What to look for when buying a tn boat

[redbug]

lets get a list of things a guy should look at / for when buying a used tin boat:
how can you check for leaks,rotted floors, bad transom,
I am talking about a real newby i think this could help
remember this person could be taken without helpful info

I'll start with the title

 

[Bubba]

After I bought my 12' jon, I put it up on stands(solid stands) and filled the inside up with about 6-8 inches of water. Then, Went underneath and circled any leaky rivets I seen. This really wouldn't be practical before buying a boat, but works well to check afterwards.

 

[2007NNBS]

i think the first thing is to look it over and see if the project is to big for you...look for rotted transom and any visible hole...if trailer comes with it check tires and tounge of it

 

[russ010]

I look at ALL of the rivets... I'm looking to see if they are separated, and if they are, whether or not they can be pounded back together.

I also look for stress bends.. I'll get eye level at the transom, and look down each gunwhale to see if there are any bends.. some are obvious, some aren't. I don't mind a little bend, but I usually use these tactics to get down on the price.

Wood on transom is something else I use for pricing - but I'm really looking to see what all it's going to entail to replace it MYSELF - I don't pawn anything out for someone else to fix.

I also like to look for "thin" places on the bottom and up in the bow - depending on the age of the boat. If you rub your fingers over places that look suspect, it will kind of give you an idea of how much abuse it can withstand (really the only reason why I buy heavy gauged boats) I beat the crap out of them on rocks, stumps, etc.

 

[darb79]

Besides looking at the overall condition of the boat, I'm probably going to get called on this one, take a woman who knows you personally (wife, girlfriend, if your really desperate your mother) with ya to check out the boat. A womans intuition is hardly wrong, they will know if you can handle the prospects of a fixer boat, that is they know what your capable of. I can look at a bunch of boats that I think I could tackle and fix up, but my wife knows me, knows my schedule, and she knows how much time she is going to give me. So she makes the decision in the end, cuz if the woman aint happy aint nobody happy.

 

[russ010]

Besides looking at the overall condition of the boat, I'm probably going to get called on this one, take a woman who knows you personally (wife, girlfriend, if your really desperate your mother) with ya to check out the boat. A womans intuition is hardly wrong, they will know if you can handle the prospects of a fixer boat, that is they know what your capable of. I can look at a bunch of boats that I think I could tackle and fix up, but my wife knows me, knows my schedule, and she knows how much time she is going to give me. So she makes the decision in the end, cuz if the woman aint happy aint nobody happy.

Thats good advice... but if I take MY wife, especially after the last mod - she's going to turn down every boat I look at! She already I spend too much time coming up with new ideas and fishing... don't know where she could get that idea :-({|=