should i buy a boat that sank ???

E

ERICR

New Member
May 29, 2008
9
my husband is looking at a 34' sea ray silverton, very nice boat and well worth the $$ that is asked for it, howevr, the boat sank the motor was "pickled??" i am unsure about buying this, is there any advice
 
I have no idea what a Sea Ray Silverton is.
But if you know what a Sea Ray Silverton is, by all means buy it.
Unless it was really "sunk," then in this extraordinary buyer's market I'd go find a better deal that has never tried to play submarine. Neither Sea Rays nor Silvertons make good submarines.
regards
Skip
 
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My advice - don't buy it.

And Sea Rays and Silvertons are two different kinds of boats. That would be like buying a car that is a Chevy Ford.

You are going to have to assume that all of the electronics and the engine on the boat are suspect. I wouldn't touch it - too much potential headaches if it was sunk.
 
If you would like to replace every single wire, switch and electrical part on board, go for it! Otherwise you will be chasing electrical gremlins for a very long time. Doesn't matter if it was sunk in fresh or salt water. It's going to have problems because water is in all the wiring and the corrosion has begun. The longer it was underwater, the worse it will be. We can talk about mold in the cushions, upholstery and carpet too, that's the easy stuff. IS the hull dry? Maybe, maybe not. In this market boats are very cheap and I'd buy another boat that hasn't been sunk.
 
I don't think anyone here will tell you that you should buy a boat that sunk even if the price was right unless you are in the boat rebuilding business, and even then you would really have to have a great deal to make it worth the hassles and potential liabilities.
 
At the marina I brought my boat to, there was a couple who bought a Silverton that had been sunk and though they thought they got a steal, it ended up costing them way more than the boat was worth, and it still had the stigma of being a boat that sunk.

There are too many great deals out there if you do your homework and are patient.

Barry
 
At least the seller is being honest. I saw a Chris Craft 25' that sank a few years ago. It was priced about 20% below market. I asked why, and the seller told me about the salvage history. I ran like hell. So should you.

The next time I drove by that boat, he had raised the price to market value. I doubt that he told the salvage story to the next sucker err... I mean potential buyer.

I guess there is no marine equivalent to carfax.
 
I guess this is my wifes way of keeping from buying the boat. That was her post. Since I tookk the effort let elaberate a little bit. This boat sank in the marina and was tied to cleats and it only sunk to the bottom floor line and it was noticed by the park attendees with a couple of hours had it raised and they pickled the motors the tranny and the generators. I actually have spoke with the man that raised and pickled it. The cabin is realy nice they went and cleaned all the carpet and dried the hull out but you couldnt tell it was sank from the cabin. Here s the boat for that like to scoff at my wifes ignorance or my lack of teaching eiother way. Its a 1987 Silverton xpress with lots of add ons has the twin 454's and it is a 34 footer hace it by my buddy boat and is for sale for 8600 dollars really guys this boat is reaally nice just ........sank
 
Nice and sank is a contradiction in boats. This vessel will most likely have extensive electrical, powertrain, and structural (dry rot) issues in the very near future. I would not buy the boat at any price. I really wouldn't.
 
Even with nothing on it, base retail is $27K, do you really think they're gonna take a 19K hit for nothing? Sounds like they can scrap it and make more than 8. Id keep looking, the markets too good right now. just my .02
 
I agree with everyone else - walk away and keep looking for the perfect boat. Just out of curiosity - why did it sink?
 
As long as you know the extent of the sinking and see evidence of proper repair, drying out and refurbishment.....and understand that everything electrical that was submerged will have to be replaced at some point, I think I might be open minded enough to take a hard look at it.

The key factors are that is it a Silverton and they typically don't hold their vlaue well. Your "entry fee" is $8600. Base retail someone found was $27,000, which you have to depreciate for the sinking........guess at 25% which gives you a retail value of about $20K. Can you then replace the starters, batteries, a/c pump, bilge pumps, float switches, head system pumps, mascerator pump, water heater, generator, shower sump pump and switch, (if they got wet and if such features are on a Silverton) and get the motors running properly for $11,400 including labor and yard time? Then what about all the other stuff that didn't get wet but that a tired old Silverton will need to have repaired or overhauled. If one engine needs an overhaul, your great buy just became a losing proposition.

While it may be possible to end up ok on this deal; it is one of those that the risk of it going south is high enough that I'd probably just look for a $27K boat that runs and you can survey properly.
 
The responses on this board should give you an idea of difficult it will be to sell it after you buy it. For every person that even bothers to look at, you'll have 25 that will run the other way from any boat that 'sunk'. I like getting great deal as much as anyone else but sometimes, you just have to keep looking...
 
Would you buy a house with appliances that was flooded and had been underwater if it was a good deal?

Probably not b/c u know you would have to spend an arm and a leg to replace just about everything in the house.

I would stay away and spend a little more to get a boat that did what it's supposed to do................... Stay above the waterline.
 
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