What do I look for?

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Bigear

New Member
Dec 21, 2019
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I am considering purchasing a 1989 440 aft cabin with Caterpillar 3208 diesels with 1700 hours. We have an inspection and sea trial set up. Can anyone suggest specific problems to look for with this particular Make and model?
 
I can’t help with specific items to look for on that model, but the inspection process helped me out a great deal. I asked questions about every system, and what is the normal maintenance for that system, etc. The mechanic that did my engine survey also went over the maintenance records and explained what was normal, what was not normal, and whether that was typical or not. I would recommend you get the maintenance records ahead of time.
 
Yea what Todd320 said about maintenance records. If they cant be produced.........seriously consider walking away.
 
Maintenance records are always nice, but on a 31 year old boat it’s not likely that they’ll be complete or accurate unless it is a one owner boat and that owner was very diligent about preserving records.
A complete survey on the boat and systems with a separate engine survey by either Caterpillar or a good diesel guy who knows Caterpillars would be what I would do.
If everything gets a clean bill of health you’re good to go.
 
Bigear, one consideration with looking at any aft cabin boat is how easily you go up and down stairs.

I'm in my early 70's and 10 years ago when we were looking for a bigger boat we wanted one that was basically on one level so we wouldn't have to navigate stairs.

Another consideration is if you are in an area where you go through locks, aft cabin boats make that more difficult because there's no easy way to attach fenders in the aft half of the boat.

When we were boat shopping I found a Bayliner 4588 that I really liked but there was no walkway or bowrail in the back half of the boat. It just wouldn't work for our style of boating.

Good luck with your search.
 
Do you have any advice for someone in my position... I’m hoping to buy an 1988 Sundancer 268 from a local individual. How could I get it inspected before purchase? I’m new to the forums and this was the first place I went for information.
 
Dean Bibb said:
Do you have any advice for someone in my position... I’m hoping to buy an 1988 Sundancer 268 from a local individual. How could I get it inspected before purchase? I’m new to the forums and this was the first place I went for information.
Click to expand...

Google marine surveyor in your area - then check reference - Hull survey is very important - they will check for moisture in the transom, stringers and deck - a good marine mechanic can do a compression and/or leakdown test on the motor and assess the condition of the outdrive as well
 
Dean Bibb said:
Do you have any advice for someone in my position... I’m hoping to buy an 1988 Sundancer 268 from a local individual. How could I get it inspected before purchase? I’m new to the forums and this was the first place I went for information.
Click to expand...

Assuming you are in the US, go to the websites for NAMS and SAMS and find lists of “qualified” surveyors in your area. Call them and get a sense of what types of boats they survey. You’ll find some that do only sailboats, some that specialize in steel hulls, some that focus on wood or composite boats. You’ll also find some who survey a lot of late 80s Sea Rays.

Some surveyors will also do rudimentary engine surveys, but you may want to hire a separate mechanic to fully inspect the engines.

Also, carefully read and understand the surveyor’s contract.
 
You can post your location and ask if anyone on this board has recommendations in that area.
The guy who surveyed my current boat was recommended by boaters local to me after I posted on another forum.
 
Thank you one and all for the replies. I will follow your advice.
 
Dean Bibb- Typically you have an agreed upon sales contract with the seller contingent upon successful Survey. The survey is paid for by the buyer. The results of the survey may lead you to walk away from the purchase or further negotiations on the final sales price.
 
One could argue that maintenance records mean that the owner couldn't do anything for himself, and therefore didn't spend near the time fixing, inspecting, cleaning, observing, etc, and their only sin was not to write everything down. I wouldn't pay someone to change an impeller, belt, plugs, filters, and that sort of thing, but my boat has them done 3X more frequently than the recommended maintenance schedule.
 
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