats a 12 or a 20 point check up, much like a certified used car at a dealership.
I was immediately suspicious when someone listed F150 engines as 115HP.

A buyer’s survey is just what it says, a contract for professional services between the buyer and the surveyor. And, it is privileged, or confidential, unless the buyer approves releasing any, or all of the report, to anyone else, including the seller or the broker.
I might want the owner available, to answer any questions the surveyor might have, but they would not be following him around, or looking over his shoulder.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

It is unclear, whether you hired the surveyor, or are using a previous survey provided to you by the brokerage or the seller, which would be useless if I were spending that kind of money. They may have a surveyor who gives their boats a 12 or a 20 point check up, much like a certified used car at a dealership.
I was immediately suspicious when someone listed F150 engines as 115HP.

A few things here. It sounds as though the OP, as mentioned above, hired a surveyor to look over the boat and then BM did a compression check as well as examined the outboards. At least that’s what it sounds like from above, though I could obviously be wrong. Second, what’s suspicious about the engines listed as 115’s when in reality they’re 150’s? I’d be willing to bet that’s nothing more than a typo, considering the Craigslist ad has the correct information on it. Speaking of Craigslist ads, it says there’s a pending offer on it. Imakevideogames did you put an offer down on the boat?

*SALE PENDING* 23’ Grady White 232 Gulfstream twin 150hp Yamaha - boats - by dealer - marine sale - craigslist

*SALE PENDING* 2014 23’ Grady White 232 Gulf Stream Powered with twin 150hp Yamaha only 103 hours ! This boat has been stored inside. Garmin Large screen GPS/Sounder/Radar, Garmin Auto-pilot,...

seattle.craigslist.org

 

[Mustang65fbk]

It appears as though you’ve deleted your comment but likewise about you being on my ignore list as you admittedly said your posts are oftentimes opinions or hearsay as opposed to facts. Either way, I didn’t disagree with myself but from what the OP mentioned before, it sounds as though they had a surveyor that isn’t BM inspect the boat for them. And then BM also did a compression check and looked over the outboards. Though again, this is just an assumption going off of what the OP has said in his previous posts. And yes, I see in the ad on their website that they mislabeled the horsepower in one section as well as the total horsepower. Even though if you look just up from there under “model” it says “F150” and on the Craigslist ad it says twin F150’s. So once again, I’m not sure how that is suspicious as it’s likely just a typo…? Even businesses make mistakes… case in point would be the GW dealership that I bought my boat from. They put the wrong pictures on the listing of my boat, of which they had a 225 Tournament for sale at the same time and accidentally put those pictures on the listing for my 228 Seafarer. A quick Google search to see their reviews and a bit of common sense helped me come to the conclusion that someone posted the wrong pictures for the wrong boat. Definitely not a conspiracy theory or anything even remotely close to that lol.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Alright… good chat as per usual

 

[imakevideogames]

To answer the earlier question, yes the pending sale is me.

Just for some context - I live a 5 minute walk away from BM and the boat - at the new apartments at the Marina. I’m locked on GW 232 for a couple of reasons. For me, the risks moving forward are less than the 100% risk of burning months living in a marina on the sidelines or settling for another make/model. So, I’m in.

Thanks to all for your opinions. I got so priceless advise both here and also in DMs. Glad to be here.

 

[Surely Bassey]

Keep in mind that is anything is wrong and discovered later....Money fixes everything.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

To answer the earlier question, yes the pending sale is me.

Just for some context - I live a 5 minute walk away from BM and the boat - at the new apartments at the Marina. I’m locked on GW 232 for a couple of reasons. For me, the risks moving forward are less than the 100% risk of burning months living in a marina on the sidelines or settling for another make/model. So, I’m in.

Thanks to all for your opinions. I got so priceless advise both here and also in DMs. Glad to be here.

Great news. Hopefully the boat is everything you want and more, and that it's in the condition described to be in. Good luck and post an update as well as some pictures in the General Discussion part of the forum when you get a chance.

 

[gw204]

My $.02. Compression check on a modern outboard isn't nearly enough to determine it's overall condition. You need to hire an independent Yamaha mechanic to do a pre-purchase inspection of the engines. They will have the tools and other equipment necessary to do an in-depth analysis of the engines.

If the oil and gear lube hadn't already been changed, I would say pull samples and send them to Blackstone labs for analysis. Unfortunately, you're beyond that because both have already been changed and IMO the short amount of runtime required for a sea trial won't produce enough abnormal wear in either without some other obvious indication of a problem.

Good luck with your purchase!

 

[imakevideogames]

Thanks @Mustang65fbk and I took it pink salmon fishing last night and today as well - so far it's been great. Both 150's smooth as silk so far.

Yup, a little late for pre-sale @gw204. I can always do it after putting a few more hours on them, but more from a PM angle... Since the engines don't have much time on them and sat idle for long stretches.

-

Really enjoying the stuff on this boat I've never had before... Freshwater washdown is the best thing in the world after you get a real bleeder. Autopilot is a godsend. And the twins for maneuverability in the marina. Starting to get cold outside, will use that diesel heater if I can figure out how to refuel it. Reallllllll happy so far, hope it lasts!

Will move on over to General Discussion now, thanks again everyone .

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Thanks @Mustang65fbk and I took it pink salmon fishing last night and today as well - so far it's been great. Both 150's smooth as silk so far.

Yup, a little late for pre-sale @gw204. I can always do it after putting a few more hours on them, but more from a PM angle... Since the engines don't have much time on them and sat idle for long stretches.

-

Really enjoying the stuff on this boat I've never had before... Freshwater washdown is the best thing in the world after you get a real bleeder. Autopilot is a godsend. And the twins for maneuverability in the marina. Starting to get cold outside, will use that diesel heater if I can figure out how to refuel it. Reallllllll happy so far, hope it lasts!

Will move on over to General Discussion now, thanks again everyone .

Awesome! Did you have any luck fishing? I went over the weekend, got two silvers within about 20 minutes on Saturday, got a single pink on Sunday and then went out fishing with my uncle yesterday morning where we limited out with a silver and 3 pinks. Lost a couple of silvers at the boat and probably threw back 10-12 pinks because towards the end we were trying to catch silvers only.