Hey guys, I'm looking to buy a boat from someone in Florida, not on the coast...do I need to worry about any sort of salt water or rust on the trailer parts? Never bought one from down there so it's kind of new to me. Boat has only been used in freshwater. Just looking for things I should be looking for.
The boat should be fine. The trailer is a different story. I’d ask if it’s been in salt or brackish waters. Hopefully the guy sprayed the heck out of the trailer when done. If it’s a tube style trailer like a lot of them, including mine (it was a Florida boat) then there could be rust from the inside out. Just question it and then look it over good. Mine was fine.
2008 BULLET 21XD 2007 Merc 300xs
Boat is Ranger with road armor, and I believe Ranger is not tube but "C" channel or "J" channel, whatever they call that style. I've had a Triton before that was the tube style.
If the boat/trialer looks good, then more than likely it was taken care of. C channels are way better on the owner. For cleaning or wiring. I like the looks of tube better, but that’s it. Hopefully there’s no issues. Good luck!
2008 BULLET 21XD 2007 Merc 300xs
Heavy use in the St. John's River from Lake George north creates a lot of trailer issues over time. If used exclusively in internal lakes, it should not be an issue if it has a C-channel frame.
I live in Florida, had a Ranger and we fished brackish water several times a year. The thing about the road armor is two fold. They will rust. The road armor hides it. It just takes longer to see the rust because of the road armor. It starts as what looks like bubbles in the road armor. When some of my buddies were replacing their trailers without road armor, the Ranger Trailer lasted 3-4 years longer. But if it's not been in brackish water you should be good to go.
Have a good one and thank God for it!
Thanks for the advice.
hours would be a concern also on a boat used year around to me?
2022 z519 cup 225 merc 4s ser # 3B210484. 2--hds12 live units. 2 poles, atlas plate, ghost, hamby's, active target, merc digital gauges
2002 basscat pantera 3 (dad bought new) sold 8-2-22
2000 stratos 20 ss (bought new) 200 hp Rude ficht great boat/motor sold 11-21
pulled by a 2500HD Denali
proud dad of an ARMY Captain
MAGA
ASE/GM Master tech before tools
Where is the boat located in Florida? Maybe it's near one of us and we could swing by and check it out for you.
Brad Krone
Check the bunk supports on the trailer. Ranger had some issues with those rusting and the Road Armor hiding it until the supports were in very bad shape.
"The man of system is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it…He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
Reply With Quote