Thinking about buying 1989 20' Osprey...but...

[jtc99]

Hi All,

First post here.  I've been casually in the market for a boat for some time.  I usually go through the classifieds here / Craigslist / THT / FB Marketplace.  I happened upon a 1989 20' Osprey the town over from me on Craigslist.

Stats on the boat are

• Model: Osprey
• Length: 20'
• Year: 1989
• Number of Owners: Unknown

The seller wants to get the hull out of his driveway and has set a price of $1,500 OBO for the hull and trailer.

I was thinking of scooping this up, doing any cleanup (nothing structural, that is beyond me at this point), and getting a new engine (Suzuki 150) installed by a local Suzuki dealer who friends have worked with.

My concerns are

• Unknown number of owners
• The boat doesn't have a motor on it, so I am unsure of when it was last in the water
• The owner is unsure of the condition of the fuel tank

The owner states that the transom is "rock solid," but would need to do a check when taking a look at the hull.

The biggest concern I have is the fuel tank.

Does anyone have any insight on some hazards of buying a 33 year old hull with a potentially old fuel tank?  Is there a way to inspect a fuel tank?  Thanks to rickk for sending over a the Used Aquasport Buyers Bible, which had some tips on fuel tank concerns, but I was wondering if there was an further insight on this from the wider Aquasport community?

Last thing I want to do is get this hull, find out it needs a major overhaul and turn this boat into a complete gut job, which is something I cannot facilitate, professionally ($$$$) or DIY.

Thanks all.

[dbiscayne]

proper way to test the tank would be a visual for obvious signs of corrosion, and also a pressure test to reveal non-obvious pin holes.
With that said, if the deck has a removable portion to access the tank you could assume the worst and plan on spending a few hundred for a Moeller plastic tank, plus $$$ for new fuel lines. If you're able to do that work yourself it won't be too much of an investment.
If theres not a removable access section of deck it'll be a lot more work.

[jtc99]

Thank you dbiscayne.  All great tips.

I was looking around the site / YouTube and there seem to be good tips on a fuel tank replacement.  Would be a first for me, but I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty and learn something new.

When I go and look at the hull I will see what kind of access panels are present.