What would you do? Boat/Engine wrongly described.

[Jim@sea]

Having seen a Speed Boat for sale on Ebay I was impressed by the description which indicated that although the boat was 6 years old the original engine had only done 70 hours from new. The boat is on an inland waterway and was fitted with a small outboard, sufficient to achieve the 5 knots where it is, but for my purposes of going against the flow on the Menai Straights I would need to Part Exchange the engine for something 6 times bigger.

Having spoken to an Outboard dealer who does take a PX they would only give me a good price for it if it had all the required documents, ie Service Book History, running perfectly etc., Which the owner assured me that he had. And I was offered £1300 in PX . The one I was buying was £7500.

So I sent off a £250 deposit with the balance to follow on inspection.

Anyway the boat looked OK. So the engine was started and we crept away from the Pontoon. (I did say it was a small engine) Within a few minutes the engine started with the occasional misfire. I have not had an outboard for a few years as all my boats have been Inboard Diesel.

After about 10 minutes, glancing back every time the engine misfired, I wondered on these new fangled 4 stroke engines if the engine had a "Water Tell Tale" and it appeared that the vent was blocked, so mid river we turned round and made it back to the pontoon. Where following a search a pin was found and the vent cleared and the engine re-started with the Tell Tale in full flow.

On reading the Manual it stated that if the engine is run for more than 15 seconds without the Tell Tale indicating a water flow, damage could occur to the water pump, and obviously after a 20 minute run without the water flowing through the pump some were must have taken place.

On my last outboard, new in 1986 looking at the service history no new impeller was fitted until I had it done in 2006.

The only service document (invoice) for the Outboard was a service last year when a new Impeller was fitted. After 70 hours ?
No documents regarding the Engine were available. I took the view that as the engine had not been run since the service last year it should not have had a misfire, and the Tell Tale should not have been blocked. And as the required Engine documents were not available I would not be able to PX the engine for the one I wanted.

So I withrew from the purchase. What would you do.

 

[Dave_Seager]

When the tell-tale jet can be seen it indicates that the water pump is working but the reverse is not necessarily true. If the tell-tale cannot be seen it may indicate that the pump is not working or just that the tell-tale jet is blocked. Since the tell-tale resumed when you cleared the jet it seems likely that the pump was working all the time.

 

[MVP]

Agree about the tell-tale - nothing to worry about IMO

A bit of coughing and spluttering after a long lay up is not unusual - some fresh fuel and a good run should sort that.

Our 2007 Mercury 115 4 stroke says it should have its impellor replaced every three years

 

[DAKA]

Having seen a Speed Boat for sale on Ebay I was impressed by the description which indicated that although the boat was 6 years old the original engine had only done 70 hours from new. The boat is on an inland waterway and was fitted with a small outboard, sufficient to achieve the 5 knots where it is, but for my purposes of going against the flow on the Menai Straights I would need to Part Exchange the engine for something 6 times bigger.

Having spoken to an Outboard dealer who does take a PX they would only give me a good price for it if it had all the required documents, ie Service Book History, running perfectly etc., Which the owner assured me that he had. And I was offered £1300 in PX . The one I was buying was £7500.

So I sent off a £250 deposit with the balance to follow on inspection.

Anyway the boat looked OK. So the engine was started and we crept away from the Pontoon. (I did say it was a small engine) Within a few minutes the engine started with the occasional misfire. I have not had an outboard for a few years as all my boats have been Inboard Diesel.

After about 10 minutes, glancing back every time the engine misfired, I wondered on these new fangled 4 stroke engines if the engine had a "Water Tell Tale" and it appeared that the vent was blocked, so mid river we turned round and made it back to the pontoon. Where following a search a pin was found and the vent cleared and the engine re-started with the Tell Tale in full flow.

On reading the Manual it stated that if the engine is run for more than 15 seconds without the Tell Tale indicating a water flow, damage could occur to the water pump, and obviously after a 20 minute run without the water flowing through the pump some were must have taken place.

On my last outboard, new in 1986 looking at the service history no new impeller was fitted until I had it done in 2006.

The only service document (invoice) for the Outboard was a service last year when a new Impeller was fitted. After 70 hours ?
No documents regarding the Engine were available. I took the view that as the engine had not been run since the service last year it should not have had a misfire, and the Tell Tale should not have been blocked. And as the required Engine documents were not available I would not be able to PX the engine for the one I wanted.

So I withrew from the purchase. What would you do.

Agree with the above on the tell tale, nothing to worry about.

I would have photographed the service history and sent it by email to your PX dealer to ask if it was satisfactory, if not agreed a reduced purchase price or walked away asking for £250 back.

 

[Cashbuyer]

If the boat is really good, get the owner to fully service the outboard, at his expense, and show you proof of the work done with a reputable dealer. Or buy the boat without the engine?
Personally I would walk away/withdraw. Not worth the hassle. There are other boats.