Newbie Needs Help

[travis25]

my cousin got in a bind and had to sell his boat,so to help him out i bought it.well i know absolutely nothing about boats,if theres someone that would be willing to answer questions for me or even come look it over and tell me what things i need to know give me a shout.theres a bunch of lakes around me so we could take it out for a day of fishing.
some info its a 1990 cobra bayliner 19 ft 150 hp mercury force.
im thinking he didnt winterize so what things do i need to worry about.also know i need two new batteries any recommendations.it has two hummingbird fishfinders but i dont think there working right.also need to replace some lathches where can i get.
im mostly wanting to use for fishing walleye musky,pike so want to know what gear i need for the boat. if you can help.e-mail ill give my number
wolverine7870@aol.com im out side blissfield ,10 minutes from adrian ,20 minutes from cabelas thanks Travis

[Jason Adam]

my cousin got in a bind and had to sell his boat,so to help him out i bought it.well i know absolutely nothing about boats,if theres someone that would be willing to answer questions for me or even come look it over and tell me what things i need to know give me a shout.theres a bunch of lakes around me so we could take it out for a day of fishing.
some info its a 1990 cobra bayliner 19 ft 150 hp mercury force.
im thinking he didnt winterize so what things do i need to worry about.also know i need two new batteries any recommendations.it has two hummingbird fishfinders but i dont think there working right.also need to replace some lathches where can i get.
im mostly wanting to use for fishing walleye musky,pike so want to know what gear i need for the boat. if you can help.e-mail ill give my number
wolverine7870@aol.com im out side blissfield ,10 minutes from adrian ,20 minutes from cabelas thanks Travis

No-one is going to be able to give you a realistic response without seing the boat. It could litterally be one extreme to the other. That vintage bayliner paired with Force motors were the boats that gave bayliner the reputation they have now. Not all were all bad, but, many had severe problems. Depending on how it was used, stored, and maintained, it may still be a fine boat. Judging by the fact that you said you didnt think either fish finder worked and that it wasnt winterized, broken latches, etc. I'm guessing maintanence may be sketchy. I would have someone that knows boats come and look at the hull before you do anything. If the hulll is wet, you'll have issues. If the hull is solid, move onto the engine. Since it would never make sense to repower this boat, check out the compresion and such. If all checks out good, your all set, if not, you'll have to break it down cost wise to fix it. If all checks out well, I would do just what you're doing now and find someone who does it to mentor you and help you get started. Not trying to rain on your parade, I'm just saying check it out really good before you sink a dime into it, cause the dime will turn into 50,000 dimes in no-time...

[Beave]

Yup, that boat could be worth $1500, it could be worth $4000. It all depends on the shape of the boat.

[travis25]

o,k, ive checked it over the fish finders work there just old .but thats the least of my worrys.i dont know the proper name for it so ill just say the "fin" on the bottom of the lower unit gear case is gone,looks like it was broken off.looks like its been that way for awhile so im assuming he used it like that last year.where can i have this fixed,what would it cost,estimate and is it driveable like that until i can have fixed.im going to run the motor and make sure the prop turns,was told theres a part that could brake if prop had hit something.
thanks

[Raf]

do not run the motor without water going into the inlets. he probably gave the muffs to you, just making sure you know this.

[Priority1]

Skegs can be replaced. They weld a new one in place. It will probably cost $200+ to do this. The skeg helps the boat steer and protects the prop. Seeing that it's a little early for boating I would try to get it fixed soon. This is a busy time at most marinas.

[Jason Adam]

If the skegs broken, there is a good chance the outdrive needs to be re-aligned. I know most places will do a lower unit service and alignment for about $150.00 or so.

[travis25]

got the skeg replaced and welded back on 160.00. cheaper than i thought it would be.