1990 Used SeaRay 310 Express Cruiser - Thoughts?

PoYBoI

New Member
Feb 22, 2016
2
New England
Boat Info
Boatless
Engines
Boatless
Hi All,

I'm fairly new to thinking about owning a boat but I grew up in the South on 18 footers & tooling around in the lakes down there. I moved to the New England area and a few of my co workers are BIG boaters and have been kind enough to bring me out quite a bit during my time here.

Saying that I mentioned to a co worker that I was thinking about purchasing a boat since I'm now a New Englander. That sparked a conversation where my boss said his ex wife has a 1990 Sea Ray 310 Express Cruiser that she never uses since she moved to the West coast & it's been sitting for about 12-16 months. She had it winterized & it's not out of the water & sitting in a field in East MA. She has said that it ran fine when they took it out of the water & she will take $10,000 for it which seems like a great deal based off of what online tells me. However, most of the boats online are pristine condition and this one (as you can tell from the photos) has a bit of damage on the inside and the console needs some work. If i remember correctly the engine odometers say 850 hours on the left & 910 on the right.

I managed to go take a look at it this weekend and I really like it (even though it's a much bigger boat than I'm used to) & managed to get a few photos.

Question for you all is what steps should I take to get this boat checked out? I've never dealt with winterized boats & the only engines I've started out of the water are outboard engines with a hose attached. Getting it in the water doesn't seem like an option since it's winter time & would cost a pretty penny to do so.

I'm not really looking to flip this for a profit but more looking at it as a way to spend my summers out on the water.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Link to the photos of the boat:
http://imgur.com/a/3kL9m




Thanks!
 
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I think you're going to get what you paid for. It looks rough. There are a lot of water stains in the cabin, rough looking vinyl, and a significant unknown in the mechanicals. If you choose to proceed I suggest a full hull and mechanical survey.
 
agreed. those water stains may mean there is some rot to the sub-structure. definitely get it surveyed by a reputable surveyor. if all that checks out see if you can negotiate the 'wear and tear' into the purchase price. but you will need to find the source of the stains. looks like possibly rebedding the whole topside, including the rub rail area
 
Welcome!

I would definitely try to get it for as cheap as possible. Depending on your knowledge, skill set and what you want to spend of course. Otherwise, I'm apt to agree with some of the others and just walk away.

Good luck!

Remember; "right side" is called starboard and "left side" is called port! Lol!

Take care!

Cheers
 
They normally charge by the foot. I'm pretty sure I paid right around $20 a foot back in October.

You don't say where in Mass. you are, but I used Bob Paine from New England Marine Surveyors to survey my boat in Marshfield in October.

PM me if you want his contact info.
 
Something I've learned (the expensive way) with boats, cars, houses, aircraft etc...

Always look for something in really good shape with records. Always look for something where someone else has already paid the big bucks for updated add-ons. Good example is my Vette. I have a Vette worth 45k, that I have about 85k into it (incl. initial purchse plusmodding/upgrading etc) - I'd be lucky to see .10 - .20 cents to the dollar for all the extra goodies. Same with boats.

I learned when looking at something, let's say your boat - and you start saying "well, I'll have a new interior material installed, I'll get the exterior vinyl replaced, I'll have the canvas replaced, and even though the carpet is crap - it's cool - I'll just put in new carpet". Then if you start saying things like "ya, even though the depthfinder doesn't work, I'll just put in a new Chartplotter that I can upgrade down the road"....you're in real trouble.

If you're looking for something of that age, start with something you don't have to do a ton of work to just to get it where it's acceptable. Go out, enjoy it, and leave someone else's fix all project to them. They're not fun and they put large holes in your wallet that never get remotely re-filled when you go to sell.

As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. A little more money could probably get you a boat that doesn't require a ton of immediate needs. If a little more money isn't doable, then you should really think hard about it - because much like with planes - the cost isn't horrendous up front, but paying for maintaining, operating, storing them adds up very quick.

Best of luck.....
 
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