Not to be negative in any way, But, To find a late 80's or 90's Formula without any minor flaw wether it be cosmetic or not will be a real chore, Even the best lake boats, That were used exclusivly in fresh water you will find that you will have to make some investment beyond the sale price, I looked at a lot of them in the winnipisaukee area of NH and looked at several 272's before settleing on the one i had bought.

The vinyl stitching if original on the sunpad especially is a problem area on these years, The imron paint seems to of held up for the most part on these boats but you are usually looking at motors,drives,etc,etc that have upwards of 400-700 hrs on them so there is going to need to be some freshining in those areas.

Yeah, your probably right about that and I expect that all boats need something and will need more down the line.
I'd just prefer that it not be drives/motors/etc. etc. In that case I'd be better off increasing the budget and buying newer. They all consume $$$ and I understand that.

Griz posted a picture on this thread...the boat that I had checked out was missing the glossy finish on the bow. That's what I'm talkin about...

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...d.php?t=133849

At least you have a realistic approach towards the situation, I guess if you can buy it right and make modest dollars upgrades with out breaking the bank that would be the way to go, Or like you said take those dollars, add some to it and go for something newer that will get you by for a while.

But there is no gurantee there either, I have a 2001 and have had to replace a drive and a motor, Now it is on to the leaking transom shaft seals to get rid of the leaking water in the bilge, It is always something.

Really? That stinks. Maybe I should just buy a sailboat.

lol.....

blowboats suck.....

Blowboats............Blow!!!

Glossy 1986 imron. In this picture, you can see my belly button, and the blue wavy thing is the boat cover next to it.

Deb does great work

Did you have too...? I was diggin' that paint job until you said that!