Put in an offer

[ruwallydog]

My wife and I went to look at a 2001 340 w/200 hours this afternoon which resulted in us making an offer to purchase which the owner accepted....contingent on a survey, and sea trial. Inside the cockpit and cabin the boat was reasonably clean but the outside was a mess.

Owner agreed to provide a full detail/wax, new canvas (full), & new bottom paint. Overall I am pleased...pending a good report from the surveyor.

One question I had was that there were some cracks (spider web) on the corner of the transom, about a foot above the swim platform. When I ran my hand over the area which was about the size of a volleyball I could not feel anything. So it seems the cracks were below the surface of the gel coat. There was a 2000 Rinker about two boats away and it had the same cracks only larger in almost the exact same spot. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks for all of the help.

-kurt

[jjlovett]

Depends where on the transom - could be a dock bump or just crazing... Hard to tell without a picture. When you have the survey done, he (or she) should be able to tell if there's any moisture intrusion with a moisture meter. We have two spots on our 2005 FV 270 like that. One was a dock "kiss" and the other appears to be stress (its actually in the cockpit around the 'glovebox' with the lucite cover). I'm going to look into having them repaired this spring but will not go "crazy for crazing" as it appears mostly cosmetic at this point. Any thoughts to the contrary?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazing

[alswagg]

You say the cracks are above the swim platform.  If this is so the stress crack is not in the transom.  The platform on a 342 is bolted at the the seaming joint.  The cracks are most likely in the deck at the walkway.  This is a common area not to worry.  If you could submit a photo I can verify.   Note the transom is located where the drives are attatched and are tied into the stringer system.  Al 

[ruwallydog]

Al,

You are correct...transom was incorrect. The cracks are in the lower left hand side just above the swim platform and next to the area intended to hold the four fenders. Sorry...struggling with the technical terminology a little bit.

Thx

[alswagg]

No problem,  the cracks you are seeing is not abnormal.  Sometimes these can be also be caused from the stern corner hitting the dock or a piling.  IE; turning before enough room to clear, or a hard hit while docking.  I would not worry to much, but if you can get the price down a little bit more,  more power to ya.  Good luck  Al

[TimM]

Congrats on the new boat Kurt!  Everyone is getting a boat.  I need to get moving!  I am taking my wife to the Detroit Boat Show for Valentines Day hoping she gets the bug for a cruiser.  Plus I want her to get sticker shock so that when I "discover" that used boats are  alot less she'll think we are getting agreat deal!

[jjlovett]

Tim - that's the route I played. Worked like a champ. Didn't hurt though that I agreed to retire from the Marines at 20 years rather than 30... But look what an awesome "retirement gift" the family got?!?!

[TimM]

That is a very nice retirement gift

Thank you for defending our nation for 20 years!

[ruwallydog]

Tim,

Too funny....took my wife to the Chicago Boat show in January and 1 month later have an offer to purchase. She definitely has the bug now! This is an excellent forum with great insight and great people. Saw a lot of different boats from many manufacturers, but I really pushed for a Rinker based on the support I knew I could count on from this site.

The good news/bad news is that for every one of us that wants to buy there are two trying to get out. Best of luck in your search and I will be watching for a positive update from you after the show.

Best!

-kurt

[TimM]

This is an excellent forum with great insight and great people.

I haven't been here long, but I agree!

I have also been very happy with Rinker in the past.  I bought a new 1988 Captiva 186 and always thought it was a heck of a boat for the money.

I have my choice of make down to Rinker, Regal and Searay, but leaning pretty heavily toward Rinker.  The Regal cruisers do have a cool sunpad on the bow though! .