My first post is a question...

[Brandon]

First I want to introduce myself, I am a police Officer outside of Charlotte, NC. Recently married with two kids. I absolutely LOVE the water, and the summer boating and everything that goes along with it. Id rather go on the lake every weekend than ever go on vacation, unfortunately for me, my wife is huge on vacation. With all of that being said we are about to buy our very first boat ever, and of course it is going to be a pontoon, We love to fish have family around, and grill out ( Well atleast I love to fish, she thinks they are gross). We are on a budget as we are almost totally out of debt, 2 cars still left to pay for so we dont have alot of money to spend

I have been on this site for 3 days now and Ive read alot of post and I trust the opinions of the people here. I am looking at a 2000 19' ft. Voyager w/ trailor - $7400. After looking at NADA I dont think it is 19ft. so it is either 20 or 18, It is the guys wife posting and I think she had it wrong but I forgot to ask him. The people who have the boat are appear to be very good people as we have talked to them quiet often, and they have been very open about telling me any informtion I want to know about the boat. The boat has no tears in the seat, no carpet tears and no stains the boat seems to be in very good physical condition no rust spots no weak or water spots on the wood underneath the deck. The engine is a 60hp Mercury 2 stroke and when I seen the inside of it, it appeared to be in tip top shape it was very clean. The owner said he would be willing to take me and my family out in the boat in order to see if we like it, he tried to run water through the engine to let me hear it run by apologized because he wasnt sure how to do it, and was afraid to ruin his motor which I can respect. I have talked them down to $6,500 and I am going to offer them $6000 for the boat. Do you guys think this is a good buy with the limited information that I have been able to give, or is there anything that you know of I should look out for, or anywhere else I should look.
I really appreaciate your input and I look forward to reading your responses.

I apologize my post was so long

[Ghost Rider]

I can not stress enough how important it is to go for a ride on the boat. Ask him if it would be ok to have the boat checked out by a mechanic. It will be worth what you have to pay for an hour or so of time. Then and only then make an offer to purchase. I have seen many of outboards run fine on a hose in the driveway but put them under a load and thats when you find problems. Jumping out of gear, Not shifting smoothly, Prop slipping, These are just a few things to look out for.

[slingshot]

From one LEO to another, welcome. Looks like a pretty good deal to me but I would take the seller up on the test ride idea. Take it out for a good long run and bring your cash and a cooler of beer with you. The cash to show the seller you mean business and the beer to make the test ride more fun. By a long run I mean about an hour. Tell the seller that you intend to take the boat out that long and if you like the boat you intend to buy it today. Remember, most money boat owners end up spending on there boats for repair is in the motor. If you buy it, tune the motor up first thing and fill the tank with fresh gas. Good luck.

[Brandon]

Thank you for your input, we are currently trying to work out a day to where we can take it out on the lake. I will be sure and bring the beer with me, I really feel pretty good about it and it really appears the guy has really taken good care of the boat. Anything to be scared off about a 2 stroke? My uncle who works on boats says he would only have a 4 stroke, but I assume that is just personal preference.

[HandymanHerb]

Welcome, glad to have you on board!

2 stokes are fine, the newer ones are better or just as good as 4 strokes, are lighter and faster just ask LakeRunner he just switched from a not to old 4 stroke to a new E-Tec 2 stoke and he loves it.

20 should be the smallest you go with,well that depends on the lake you going to be in the most if the time too, a few lakes the smallest you want to go to is a 22 because of how rough the lake gets.

Also with a 2 stroke no oil changes to do, except for lower gear case.

[LTB Racing]

I can not stress enough how important it is to go for a ride on the boat. Ask him if it would be ok to have the boat checked out by a mechanic. It will be worth what you have to pay for an hour or so of time. Then and only then make an offer to purchase. I have seen many of outboards run fine on a hose in the driveway but put them under a load and thats when you find problems. Jumping out of gear, Not shifting smoothly, Prop slipping, These are just a few things to look out for.

Welcome

The advise above by GR is right on....and if the seller wont let you have it cked out...run away. Good Luck

[curtiscapk]

That sounds like a helluva deal. Test ride for sure. Forwards backwards fast slow... You get the picture..

Oh wait DONT FORGET THE PICTURES!!!!

[mike]

Welcome to the forum, is this a two or three log boat? I have a 1999 voyager 21' three log pontoon and it has been GREAT... a 60hp motor is a bit small, IMO but if you only plan on cruising around and maybe pulling a tube it should be fine. I agree, take it out on the lake before you buy it, see how it rides, how deep it sits with the normal number of people you want to take with you, how fast it goes, how well it runs, etc... Don't be afraid to walk away if it has problems, there are lots of pontoons out there!

[dockholiday]

Actually think the 2 stroke is an advantage on a used boat. One less thing to worry about, like did they do the winterization every year?
The four stroke are really good motors and a little quieter these days. The good thing the 2 strokes have advanced with them over the years. Personally, I like the two strokes , but if I found a boat I really liked that had a 4 stroke, I would go for it. Sound like a good entry level boat. For the most part, toons seem to be holding their value well, as more people are discovering the toon lifestyle is great.
doc

[Brandon]

Mike is is 2 toon, and Doc they say that they did every year. I think they are pretty good people so I feel pretty confident that they have.

I appreciate all of your guys responses, as I am sure if this one falls through I will have many more questions.

[ROLAND]

Brandon... only suggestion I would make is when buying a 9 or 10 year old boat, once you decide that this "may" be the boat you want, have the motor checked out by a certified boat mechanic. Believe me, the amount you would be out for just one hour of the mechanics time will be worth it. After all, what's hangin on the back of the boat makes up darn near 50% of the cost of the boat, and you don't want to spend 6 grand on a boat and then have to turn around in 2 or 3 months and have to invest another 6 or 7 grand in a new motor.... much cheaper to have it checked... just my opinion...oh, and welcome to the club.

[WaltF]

Just wanted to say, I salute you sir for the job you do!

[pcryer]

Not LEO but CID clerk for what it is worth...If you could find a triple toon that is priced in your range I would suggest that over the double. We had a family member that had a double and swamped it a couple of times. It scared him so bad that he sold the boat and never looked back. Several years later we came across a good deal on a triple toon and took a test drive. The difference was amazing. The boat is sitting in our driveway now Just a thought that you might want to consider. No matter what you decide on, welcome to the forum and keep up the good work! Thanks for all you do and all the sacrifices you and your family make!

[Brandon]

Thank you very much for all of your suggestions, as well as your comments about my employment. Its nice from time to time to hear that people appreciate it, most of the time we just hear the opposite.

[badmoonrising]

Lol none of us here voted for Obama, so we are mostly on the side of law enforcement

Thank your, sir