'89 230 cc Might have found what we've been looking for

Chris Nowell

Chris Nowell

Active Member
Nov 28, 2011
1,520
Lake Okanagan, Kelowna B.C.
Boat Info
'05 622 Hardtop w Alaska Bulkhead, 270 Mercury Marine sport inflatable, pulled by a 6.0L Silverado
Engines
4.3 MPI Merc w Alpha I drive, 5 hp 4 stroke Merc aux.
Been looking for one of these that's in good shape forever. Being in the south central interior of British Columbia the pickin's are slim. All the 230's we've viewed on the coast have turned out to have rot issues and the only one in our area has cracks on the transom:smt089. This one may be it!!!! And it's only about 4 hours away. http://spokane.craigslist.org/boa/3856286831.html Wish us luck. They still haven't called us back,:huh:, the suspense is killing me!!!!!
 
Bummer,,, sold it last night. SOMEONE got a mighty fine boat.
 
So, they put a new ad on craigslist with a slightly higher price. They were inundated with phone calls so they assumed it was sold when they emailed us back. Turns out that Kelowna isn't the only place where people waste your time calling about things that they have no intention of buying. So, good luck for us. Hopefully get down there this weekend to have a look. Sounds great, original owner, all documentation, low hours, fresh water only, just sat for the last three years though. Hope that's not gonna be an issue. These boats are just right for our lifestyle. Mostly day use with one or two 10 day cruises in big water each year. http://spokane.craigslist.org/boa/3864592249.html
 
Chris Nowell said:
So, they put a new ad on craigslist with a slightly higher price. They were inundated with phone calls so they assumed it was sold when they emailed us back. Turns out that Kelowna isn't the only place where people waste your time calling about things that they have no intention of buying. So, good luck for us. Hopefully get down there this weekend to have a look. Sounds great, original owner, all documentation, low hours, fresh water only, just sat for the last three years though. Hope that's not gonna be an issue. These boats are just right for our lifestyle. Mostly day use with one or two 10 day cruises in big water each year. http://spokane.craigslist.org/boa/3864592249.html
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being the skeptic that i am this sounds a little 'fishy' to me....to me it sounds like the owner realized he could get more money for the boat and lied to interested buyers like you telling them the boat was sold.....then he relisted the boat at a higher price....why would he do that if this was a simple case of a sale falling through?.....if this were the case he would have simply relisted the add as it was originally with the original price.....

not trying to squash your enthusiasm about the possible new boat....just stating my opinion.....if someone is devious enough to do something like this what is he not telling you about the condition of the boat?

good luck....and just be careful....get a professional survey done before buying....

cliff
 
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Good luck! I shopped CL for probably 8-9 of these before I found my 250 CC. Almost the same boat...........
 
Cliff; Thanx for the advice. I see they've removed the darn ad AGAIN,,, this could turn out to be a scam. I emailed them for a phone number but they haven't responded. GRRRRRR!!!!!!!!:smt013
 
**sniff-sniff**, something's weird. These folks emailed us with their address and phone number and told us they took the boat off CL because they're certain we'll buy it and they are getting way too many calls on it!??. Turns out to be a middle aged fellow is advertising it for his aging father who doesn't have a computer. They did confirm that the father is legally able to sign a contract of purchase and sale and they are in possession of the registration for the boat and trailer. I guess it will be up to us to confirm their identities with the reggy before we proceed to do our survey. The trailer has Washington State tags on it though and I'm wondering how this is going to work for us to tow it back to Canada. May have to do this in two trips.
 
Chris Nowell said:
**sniff-sniff**, something's weird. These folks emailed us with their address and phone number and told us they took the boat off CL because they're certain we'll buy it and they are getting way too many calls on it!??. Turns out to be a middle aged fellow is advertising it for his aging father who doesn't have a computer. They did confirm that the father is legally able to sign a contract of purchase and sale and they are in possession of the registration for the boat and trailer. I guess it will be up to us to confirm their identities with the reggy before we proceed to do our survey. The trailer has Washington State tags on it though and I'm wondering how this is going to work for us to tow it back to Canada. May have to do this in two trips.
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at this point i would not advise you to 'run Forrest run' from this 'deal' but you may want to at least start walking in the other direction.....if you get my metaphore.....

cliff
 
Couldn't resist. We drove down to Coulee Dam, Wa to look at this boat. Structurally it's sound. The bilge, transom area, and cuddy all look brand brand new still. The elderly couple were in fact the original owners and had all the paperwork for the boat since 1989. I guess because the closest marine shop was in Spokane, 87 miles away, there wasn't a lot of regular maintenance done on it in the last 12 years, and absolutely NONE for the last 3 years that the boat hasn't been used. Engine oil was a bit dark but wasn't black, in fact the dip stick was still shiny and showed no signs of heat or moisture. Engine is clean enough to eat off of. The Sunbrella top even looks new and we're told it has only been used a few times since the travel tarp wore out. All the upholstery on the rear jump seats and engine box needs to be replaced due to severe cracking, but the seats, dash, and side panels are still really good and the floor liner still shines. The engine box has signs of rot starting at the base of each of the sides, but this will be a minor fix compared to a transom job. I even stuck the camera up under the engine to get a couple of pics,,,, spotless. On the muffs for a minute the engine ran a wee bit rough but the records indicate that the last tune up was in 2004 and the gentleman admitted the fuel in the tank was probably 3 years old. AND,,,, the trailer is in pretty darn good shape too, except where he tried to "fix" the wiring at the plug himself. So we gave him $8900.00 for the boat and trailer and we'll go back next weekend to fix the wiring, grease the buddies, top up the tire pressures, and hope for the best. First thing we'll do is get the shop to drop the leg, grease the u-joint, change the bellows, impeller, and leg oil, and then service the engine. There's a few small dings in the gelcoat but they can wait 'till the fiberglass shops are hungry for work in December. They did offer us a sea trial but I didn't dare run the poor girl after sitting for three years without any service or fresh fuel. Hope it works out. The Admiral still loves our 220 OV,,,, but she hasn't seen rough weather in it yet. This 230 seems like TWICE the boat, (loa is almost 2 feet longer).
 
LK; Thanx. I tried posting pics as per the "posting pics" thread but it didn't work. My computer skills aren't fantastic. When we went to school we did all our computing on an abacus. Best I can do is post the boat and pics in an ad on CL and provide a link. I'll list it for $100K US so I don't get any calls on it, lol.
 
Finally figured out how to resize photos. Here she is,,, drove down to Coulee Dam Wa yesterday to pick 'er up. The elderly couple was sorry to see her go. Apparently the son had used the boat for the last few years and tried to turn it into a wakeboard boat on a budget. Big steel plate screwed to the floor and holes where there shouldn't be holes. Plus the upholstery that needed replacing was "duct taped" instead and the poor ol' thing hadn't been washed for quite a few years. Thank goodness they got her back before he decided to try to turn it into a submarine!!! Now the work starts. 100_5431.jpg
 
Surprise!!!! Just got the boat back from the local Sea Ray dealer and it checked out perfectly. They did all the service work, changed the impeller and bellows, lubed the u-joint, checked alignment, tune up etc, and it was only $500.00. Now it's down to the top shop for a new camper canvas job. Thank goodness we've still got the little 220 to use for the long weekend.100_5445.jpg
 
Mitch, Many thanx for the advice. That boat next to mine is mine also, a 220 that's for sale. The top on the 220 offers awesome visibility. The problem with a top like this is when we get into severe weather and start taking stuff over the bow, the top tends to act as a stop for the water and it takes quite a beating. I've found the tops that are angled a bit tend to shed water much better. We wouldn't dream of taking the 220 out far from home because it just doesn't feel safe enough to deal with some of the sudden squalls we experience now and again. The 230 however, despite only theoretically being a foot longer, is three times the boat. It will be doing some off shore stuff around Vancouver Island as well as plying the Okanagan Lake. Thanx 4 the input, we'll post a pic of the new top when we pick it up in a couple of weeks.
 
Congrats on getting a great boat! That's about what I paid for mine, only my interior was perfect. What about your exhaust manifolds?? You may want to consider replacing them BEFORE you have an issue. That's the first thing that I did, and mine didn't look so good once I got them off the boat. The elbows were broken inside!
 
I'm looking at a 88 24 sorrento. It s about 3 hrs from me and the owners have been using it on vacation this past week. The pics of it look good. Interior is original and shows well. The blue on the deck looks blotchy. It has; cabin with recently reconditioned Shorelander bunk trailer. 350 Merc Cruiser, Shore power,VHF, 9 channel stereo with sub woofer, CD changer, satalite radio, depth finder/GPS, Porta potty in cabin, cooler, sink, full canvas with mooring and winter cover. Interior/Exterior in great condition, Well maintaned, runs great! In a slip in
 
Olds, I think the '88 Sorrento 24 has the same specs as our '89 230. They're probably the same boat, with a different model number. How much are they asking for it? Got a link to the ad?
 
I spoke to the owner yesterday and I got some more intel on the boat. He had a new jasper long block put in 3 years ago. The seats were recovered recently. I asked about rot and he did tell me that inside the anchor locker had some soft wood. He said they put about 60-80 hrs on it a year. The asking price is $5500. He said he wouldn't go much under $5000.[URL=http://s140.photobucket.com/user/olds72/media/image_zpsb77d57ee.jpg.html]
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