Also I think insurance can become a problem on a boat over a certain age as well, and yeah the only real way is to find a good surveyor and have it checked.

Hell I bought a 3 year your old used boat back in the 90's without a survey turns out it was a lemon. The stringers had complete become detached from the hull. I was lucky a good attorney was able to get the manufacture to stand behind it and replace it but it still cost me his fees.

Great points.

As many on here have found, myself included, a survey is only as good as the surveyor.

Some good, some bad.Takes very little to get that title.

Insurance and financing are both big for older boats.

Many/most are cash deals so only an issue if financing.

If you keep it at a marina they will require insurance which will require a survey.

We almost bought a ‘86 34’ cruiser a couple wks back.
Boat had glass stringers so pretty safe bet structurally, we were cash buyers but……

Add to price of boat:

Survey - $800+?

Insurance - $1500-ish

Dockage - $1500

Etc, etc, etc……

We took the same money and bought a travel trailer and towed it home where it stays for free!

One pretty big issue is if you are talking a performance V, almost all are old in the Finance / Insurance world.

Other then a few cigs and Outerlimts, not many have been made since 2009, meaning 10 plus years old.

Those Cigs and OL's are high price or have high maintenance motors. I think that is why you see some of these 80-130K boats sit for a long time. Needs to be cash buyers and then insurance is still a hard one.

My 92 is still rock solid, it does show some minor age here and there, but people look at it and cannot believe how good the condition is. I have keep it clean, dry and not ran the shiite out if, except now and then. I repowered it this past Winter and still working out a few bugs. I have had the same insurance for 20 years +. I've been looking at 38 TG's and other newer boats. The price, insurance and mods to my dock and lift are starting to add up. I also don't mind some of the bigger power that comes with these, but some of the power packages are ridiculous! And, it runs up the price, big time. I have considered buying and selling the power, and putting in power that is manageable and less troublesome.

For boats with 500 hp or less, and manufactured 1989 or earlier, Hagerty got a very good classic boat insurance. And no, the boat doesn't have to be made of Honduras mahogany.

It could be a Team Scarab.

Make 100% sure you can get insurance on an older boat prior to purchasing

The 2002 is stepped. The 1992 isn't. That would make a big difference to me.

I agree 100%

Too many stepped hulls available out there not to buy one over a straight bottom. Free speed.

beating the dead horse here but it isnt just "old" boats that are prone to major issues. Get a survey done on anything.
And again with the dead horse...but especially if it's a Fountain. If it has the exhaust tips ive mentioned about 50x now....either confirm it has a new transom or run.

If you buy an older boat, look for one being sold by the original owner that does their own upkeep. They'll know all the maint/storage/accident history, if it's been sunk, what/why mods were done, etc. They'll probably even have some orig parts/spares to go with it and orig paperwork too. If it's a friend of a friend, that's even better.

When I got my present boat ~10 yrs ago, it was 20+ years old but was in almost perfect original condition. Orig owner (friend of a friend) really loved it and it showed. In addition to the boat, seller threw in 2 extra sets of nice props, Mercruiser maint manual, cockpit cover, anchor/chain/rope, life vests, throw cushions, first aid kit, flares, etc. All I had to buy was color matching dock lines and fenders.

A good survey is money well spent no matter what. Look for a surveyor who has been working on boats for most if not all their professional lives. Lots of fast-talking posers out there. Verify that the survey includes a compression check on the eng/s since a lot of them don't unless you specifically ask for it, especially on twin BBC.'s.

Good thing abt older boats is they don't depreciate nearly as bad as newer ones. Think mine has actually went up a little in value.