Well, I was hoping to have better news. This past Saturday I was scheduled to do a sea trial on a boat that I was contemplating buying (a 1994 Crownline 250CR, 7.4L Merc, Bravo II outdrive).
They got the boat in the water, and the engine fired up & sounded pretty healthy. Unfortunately, they couldn't get the outdrive to lower. It didn't sound like anything mechanical was failing. It sounded like the mechanism to raise/lower the drive wasn't activating. The owner wasn't there (he is out of state). The person who is acting on the owners behalf seemed to think it was something electrical, possibly the switch that activates the mechanism that raises/lowers the outdrive. A mechanic wasn't going to be available until later in the day, and I wasn't able to hang around & wait for them to get to the bottom of whatever this was.
I should find out tomorrow what the problem was. I haven't put a deposit on the boat, and didn't have to pay any hauling fees. They are willing to do another sea trial. All this being said, should I walk away from this boat? Could this possibly be an indication of more trouble to come? I really like the boat, but I don't want that to interfear with my objectivity.
Any and all feedback is appreciated,
-Ed
They got the boat in the water, and the engine fired up & sounded pretty healthy. Unfortunately, they couldn't get the outdrive to lower. It didn't sound like anything mechanical was failing. It sounded like the mechanism to raise/lower the drive wasn't activating. The owner wasn't there (he is out of state). The person who is acting on the owners behalf seemed to think it was something electrical, possibly the switch that activates the mechanism that raises/lowers the outdrive. A mechanic wasn't going to be available until later in the day, and I wasn't able to hang around & wait for them to get to the bottom of whatever this was.
I should find out tomorrow what the problem was. I haven't put a deposit on the boat, and didn't have to pay any hauling fees. They are willing to do another sea trial. All this being said, should I walk away from this boat? Could this possibly be an indication of more trouble to come? I really like the boat, but I don't want that to interfear with my objectivity.
Any and all feedback is appreciated,
-Ed