Urgent Help With Boat Purchase

I'm thinking of going to look at a 1990 Baja 200SK ski boat tomorrow and I can't find any information on this kind of boat. The guy has it listed for 10,900 OBO and I'm supposed to call him soon about going to look at it.

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of this kind of boat? It has a 5.7 mercruiser and he said the engine has 250 hours, but there's no hour gauge. The interior looks to be in very good condition as well.

Did you check www.Nadaguides.com

Entry level bajas are pretty basic boats. I have never boarded behind one, so I can't give you info on the wake, but the interiors are generally pretty no frills. I would be very cautious about buying a boat with no hr meter. How in the hell does he know how many hrs are on it, and that is really low hrs for a 1990. Have you checked NADA on it? If the boat looks well used, I would say it has more than 250hrs. Go look at it and see what you think. Bajas are known to be pretty fast boats, so that is always fun(although they are also known for banana hammock owners around here at least). good luck.

NADA doesn't show a 200SK under 1990 or any other year for that matter. I googled the boat and also found very, very few threads on them. If either of you wouldn't mind taking a look at the pictures I could email them to see what you think.

Here is the listing on boat trader, but the guy emailed me a bunch of other pictures I could email. The thing said 250 hours on the engine and I wouldn't have any idea if a 5.7 mercruiser would come on a 1990 baja or not. Thanks for the help though.
http://adcache.boattraderonline.com/6/5/8/84558658.htm

Its a Direct drive. I didn't know they made a dd. The best thing to do is go and test drive it. It may very well be a nice boat. I would probably have a mechanic check the motor if you decide you are interested in it.

I bet its the 19sk. NADA lists it as a DD. They price it at 8K though.

If you are looking for a great wake, you might want to check out the old Nautique 2001s.

(Message edited by psudy on June 23, 2006)

IMO that sounds high. I would keep looking if I was in your position.

The rear of that boat doesn't look like it would make a good wakeboarding wake because the hull is integral to the swim platform. So really you wouldnt be able to weight it down at the true stearn. I could be wrong, but considering that 99.99999999999999999999% of towboats are NOT designed like that, it seems to be a good indication.

I just talked to him and he said he would take 10k, that he turned down 9500 for it last weekend. He said that after I offered him 10k so maybe he wasn't just saying that.

I guess it could possibly be a 19sk Paul, but the pictures he sent me has 200 SK stickers on it so I'm not sure. It threw me when NADA didn't have any listing of it and there are very few searches that turned up on it.

Would any of you mind taking a look at the additional pictures I have to see what you think?? If anyone with some knowledge would, shoot me an email to awalker3 at gmail dot com with an email address or phone number and I'll let you know how to view them.

One of my biggest problems right now is I'm losing patience and I know that is never a good thing, especially with a 10k purchase. Thanks again.

You have mail Paul, if you could, just let me know here when you've seen them.

looks like an interesting boat, you will probally not find much info on this boat especially for wakeboarding. You should just go look at it and take it for a test drive!

Looks like you could put a nice custom sac in the back of that thing behind the rear seat.
and the open bow is attractive as well.

if you want to see how it handles with weight(and what the wake looks like) take everyone you know along for the test drive!

otherwise looks like a sharp boat, and definately be one of a kind!

How shallow of water can an inboard run in?? I've always had boats with an outboard and the water is low here right now so that is a concern of mine.

How come nobody has mentioned anything about the trailer?? That is definitely not the right trailer for that boat. I would hate to go into or out of steep gas station and take out the prop and the rudder.

Just from the pic of it in classified I would be wary.

Just my 2 cents.

dang didnt even pay much attention to that but you are absolutely right.... I wouldnt even try to to back that up onto any type of incline... i.e. my driveway!

Personally, i would pass. No real history, no hour gauge, definitely the wrong trailer for an inboard. I think you could get a Mastercraft, Malibu, Correct Craft for around that price point/year.

For instance;

I bought a 89 Mastercraft Tristar 190 for $11k over 10 years ago! Mind you, i sold it for $10k after using for 4 years... They keep their dollar value if you take care of them.

Adam, your profile doesn't show your location, but I can only assume you're in the Tampa/St Pete area. The trailer that boat is on is galvanized as is about 90% of the trailers that are around here... with good reason. About 90% of the boats around here and ESPECIALLY in St Pete, are run in salt. Have it THOROUGHLY checked out. If it's a fuel injected 5.7 (dunno with it being so old), take it somewhere that can hook it up to a computer and have them confirm the hours. Good luck... and slow down, you don't want to rush into this purchase. Think about resale.

I agree with Scott If you have doubts about the boat and resale, Think about the fact that someday you will want to sell it and will have to deal with the same questions from other buyers. There is probably a good reason Baja didn't make very many inboards. Go with a known manufacturer even if there are more hours on it. You will be much happier. (And you won't have to live with that ugly swimstep).

my 2 cents:

I owned a 1996 Baja, and never really had any trouble. Fit-n-finish seemed average for a $20K boat. I would be a little hesitant to buy a boat with such a strange design to it...thinking about resale.

For that money, you should be able to find a boat with a decent wake. Check out a late 80s Nautique 2001

Thanks for all the replies guys. I actually went down to look at it and had some stuff come up so the guy took it out skiing while he waited on me and it wound up leaving him stranded in the middle of the lake. Good thing I told my wife to pray something would happen if I needed to pass on the boat.

Yeah, I am in North Central Florida. I basically drove 7 hours Saturday to take some money out of the bank.