Looking at a 1988 2767 Santego

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Sacriverfolks

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30800
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Hi all. We are shopping for a family cruiser pretty intensively. This past weekend we went on a test run on a 1977 27' Carver single screw FB. We were very impressed with how the boat handled (like a much larger cruiser - we had been seriously looking at a 1986 Trojan F32). The issues we had were with the overall layout and the price vs. overall condition. When we went home, I proceeded to do a search to find out more about the boat and it's decendents. I came across a 1988 Santego 2767 with twin Mercruiser 4's in (photographically) excellent condition. The asking price is $23,900 through a broker in the N. Cal area. When I did a search for the boat I came up with prices/motor options/conditions that were across the board. Condition was nearly always good to excellent (only one - a donation boat - was questionable and only the drives). Motors were mostly the 4-cylinders but occasionally the v6's. Price however is all over the board. Throwing out the donation boat, the range is from $7,000 - $27,950.
So, a little help here if anyone would like to put in their 2 cents. The biggest question is what do I offer if it is a good boat. It has (according to the broker) 954 hours on the motors. That is on the higher end of the range that I saw online. I had noticed that most guys here when they are talking purchase advise to go in real low (say 7-9k) and start the negotiation there. I have had a couple of bad experiences with this here in Cali where the brokers seem to REALLY push the owners to higher lists even though our market is super soft now in this size/age range. Also if anyone can offer any info/advice about this model, we would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks, and happy boating!
 
The Santego is a nice boat. I have the 4's in my 27 Montego and they perform just fine, although mine don't have near 900 hours. Make sure that the boat you are looking at is a latter 1988 as they changed the hull bottom design to a deeper (19 deg) veee from a relatively flat (8 deg) bottom. Mine has the deeper vee and takes the water beautifully. I have mine for sale (not a plug) and am asking $25,900 for a freshwater only boast with alot of upgrades/mods. I had someone offer me just $15,900 and was quite put off by that offer considering the condition and updating I have done.

Just my $.02
 
So I went down today to check out the boat. Not only was it immaculate throughout (including the engines and engine compartment), but I found aboard a log with details dating back to the first sailing and a complete file of maintenance and other receipts for the life of the boat. From all appearances, it is a well maintained and solid cruiser. The layout and spaciousness are great (I am 6'3" and had a good 2"+ of room above my head standing), and the sleeping arrangements are exactly what we have been looking for.

I started off with an offer of $10,500. The asking price right now is 19,900. I figure that because of the hours on the engines that meeting somewhere in the middle of those two numbers should be a fair price for her. The first response date is the 22nd, and I'll keep all here who might be interested informed.
 
I have the same boat but with complete brand new interior and new canvas top my twin 4 cyl's run terrific even with 700 hours on them good handling boat no real major issues I might consider 17,900 if I was even to think of selling and that is not an option right now as what or with what could I even think of replacing it with
 
Thanks! We really appreciate any feedback and info that people want to contribute. This is our first larger cruiser purchase (first boat overall for my fiancee' - I have had ski/sport boats before), and we want to make sure that it goes right and leads to a great boat ownership experience.
 
So it seems that the owners were actually really willing to deal at this point. After a couple of calls this afternoon we settled at a price of 16,250. What I would like to know is if I have seen a receipt record of the engine maintenance, is it then still necessary to have the mechanical check performed, or should we just stick to the survey and leave the rest to the first servicing we do?
 
at a minimum, i'd have a sea trial, perhaps with the surveyor on board, as well as an overall survey, including oil analysis.
 
Thanks Bruce I appreciate the response. The sea trial is an automatic when going through the brokerage here in California so that will happen (and we would insist anyhow). I am hoping to arrange to have the sea trial/haulout/survey all done on the same day so that I can get a true and accurate assesment of the condition of the boat. Although I am not an expert on larger boats, I am fairly confident that this boat should come out fine as it has very obviously (by records and appearance) been well cared for in it's life so far.
 
I don't know what an oil analysis will do for you unless you have a previous analysis to check it against and see any changes. With 900+ hours you can figure that a well maintained marine motor is at at least the mid-point of its life.

During the sea trail check head temps and tranny fluid (does it look or smell burnt). Check the oil pressure and look for excessive smoke (not steam) at start-up and when you push the throttles to WOT from idle. Good luck!
 
Thanks Mike. After s little thought I realized that the analysis would not help unless there was a prior to compare against in a gas motor (diesel might differ slightly as the life is exponentially longer and different stages might show different composition). We will go ahead and have the mechanical (primarily compression tests) done as this will be the best test of the condition of the block/heads.
Any idea where ideal temps for 3.7 Mercruiser 4's (GM) of this age (20 years/900 + hours) should be? I know baseline for a broken in young motor, but not for this stage of life as I have not had to deal with this before.
 
Sacriverfolks...not being nit picky, but the Merc 3.7 is not a GM engine. it is a Mercruiser made engine (cylinder block) with a Ford 460 Cyl head. The block is aluminum and head is iron. The charging system (unless changed) is an outboard style, not a std alternator. The only thing I know of on the engine that is GM is the Delco ignition system.
 
Good to know. I can't question you because you obviously HAVE those engines. I was just going by what I had read in the mechanical specs for the boat/motors, and that was that they are Mercruiser engines made by GM. My primary concern here is that they do have the Mercruiser name on them and therefore I have an expectation (by 1988) of a higher level of quality and longer life from tham.
 
All is moot now. we cannot find anyone (reasonable) who is willing to finance this boat so the purchase is off. In a way I am a little relieved as I was beginning to have some bigger motor/drive concerns after talking to the surveyors here.
 
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