Question on a 2004 226 with heavy salt use

[a0128]

So MuertoMike any report on the boat? Were you able to get it out on the water?

[b4yougo2]

There are a ton of red flags here. The new trailer, the corrosion from wet gear being stored in the boat, Old gas allowed to sit in the tank for an extended period, unwillingness to provide a lake test. All this points to neglect. There are most likely many more hidden issues with a boat like this. As one of the other posters indicated when a boat is used in salt water there is typically more time put into cleaning and maintenance than actually boating. If I were you I would look elsewhere. Just my two cents.

[MuertoMike]

sorry for the late reply everyone, been super busy with work for the past few weeks!

just wanted to give you all an update; I had a chance to go down and check out the boat, the pictures really do reflect the actual boat, I was pleasantly surprised!!

spent a few hours with the mechanic on-site. he had me going through the whole thing with him, not just sitting at a desk describing everything. no corrosion on any of the engine mounts, no salt residue or any visible corrosion in the bilge. engine looks great from the outside. the boat definitely needs a major detail from sitting 4+ years, but no big deal there! vinyl is still in excellent shape, no yellowing sun damage or rips/tears. the tower does have 2 small rust bubbling spots and it's slightly faded on the top, so I think I'm going to have it removed, sand blasted and painted gloss black. the batteries need to be replaced due to age and corrosion on the terminals. it needs the fuel drained & serviced. it needs the exhaust service so I can see if the manifolds need to be replaced. and it needs an engine service to change the plugs, fluids, oil, etc... steering cable & throttle cable are both working great!

I think I'm going to take a chance and go for it! it's what I've been looking for and if I get it at the right price, the service items, repairs, and cosmetic upgrades will hopefully be a wash in the short term. first thing i'll do is the fuel system service, then do a full compression test to check the pressure. I've spoke to a few other dealers and they recommend the psi around 180-195 (or higher) for the engine. if that passes, take it to FRESH water for a water test so we can check all of the little things (pumps, impellers, electronics, etc...)

I will always wonder what the extent is of the salt "cancer" on the inside of the engine, but hey, if I get 5+ years out of this one, I'm happy! this isn't my dream boat, it's a nice starter for myself & my family to get out on the water. a nice '15 G23/25 will look pretty good in about 5 years down the road! =)

thanks again guys for all of the feedback, hopefully if the price is right, i'll get it in the next few weeks....just in time for winter storage lol

[tgi100]

Good luck with the boat! I'm chiming in a little late on this, but here is my 2 cents:

I've operated our current boat in salt water for 15 years and my brother has operated his boat exclusively in fresh water for 8 years. I agree with some of the posts here that the amount of attention given by the owner weighs far greater than whether or not the boat was in salt water. My boat has had less mechanical issues and is in far better shape. I have a mercruiser with sea water cooling running straight through the heads, so yes this engine can survive IF properly maintained. The thing about salt water is that it is unforgiving with respect to neglect; and a little negligence will quickly lead to substantial corrosion. I flush and clean our boat religously after every use; and from the pictures it sure looks like this one was too.

If your up-close inspection of the boat showed no visible issues, my gut feel is that you will be happy with this - so sleep well. It is certainly better than buying a fresh water boat that has been neglected IMHO.

[MuertoMike]

thought i'd revisit my 1st post and give you guys an update.

i ended up getting the boat the thursday before labor day weekend last year. drove all the way down to SD and back in 1 day! Loooooong *** drive lol. Took the boat out to Rollins for the weekend and had a great time!! ended up negotiating it down to $30k. i thought that was a pretty good deal for the boat. found out that the trailer was brand new as in it had never seen the road with the boat on it. i had to register it for the first time with the dmv when i got it home.

I had the chance to take it out twice last year, labor day weekend & the weekend after. Both times, the boat performed flawlessly! I put about 3k into the boat before taking delivery. We did the complete engine service, new plugs, fluids, new oil & filter, fuel service w/ new filter, performed the exhaust service (manifolds were still perfect) as well as the compression test which passed with flying colors. i had the tower removed and powder coated black. gotta say, it turned out amazing! should've came like that from the factory. dropped 2 new blue tops to replace the old batteries.

as of now, i'm having the whole sound system redone. The amps were rusted out from salt gear sitting close to them and everything is a little dated, so i figured it's time for an upgrade. Going with a complete JL line (4x m 8.8's on the tower, 6x m 6.5's in the boat, 1 m 12" sub, 1000w & 800w amps, 4 more batteries, and an upgraded balmar alternator with a new clarion deck & 2 new remotes for the driver & rear transom. Powder coating the wakeboard racks and upgrading the forks to surf/wake combos. Pulled the prop off to have it machined to get a few nicks and bends out of the blades. found out it had an acme 1234 prop on there which i hear is an amazing prop for surf/wake boarding.

i'll post more pics as the weeks go on and some of the new stuff is added.

great community on here, thank you again to those who gave me their opinions & advice. i wouldn't have been able to make my final decision without it!