What is this ?

[Ozz043]

Sorry but I can't seem to post image...it looks like a blue bag through the hull on a Marlin 300? :hmm
Cheers

 

[Ozz043]

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2006-Grady-White-Marlin-300-102080870

Try the link, pic 21 shows the bottom of the hull with a blue "bag" coming out of it. I can't work out what it is....cheers

 

[shadow379]

Its a transducer

 

[Ozz043]

Mmm I thought they worked through the hull, ok cheers.

 

[onoahimahi]

Mmm I thought they worked through the hull, ok cheers.

G'day mate - it does work through the hull - as in drill a hole though the hull... 8)

Note how the hull is molded specifically for transducer placement - there is space for one on each side.

That is a beautiful boat with great options like the bow thruster. Price seems a bit high - how is the Australian dollar these days...?

You know about this site, correct?
http://www.nadaguides.com/Boats

One thing that boat has going for it is that its a northern boat. When shopping for boats in the US, note that all states are not created equally. Most boats in northern states spend there winters in shrink-wrapped comfort. Unlike the wimpy winters you have in Australia, these northern winters are long - my marina opens on 15 April and closes on 15 October. On the contrary, boats in southern states are used 12 months out of the year and spend all 12 months sitting on their lifts in the hot southern sun. My 1994 Sailfish that came up North Carolina last year looks twice as old as my buddies 1996 Marlin from Massachusetts. My boat is on its third set of outboards when my buddies boat still has his original old-tech two-strokes.

Speaking of outboards - make sure you avoid the Yamaha exhaust corrosion issue that occurred for that vintage outboard.

Good on ya for selecting the Marlin for your next boat. What will it cost to ship it to Oz?

Cheers,
-Scott

 

[Ozz043]

G-Day Scott
I hadn't thought too much into the location of a Grady, good point but does winterising create other problems?
I live in South Aus so we get from 2C in winter to 46C in summer here, regularly 40C so she'll have to get used to heat alright
I haven't seen that site before, thanks for the link!
About $30K to import, better if it's on a trailer. Some are importing to sell, I'm importing to fish!
Aussie dollars ok, strong economy here, I'm in no rush to buy

Re- corrosion issues, I didn't think it effected the F250s...?

I was aiming at an 05 model becauseof the 250 four stroke ? and I like the layout changes in 2004
or I'd get an older one with the 250 two stroke, I hear those engines are bullet proof plus I'd save a lot of coin...

Cheers Scott

Nick

 

[Daman858]

If you take care of your boat here in the south, it will look just fine after several years of use. In the north, if you do not properly drain everything that can have water in it, you are asking for trouble with the freezing and thawing.

 

[onoahimahi]

If you take care of your boat here in the south, it will look just fine after several years of use. In the north, if you do not properly drain everything that can have water in it, you are asking for trouble with the freezing and thawing.

I'm just trying to point out some potential pitfalls to our mate from Down Under. Folks around my way have boats shipped up from Florida all the time because their are lot to chose from and they are priced relatively low. On average, these boats have been used twice as much as the same year boat in the North in a harsher solar environment because they are 15 degrees closer to the equator. For example, my 1994 boat from NC is on its second set of combing pads, cushions, and canvas and they are starting to look tired. My buddies 96 Marlin still has his original pads, etc, (although they are looking tired too - they lasted almost twice as long). Also, my boat has about 10 times as many stress cracks as his Marlin.

For winterizing in the North, draining all the water from the standard places is straight forward. If there is water where it is not supposed to be, like in wood coring materials in the floor or transom, the freeze/thaw cycles can accelerate delamination.

 

[onoahimahi]

G-Day Scott
I haven't seen that site before, thanks for the link!

The trick to using the Nada site is to not select any options that are standard for your model. Only select the options you have that actually are options. To figure out what is an option vs what is standard, got to the Grady White site and download the catalog for the year you are looking at.

 

[Ozz043]

Than you both for your input !

I think BOTH have made some very valid points, I am grateful to Onoahimahi for stating the obvious re UV........I didn't think of it..... :goodjob

Like I said temps reached here last year reached 115F....with no humidity...20 days in a row over 104F with night time lows of 91F...HOT !

Unfortunately I'm not in the position to come and spend 6 months holidaying searching for a boat. It's all a compromise really...find one that's been polished every year but the motors high hours and the bilge is a mess.....another has low engine hours but the chairs and all the trim need replacing, basic electronics.....you get the point.

Have you heard of corrosion issues with the F250s, there's not a lot on the hull truth about the 250s, lots on the 225s

Cheers !

 

[onoahimahi]

Have you heard of corrosion issues with the F250s, there's not a lot on the hull truth about the 250s, lots on the 225s

I run E-Tecs but recall a thread here titled "Yamaha Corrosion F250" :

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21710&start=0&hilit=Yamaha+Corrosion+F250

 

[Ozz043]

Ah yes I do remember reading that one...I will get the engines surveyed, not sure whether corrosion of this nature will be picked up in normal survey though...

 

[onoahimahi]

Unfortunately I'm not in the position to come and spend 6 months holidaying searching for a boat.

Doesn't Australia close down the whole month of January for Christmas/summer holiday? Perfect time to come up here and pick up a winter bargain... :dance

(Thinking of South Australia makes me thirsty for a nice Barossa Valley or McLaren Vale Shiraz... 8)

I bought two boats remotely - it is a pain, especially the price negotiation part when you can't see the actual boat. The first one was in 2000 where we bought a 1988 25-ft Trophy hardtop Great Lakes boat and shipped it to Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, where I was living at the time. It was $13K for the boat, $3K to get it from Cleveland to Oakland, California, and $10K to barge it to Kwajalein. We enjoyed the heck out of that boat out there.

The second time was my current 1994 Sailfish with 2006 E-tecs from North Carolina. The boat was older than I wanted but the motors were newer than I had hoped for. Settling on a price before signing the purchase-and-sales agreement was a real pain. I did all kinds of research but there weren't enough boats to compare to and it was priced too high because the owners wanted their repower $$$ back. It took close to 2 months to finally settle on a price.

I decided if I do this again I will do it a bit differently. Once I am serious I will ask the buyer/broker what his best price is and if it is in the ball park I will accept or make a counter offer but not stress too much over it. The final deal will be made after the survey, and the down payment will be refundable based on a satisfactory survey outcome. Part of the survey is a value assessment and the surveyor bases his estimate on a private dealer data base that lists all the past sales of the same model. Thus his assessment should be fairly accurate. After the survey is complete the real negations begin. If the survey assessed value is on par with the initial offer, you know you are not getting screwed. If it is significantly less then the price you initially agreed to, then you are not satisfied with the results of the survey and can walk away losing only the cost of the survey. Assuming you still want the boat you can state your new post-survey offer and decide on a new price. By that time, the owner may be wanting to just get it over with. Similarly, you have to be careful to control your own emotions and not be too eager and overpay for the boat. At this point with my Sailfish - I was in love with it and would have bought it no mater what the surveyor said. I did adjust the price downwards by an additional $500 which the owner gleefully accepted - I think they were afraid I would walk away at that point because the surveyor found so many problems.

Anyway, for the remote buying part, I did everything over the phone or on-line until the day of the survey, sea trial, and engine check out. I flew down for that because I wanted to watch everything take place and didn't want to buy a boat that old without laying eyes on it. I flew home and received the survey in my email later that night and made the price adjustment after a few days.

I used The Hull Truth for the Carolinas region to find the surveyor. You could ask the selling broker to recommend a surveyor to make sure you don't inadvertently pick that one... :lol:

Cheers,
-Scott

 

[Ozz043]

Scott thank you for going to the effort posting, I appreciate it.
Your long distance purchasing method seems very thorough, very similar to how David Pascoe describes in his book. I'm very keen to go ahead with the purchase of a Marlin, wish me luck !

Thanks !