CONTINUOUSWAVE

Give me advice on how to assess a used Boston Whaler 27 Full Cabin boat prior to buying it.

Give me advice on how to assess used Evinrude FICHT 250-HP engines before buying them.

BACKSTORY

I MAY buy a 27 Full Cabin that needs work on the following:

• compass
• teak
• wiring
• fiberglass
• overall cleanliness
• Evinrude 250-HP FICHT engine

Q1: what other elements of a used Boston Whaler boat should be considered before purchase of the boat other than the several I already have mentioned?

Note: I haven't yet had a chance to see the stringers or taken the 27 Full Cabin for a sea trial.

303john wrote:Q1: what other elements of a used Boston Whaler boat should be considered before purchase of the boat other than the several I already have mentioned?

The most important element to assess prior to purchasing a used Boston Whaler boat is the hull integrity.

Also, I have never heard of a buyer calling off a sale because a boat’s compass needed some work. That concern has tp be the lowest possible consideration in buying a 27 Full Cabin boat.

For more advice, read the article in the REFERENCE section on this topic at:

Buying a Classic
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/buying.html

The 27 Full Cabin model is an extremely rare and rather complex boat with many systems, and its construction is much more complex than the typical small open outboard boats of Boston Whaler.

303john wrote:Give me advice on how to assess used Evinrude FICHT 250-HP engines before buying them.

The corporate owners of Evinrude have abandoned the outboard engine market. The FICHT engines have not been made in about two decades. The reliability of the FICHT engines varied with the production epoch. The last series of engines made were reasonably reliable, but whether or not there will be OEM replacement parts available in 2024 or in the future is very difficult to predict.

In assessing the VALUE of the twin Evinrude 250-HP FICHT engine as part of a boat purchase deal, I would not accord them very much value. You should realize that if those engines need to be replaced, the replacement cost of two new 250-HP engine will be enormous, perhaps more than $40,000.

My observation of the used boat market for late 1980's larger Boston Whaler boats that have older twin engines in the 200-HP or higher range: these boats are often available at attractive prices because the value of their engines is very low, and a buyer has to be willing to take the risk of potentially needing a very expensive re-powering with new engines at enormous cost, typically much more than the used boat's asking price.

303john wrote:Note: I haven't had a chance to see the stringers...

Boston Whaler boats use the Unibond hull construction process, so they generally do not have stringers, at least not in the usual sense of that work in boat building.

jimh wrote:...I have never heard of a buyer calling off a sale because a boat’s compass needed some work. That concern has tp be the lowest possible consideration in buying a 27 Full Cabin boat

[The purchase of the 27 Full Cabin is] not [going to be] called-off because of the compass. The only calling-off would be [by my] wife. I'm all in.

jimh wrote:Boston Whaler boats use the Unibond hull construction process, so they generally do not have stringers, at least not in the usual sense of that work in boat building.

I am used to Pursuit boats which have [stringers]. I meant under the the deck and storage areas [of the 27 Full Cabin].