Need help...Buying FIRST boat!

[BaylinerCapri5.0]

Hey everyone...
I know you're all probably going to laugh at me but could you let me know if this boat i'm buying is a good deal...
Oh, BTW, My name is Adam, I'm 23 & poor! http://free.***boat.net/ubb/smile.gif
The Boat:
1987 Bayliner Capri 5.0L 16 foot Bow Rider.
Its got a Chevy 305ci (5.0L) V8 inboard.
Comes with a galvanized trailer.
Runs well...only a couple problems:
(1) the pump that brings up the propeller fell off the mount (wood is a little rotted out) so it has to be mounted again. (looks like an easy fix)
(2) the upholstery is cracking (not TOO bad)
Some positives about the boat:
(1) The price...only $950 w/ trailer.
(2) I checked as much of the boat as possible and the floor is very solid, it seems the only spot w/ rot was where the pump was mounted in the rear. But I think that will be easily replaced.
Now for the questions:
(1) does this seem like a good deal?
(2) is there anything else i should check for?
(3) i was told by one person that Bayliner makes crappy boats...is this true?
Please remember i'm poor...
I just wanna cruise the bay...not go on rough seas or race the thing or anything.
INPUT PLEASE!
Thanks In Advance.

[flat broke]

Well, first of all, this is a Jet forum so of course we're biased. None the less I can empathize with your situation. After getting out on my own my brother and I went together on a 20' Ranger Tri-Hull for our first boat. Things are quite a bit different now, but I have learned a lot of valuable lessons. #1 lesson.... Do it right the first time. Odds are your $950 bayliner has a drive that is questionable, interior that needs $$$ work, so on and so forth. By the time you are done getting things reliable the boat will have pulled a couple grand that you didn't have out of your checking account. BOAT=Break Out Another Thousand... IT IS TRUE.
If it were me knowing what I know I would save my $$ to buy a better project boat. The worst potential problem with a Bayliner is that even after you have spent $$ to straighten it out, it will be worth less than comparable boats. Find some folks to go to out with and help them out with gas etc while you bum around on their boat. Save your $$ and buy something you WANT, not something you can afford.
After all of this if you still want to buy something for $950 bayliner or not, pay close attention to the drive unit (it costs more than you will be paying for the boat if it goes bad). Also get under the boat and check for cracks etc. I guess what I'm trying to say is look at everything more than once and have the guy take you out for a ride (thats where the gremlins will show up).
Good luck,
Chris
Used to be 23 and poor with a lame boat
Now I'm 27 and poor with a better boat (well, building one).

[BaylinerCapri5.0]

Thanks for the input Chris...
One of my friends knows a boat mechanic, so I think I'll have him come out and look it over, maybe even come for a ride on it.
The only way I'll buy it is if he tells me that it's safe as-is, or just need MINOR work to be used simply for cruising around the bay from time to time.
I just hope it checks out OK cuz for this price i can barely get a new row-boat...lol.
Thanks Again,

[fat rat]

Hey man, my mail lady down here in Maryland has a 70's Nordic jet for sale....she's asking $1000. The boat needs some work, but I'd rather see you waste your money on a real boat than a Bay Cruzer....besides I bet you can pick up more chicks with a jet....than I could sell you one of my "jet boat clubs".

[Brendella]

I would walk away from a boat that is that cheap. first you looking at price ,this is not a cheap hobbie, second you will spend at least a couple of grands truing to take care of it so you will be safe in it. As for the rotting it is a sure walk away from it it were me.Save the money keep looking
two more things:
the best comes to those who wait.
you get what you pay for.

[froggystyle]

Nothing in boating costs $950. Let alone a boat and trailer. Any boat in solid running condition, with a solid trailer is worth $2000. If someone is selling it for less, odds are very good he doesn't want bad karma when the outdrive falls off of the rotting transom.
Save a couple of months cash, and buy a much better boat for $2000. You will probably be able to find an asthetically challenged boat that someone has just dumped a new battery, starter, hyd pump, etc... into. He can't believe he is selling it for $2K, but there you go.
Not to mention it is coming up the end of the season, and boats will be plentiful and cheap.
Hold off a couple weeks bro, trust us on this one.

[old rigger]

Never, ever, buy a boat (Bayliner) that was layed up with a chopper gun.

[Terrible Buddhist]

We are your friends here...and my motto is 'friends don't let friends buy Bayliners' or this is your brain http://free.***boat.net/ubb/smile.gif this is your brain on bayliner http://free.***boat.net/ubb/frown.gif any questions?

[Heatseeker]

Like Flat Broke, I went in on my first boat('75 Tahiti Tri-hull 120 I/O) but with my best friend. It was in pieces. I ended up footing the bill for the rebuild(my friend lost his job 2 weeks after we picked up the boat). 'Our' $500 tri-hull became my $2500 Visa bill. After all the work, it was old, slow and looked ratty(the interior was wasted).
Finally, after threatening to sell it, my buddy bought me out(at a $$ loss) so I could buy what I really wanted(a jet boat).
The moral of this story is: By what you really want first. Don't settle for anything less. Because you'll spend alot of time and alot of money and you'll never be happy with it.
And like Froggy said, the season will end soon(for some of you http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif) and the boats will be plentiful and as cheap as they get!

[riverlover]

SO right Old Rigger. I say never buy a boat that is sold at a warehouse store (like Cosco). Save a little more and get a big block jet. The ladies will love ya for it!
RL