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**Maristar210** · 11-18-2021, 02:03 PM

Totally normal.

**peytonvp** · 11-18-2021, 06:24 PM

Personally, I am not a huge fan of wrapped boats because I think they can cover up neglect. With that being said, I think that the rest of the boat looks do be in good shape for its age. You can see that some of the stitches are starting to pull through in some places but overall vinyl looks to be alright. I am not sure why a dealer would not fix a guide pole as I feel that doesn't look great for the boat so little red flag there. As far as the noise goes, I can't tell if it is bad audio that magnifies the sound but it seems a little clanky to me. I know maristar said that it is normal and maybe it is just my ears hearing something that is not there but I have not been in a mastercraft (or an inboard for that matter) that has ever had a clunk going into gear. Inboards are buttery smooth and you shouldn't have that clanking engagement like on an alpha drive or an outboard. I would try to get someone in the area to go look at the boat for you that is either on here or Team Mastercraft.

Also, I know you have been looking for a craft for a long time and I feel that based on what you are trying to get out of a boat that the 2nd gen xstars are what you will be most happy with.

**kscrib** · 11-19-2021, 08:49 AM

The handles in the racks look upside down to me. We had an '06 and the button was at the top. You press the lever in, then the thumb button to release the lock. That would be hard to do with the button at the bottom. The upholstery looks nice, but I don't believe it is the original factory, which makes since for an '04. I don't see a picture where the hour meter shows the hours, which is odd. That is like the odometer on a car, and to not show it catches my attention.

I agree with peytonvp - a wrapped boat is nice if you are the one that wrapped it. But buying it makes me wonder if it is covering something. The seller's website is pretty sketchy to me as well.

**Mainely Wake** · 11-19-2021, 10:14 AM

I appreciate the responses. To be honest I have been reluctant to post much about this boat for fear of someone scooping it up before I make the trip to see it.
BUT I really need to talk this out and get some advice and if someone else gets it that's OK I wont lose sleep over it.

I have talked to the owner and this is what I know:

-He buys boats at auction and re-sells them as his side hustle
-The boat is from Minnesota
-The CO has very little knowledge of MC
-The boat is red metal flake under the wrap
-CO has only driven it for about half an hour to do the videos and then winterized it

Things that don't make much sense (I'm a good judge of character, this guy didn't strike me as a smooth talking liar but I don't discount the fact that he could be full of BS)

-CO claims he doesn't know the hours on the boat, can't figure out how to cycle through the gauge to see them
-In the video it looks pretty plain to me that it is reading 150 hours which is a bit of a red flag for me on such an old boat
-CO claimed he thinks the boat was a consignment sale at the auction, which... if there was ever a time that selling a boat was easy I would think it is now so why would someone put a bout worth $40,000 into an auction and walk away with only $25,000 (just a guess at what the CO paid judging by his asking price)

My state doesn't do titles for boats so I have no experience with them. I want to see something displaying chain of ownership so I can see if this was a salvaged boat, if it was a bank repo, or possibly figure out the dealership of origin and contact them for some service history info. Will a title have the chain of ownership on it? Any thoughts on how I can find this out? I was thinking of contacting the auction house because they must have paperwork on the boat.

We have agreed that if I make the trip, I will do a thorough inspection followed by a LENGTHY water test, then a compression test and a few other checks. If there are issues known to the CO I can't imagine he thinks they won't become apparent to me.

Really the 2 things that are throwing me are the (potential) 150 hours on the boat and the fact that the CO bought this at auction for so little

I apologize for the length of the post

**86Skier** · 11-19-2021, 10:40 AM

Have him send you a photo of the HIN. Don't let him just give you the number, but a photo of it so you know it's legit.

Then email Tim @ [email protected]. He won't have everything you want, but he can likely get you the original dealer info and a few other things to help you get started.

My $0.02..... too many red flags. I'd look elsewhere, but that's just me. I'd rather buy from an owner with previous knowledge of the boat, service records, etc., than a secondary seller making a quick flip who has no idea of the boat's history.

**ValveCoverGasket** · 11-19-2021, 11:26 AM

on the topic of auction/salvage, ive had luck just googling VINs of potential vehicle purchases to see if something comes up in old copart listings or that sort of thing. especially if you know it was salvaged and are curious to see the pre-fixed condition and scope out what was damaged.
not sure if that would work with the boat but i imagine if it moved through a site like that there'd be a record tied to the HIN. so if you can get that and google it, something might come up.

if its a screaming deal might still be worth the dice roll, especially since it sounds like youre ready to do a pretty thorough check out.

**brucemac** · 11-19-2021, 01:13 PM

I agree with others here and particularly the point about the wrap. Why would you cover up red flake with a wrap like that unless you were hiding something? 150 hours screams red flag too, unless that boat sat for a really long time, which I guess is possible, but isn't good either. His side hustle is flipping boats from auction and he doesn't know how to get the hours? Sketch. If the stitching on the vinyl is starting to pull through, I can say from experience it will go from bad to worse very quickly regardless of how well you take care of it. I own an 03, take extremely good care of the vinyl, but once it started it only took a season to get bad on the seat bases. Obviously not an inexpensive job to do right. I'd run, not walk. The right boat will come along. She's out there.

**peytonvp** · 11-21-2021, 06:26 PM

In agreement with others that it is a good one to just walk on

**waterlogged882** · 11-21-2021, 06:51 PM

Originally posted by peytonvp View Post

In agreement with others that it is a good one to just walk on

I could not agree more. Don't be THAT victim. Plenty of boats out there. Patience.

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