Buying/testing a second hand tender and outboard

kingfisher

kingfisher

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Tomorrow I'm off to meet a private seller of a tender and outboard.
http://www.marktplaats.nl/index.php?url=...n-4-pk-bbm.html
What do I need to do to make sure I don't get cheated? The tender will be in the guy's garden.

I plan to run some soapy water of the tender to look for bubbles/holes. How do I assess the engine?
-Unscrew the spark plug, hold it against the engine block and pull on the starter cord to see if it sparks.

what else?
 
When you've finished running soapy water over his tender maybe you could run some over mine...and bring a scrubbing brush with you...it could do with a clean! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
If the tender inflates hard with no obvious leaks and has no patches, then OK , BUT note serial number and research its age from manufacturer. If manufacturer doesn't have a network of service agents then walk away.

Engines are a different matter - I simply wouldn't buy one without an engineer's report.
There are plenty of bargains around.
 
An engineers report on a 600€ sale? The engineers report will cost at least half of that. It's a 4Hp Johnson.

Hmmm, maybe I should ask a full survey on the 2m40 tender
 
It would seem that some people are just a little out of touch with reality.......... /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
If the engine is modern enough to have electronic ignition, I would mostly worry about corrosion. If its been stored a while, the carb may want cleaning before it runs properly, which would not worry me, if the price was right and the motor looked uncorroded. But it shoud turn over smoothly with good compression.
The inflatable, obviously look for leaks and is it nearly destroyed by sunlight.
Can he prove that neither is stolen/do you trust him?
 
Take the cylinder head off and check that it isn't full of salt in the cooling ways. I bought a second hand inflatable and two stroke from the same source as I bought my boat and both were a disaster. The dinghy leaked like a sieve and the engine casing ruptured due to being almost totally salted up !
 
Well, no easy way here.
Intuition is mainly the game, so, here is my slightly different slant.

How is the communications with the seller? Is he a private seller?
You can tell if you ring, and you have to prompt him to remind him of what he is selling. Just say you are ringing about the boat. If he asks which boat, you are onto a dealer usually.
Can he describe accurately any condition or marks of the boat/engine on the phone. If not, he probably hasnt owned it long, and is just 'getting rid' of it.

When you get to the address, is the house tidy, or rundown looking? Broken cars in the drive, rusty looking lawnmowers in the garden, look for signs of mechanical 'misuse and neglect' at anything you can see.
Engage him in conversation to try and get the history of the boat/engine, how it has been used, how he got it, why he is selling. Get a 'feel' for the seller. Does he care or not?

The equipment should be in its bag when you get there, and definitely feel if the engine is warm. It should be cold.
Ask for manuals and bills of sale, i.e any paperwork. People like me always keep copies.
A good pointer is to see if he is offering the repair it for the inflatable, and the tools and spare shearpins/spark plug/pull cord for the outboard. Good sign if you get these.
See the inflatable go up (first before looking at engine), then you know the pump works. Ensure it is pumped up as hard as the pump will allow. Now bounce the tubes to get a feel for their hardness.
Look at the underside to see there are minimal scrapes and that the underside material is not chafed through to the canvas rovings in the middle of the tube or floor material.
Check the general condition of all fittings like transom connection to tubes, carrying ropes, rowlock fittings, bungs and valves, and towing D ring connections.
Any repairs should not have flaps of repair material hanging.
I am not usually worried by useage marks like scuffing or even rust staining, as these things sit in yacht lockers most of the time. This can be used as a bargaining chip.

Move to the engine, get him to fire it up. If he does this smoothly and knows what he is doing, then he has probably owned it a while. You should be able to see whether the thing is running right. Does it tick over without choke, does it pick immediately on opening the throtttle. Is it peeing a stream of cooling water?
Should also settle down to not smoking after about a minute. Check the drive by putting it in gear. All OK? Now stop it and go back to the boat.

Remember the feel for hardness? Check it again. Even a smallish leak will start to show, as it is likely that you will have a leak in one chamber but not the next, so there will be a different feel.
Now you can get out your 5:1 jar of Washing Up Liquid, and brush it round the valves, and any repairs.

If you feel edgy at any point, then just walk away at the earliest conveniant point.
 
OK, I might be missing something here, but I bought last year a new Seago 240 with inflatable floor for £329 and a 3 year old 4 stroke Suzuki 6hp from a main Suzuki agent, just serviced by him for £425 with a 3 months warranty, now that's just £754 all up.

OK, so Seago is a budget make, but I am really impressed with it, and being new, guess what, I wasn't worrying about leaks!

... and before anyone starts commenting on the fact the 240 will not take a 6hp, you are correct it is rated for 5hp. The 6hp outboard was longshaft & actually an auxiliary engine for my boat, I just purchased it the same time as my tender so I thought I would use it as an example.

I have a 4 stroke Honda 2hp for the tender (I got second hand from Honda dealer for £175)... if you added my seago & the Honda together I only spent £504..

anyway, as you said you were going today... good luck? /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
Tenders are more expensive here on this side of the Channel: few people use them as all the marinas have pontoons. There is no or little second hand market, so no pressure on retailers to cut prices.

We're planning our summer cruise to the Channel Islands, so we will definitely need one. I want to buy one now, before the summer kicks in and everybody wants a little runabout.

After the summer I'll be selling it again so it doesnt take up space in the garage. Again, in Holland, tenders are as usefull as ice skates in Egypt.

The tender is a white brand, like Compass, but should be fine. The engine will in need of a full maintenance. The seller sounds like a nice enough chap.
 
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