Purchase on hard stand

U

ulrick65

New Member
Nov 14, 2020
14
Boat Info
2000 Sea Ray 370AC
Engines
Horizon 7.4L MPI
I'm looking at a 99 370AC. It has been on the hard stand for a year. Needs a cleaning, but in generally good condition. 960 hours on the 7.4 Horizons.
This is in the north and Winter is Coming.
Looking for advice on how this goes with Survey and Sea Trial when buying a boat like this...have not done it before.
Any thoughts/recommendations on how to proceed?
Thanks.
 
it can be tricky. I bought our 290 from another state during the winter, we put a deposit down and didn't finalize financing (i took a loan) until 2 months later when we were able to sea trial and survey it. It was from a dealer so that made it easier, and the deposit was refundable. Private sales can be messier.

If its the right boat, go for it. If you're on the fence leave it on the market and keep looking as there's a good chance it'll be there if you come back around.
 
You would have to make your offer subject to sea trial and survey. That means the owner must get the vessel seaworthy. Now....there is a chance they may not want to do this due to the expense. If they are unwilling to accept your offer and terms you need to be prepared to walk away. Unless....you can get this boat for a steal and I'm thinking in the $30K range. I would still make that offer subject to survey and at least the surveyor can check many of the systems and check for moisture in the hull and stringers. I would also get someone to do a compression check of the engines and genny and see if they can get cooling water to them to start them. Any service records available would be extremely helpful.

I love the late 90s 370das. They have a superb cabin layout and if I was looking that is one of the boats on my very short list. However, there is so much that could be wrong with this boat. Then again, it could be a gem. Personally, I would be very cautious.
Shawn
 
Thanks for the replies... This boat is actually a 2000 370 Aft Cabin...I put 1999 because I have been searching info on it that way...because it is the 370 style with the 3rd berth...not the 380 style as most 2000's are. Weird...but true.

I have a call in to a guy about testing the engines to find out if that can be done on the hard stand or not. I've seen it done on smaller boats but not sure about this one.

I am not sure where to go with an offer even if I was not to Sea Trial it...hard enough trying to come up with a price if all checked out with the survey and Sea trial. I welcome any other thoughts and ideas... We really like the boat, just nervous about it not being in the water of course.

Thanks
 
I guess it depends where it’s located and how much season is left. Here in the Great Lakes region, season is over, boats are stored and covered. Docks are being prepped for winter. If that is the case make an offer subject to survey and sea trial in the spring. You’ll just have to wait all winter in anticipation of the deal.

if you still have some season left, you’ll need to see if it can be prepared for sea trial and survey. You may however end up in a rush to get it winterized and stored before the snow flies.
 
Decide on price. Make offer. Put in condition you want. If you want to wait until spring for sea trial state so. A survey should be done out of water. Engines can be run on land with water supplied by hull fitting over the water inlet. We store our boat on land and the marina is set up to run engines on land for extended time. Once engines have been run up the mechanic can do compression test. During running he can check out engines for oil and coolant leaks along with raw water cooling inspection. Your sea trial will only be needed to prove the boat handles as you expect and runs to your expectations at various speeds. By the time you do the on land inspection you should know the general condition of the boat. I have seen our marina run large diesel engines for a few hours. Make sure your deposit is secure and you have first right of purchase in the spring at your original offer. The owner will probably continue to accept offers in the winter.
 
We're weeks away from having real "winter" yet. If the marina is still open and you have access to an inland lake you could certainly still sea-trial a boat in November. It all depends on whether or not they can get you into the water?
 
Thanks for replies.

@Stee6043 , I thought the same thing... there is time left if the boat was ready to go... But it has been sitting for a year. It isn't wrapped, so don't have to deal with that... But my guess is there is some work to be done. The owner is in Canada (boat in US) and with Covid he was not able to come down this summer and still isn't. As @Golfman25 said, would likely be a rush to get it back winterized and stored I imagine.

I am curious what others think about what @northern said about the Sea Trial. If I had a survey done on land and the engines and generator checked on land...what would you think about forgoing the Sea Trial? Is that super risky from a boat health perspective?

Thanks everyone...I appreciate the feedback.
 
ulrick65 said:
Thanks for replies.

@Stee6043 , I thought the same thing... there is time left if the boat was ready to go... But it has been sitting for a year. It isn't wrapped, so don't have to deal with that... But my guess is there is some work to be done. The owner is in Canada (boat in US) and with Covid he was not able to come down this summer and still isn't. As @Golfman25 said, would likely be a rush to get it back winterized and stored I imagine.

I am curious what others think about what @northern said about the Sea Trial. If I had a survey done on land and the engines and generator checked on land...what would you think about forgoing the Sea Trial? Is that super risky from a boat health perspective?

Thanks everyone...I appreciate the feedback.
Click to expand...

There is always a risk when buying A boat without a proper sea trial.

We don’t want you to be back posting here in April with a “I just bought this boat and it won’t plane out” or “My engine wont rev past 3,800 rpm” thread.

If the price is right and you are comfortable with the on-land survey, then only you can decide if this is right for you.
 
ulrick65 said:
Thanks for replies.

@Stee6043 , I thought the same thing... there is time left if the boat was ready to go... But it has been sitting for a year. It isn't wrapped, so don't have to deal with that... But my guess is there is some work to be done. The owner is in Canada (boat in US) and with Covid he was not able to come down this summer and still isn't. As @Golfman25 said, would likely be a rush to get it back winterized and stored I imagine.

I am curious what others think about what @northern said about the Sea Trial. If I had a survey done on land and the engines and generator checked on land...what would you think about forgoing the Sea Trial? Is that super risky from a boat health perspective?

Thanks everyone...I appreciate the feedback.
Click to expand...
If after survey, engine run on land you feel this is the boat for you offer to pay the cost winterize the boat after your sea trial if you do not buy the boat; but if you buy the boat get the owner to deduct the price to winterize from final price. Canadians can fly to/from US but not drive. I looked at a boat in Mississippi once the owner had a friend sea trial it with me.
 
ulrick65 said:
Thanks for replies.

I am curious what others think about what @northern said about the Sea Trial. If I had a survey done on land and the engines and generator checked on land...what would you think about forgoing the Sea Trial? Is that super risky from a boat health perspective?

Thanks everyone...I appreciate the feedback.
Click to expand...
Actually, I am of the opinion that the sea trial should be first in order to determine if the boat is even worth surveying. Get it out there and take it thru it's paces. Does it hit its "numbers" -- WOT RPMs, plane and speed? That's cheaper to do than the $800 for a survey only to find out the boat won't get on plane.
 
Unless this is a rock bottom steal, I would wait til spring. Keep an eye on the boat, but who knows, something better might come along. Boat purchases can be a gamble (especially one that has sat for over a year) personal circumstances can change..... why make it overly complicated??
 
ulrick65 said:
Thanks for replies.

@Stee6043 , I thought the same thing... there is time left if the boat was ready to go... But it has been sitting for a year. It isn't wrapped, so don't have to deal with that... But my guess is there is some work to be done. The owner is in Canada (boat in US) and with Covid he was not able to come down this summer and still isn't. As @Golfman25 said, would likely be a rush to get it back winterized and stored I imagine.

I am curious what others think about what @northern said about the Sea Trial. If I had a survey done on land and the engines and generator checked on land...what would you think about forgoing the Sea Trial? Is that super risky from a boat health perspective?

Thanks everyone...I appreciate the feedback.
Click to expand...

Like others are saying you can't really replace a sea trial. You need to get the boat out on her own bottom running to see how she does. There's a whole lottta moving parts that will not be checked in the parking lot. She could have transmission issues, driveline issues, could be under-propped, etc and so on. Shoot, maybe she doesn't even float? :):)

If you have a signed purchase agreement with a broker or marina involved I'm sure they can manage "quick winterizing" after a sea trial. It would just have to be scheduled appropriately.
 
Garwood 003.jpg

You can tell a lot about the condition of the engines from running them at WOT for two minutes during a sea trial. Overheating, leaks and smoking issues show up and these are important. Also, the bottom on a boat that has been out of the water for this length of time is likely to be pretty smooth so you will get an idea of how the props are working and how the hull performs. I would never skip a sea trial.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I have some calls scheduled to discuss it and will see what we can do. Your comments confirm my gut feelings...I am just not comfortable buying an $80k boat without putting it on the water and checking it out.
 
ulrick65 said:
Thanks for the feedback. I have some calls scheduled to discuss it and will see what we can do. Your comments confirm my gut feelings...I am just not comfortable buying an $80k boat without putting it on the water and checking it out.
Click to expand...
So when I bot my boat many years ago, I looked at it in the fall. Then just kind of waited as the season was closing down. Then in Jan/Feb I decided and made my offer -- contingent on survey and sea trial in April. The only thing that slowed us down was the weather in April delayed the survey a few days.
 
ulrick65 said:
Thanks for the feedback. I have some calls scheduled to discuss it and will see what we can do. Your comments confirm my gut feelings...I am just not comfortable buying an $80k boat without putting it on the water and checking it out.
Click to expand...
Not an expert on boat prices but 80K seems high. Last survey in 2018 our boat value was 50K and we have watermaker and new electronics. It has full canvas enclosure that is in good condition. Engines do not use oil and boat runs fine. It has upper and lower helms and all components work well. Only item we had to fix was one cracked raw water hose.
 
northern said:
Not an expert on boat prices but 80K seems high. Last survey in 2018 our boat value was 50K and we have watermaker and new electronics. It has full canvas enclosure that is in good condition. Engines do not use oil and boat runs fine. It has upper and lower helms and all components work well. Only item we had to fix was one cracked raw water hose.
Click to expand...

What year is yours? I am on my phone and can't see your info.
 
spikedaddy99 said:
Post a link if you are comfortable doing that (and there are pictures) I'd love to see 370AC with a 3rd berth. M
Click to expand...

The pictures in the link are not that good. I looked for others online to see it before going to look at it this past weekend. Here's a link to a video of the same boat.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,169
Messages
1,427,728
Members
61,079
Latest member
capeharj
Back
Top