Considering buying a Saltwater 311 - What to look for?
 

This the most knowledgeable group of Formula people I have ever known and need your input. I am considering a 311 located in Florida. I am a Great Lakes boater and am out of my element here. I will be having a survey and complete mechanical inspection completed before I EVEN consider buying, but what should I be aware of with this boat. I do know it was stored on a hoist (not in the water). newer engines 2 years old with low hours, drives rebuilt 4 years ago. Looking for opinions based on fact, not speculation, previous experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys (and ladies) ... I greatly appreciate it!!

After buying a New York east coast boat from New Jersey that was run in salt, I would look for another boat. But that is just me and I do not know the condition of what you are looking at or how old it is. I "may be" slightly jilted toward salt boats.....

What to look for? Drive corrosion and this one can be tough. My transom assemblies where ready to leak water they were corroded so bad. But the outside looked fine, it was not until I pulled them that I saw the corrosion and how the transom had been compressed some where the metal had expanded. After removal, I could poke a screwdrive right through the transom assembly the aluminum was that bad. yeah, another year or so and they would have failed filling the boat.

On the drives I had corrosion evident at the end of the gear housing. Pull a prop and look inside that area. The lowers are never coming apart, that is for sure.

Pull some hoses off of the thermostat assembly. Mine looked fine until the hoses were pulled, they crumbled apart.

Pull a riser and compare the wall thickness to a new one. Again, didn't look too bad until I had something to compare it to.

Everything from the carb to the prop has been replaced on mine now, other than that the salt really had no effect on the boat other than some light corrosion on the windshield frame.

Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

Brian

Edit: Clarkston huh, thought it sounded familiar. I was about 16 miles from you last weekend over by Milford visiting family. Small world!

Thanks for the feedback Brian ... Looking to bring a nice 311 into the area up here :+) ... will a mechanical inspection flag these types of engine/corrosion issues ... or is it 100% "buyer beware"?

My 336 came from Marco Island. Had a 3rd party inspect and sea trial. Boat was lift kept and well taken care of. No major problems. Boat was everything seller said. Good Luck.

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Move on, There has been one bopping around on Chicago Craigslist and eBay, will look and see if i can find it,,, But really keep looking your surrounded bye nice ones and don't even know it, be patient

All my boats have been salt water and I've had many !! If I didn't tell you
You would never know .all in the way it was taken care of .
Worked in a marina for 12 years . I've seen more rotten drives and housings
From fresh water than I have from salt

I owned a 311 for 20 years in salt. Gil manifolds lasted 19 years, drives per still perfect. I always flushed. Like others have said, it's all in how it was taken care of.

Find out if the engines that were replace 2 years ago are new or remanufactured. New is better.

As long as it included new manifolds and risers and elbows, then the engine should be OK. Just to be sure, I would run the compression test, cylinder leak test and a cooling system pressure test.

The boat itself may be more troubling than the engine. The firewall bulkhead that separates the engine room from the fuel tank bay is usually the weak point on Deep V hull boats, and that is primarily Formula's turf. Your surveyor should take very specific moisture meter readings in this area. The fuel tank themselves is another source of age issues. If you have water in the firewall bulkhead, then you probably have water sitting in the foam at the bottom of the fuel bay. that water that is trapped in the foam feeds the bulkhead. Water in the foam will also promote corrosion of the aluminum fuel tank.

The bulkhead is attached to the stringers running fore and aft. So if the bulkhead is wet, the moisture may have fed aft into the engine mount stringers. A moisture meter with careful readings can determine if you have any of these issues.

Its all a function of maintenance. In general..those of us in the salt environment tend to be more aware of the effects of the elements than many of our fresh water brethren. you won't find as much wood rot in a coastal boat as opposed to an inland boat...all things being equal. Most of the "rot" organisms don't survive in a salt environment. the biggest thing to look for is whether or not the boat was kept in the water...if it was you can tell because the drives and gimbals will be pitted and corroded. Also look closely at the cooling system and exhaust. exhaust running in salt water must be flushed with every use and even with that anything over 3-5 years old from South Florida is on it's way out...figure to replace it. Cast Iron blocks and heads hold up well if flushed with every use.

Get a survey done by a Florida surveyor if possible. Get references...you want a guy that's fair but knows the boats in his area and knows what to look for.

We tend to take care of our equipment down here because we get to use it 12 months.Knowing that...remember that 4 years here is like 12-16 years in the Great Lakes in clock time. We never have a "lay up" season.