78 Mustang, What to look for ????

Hi Mike, welcome to a fellow NH'er.

Hull condition first, how are the stringers, gel, does it appear to have sat in water uncovered, etc. That's the big stuff. Then the mechanical, is it a running engine, look like it was taken care of.

A lot depends on whether you want a project or a drop it in and run boat. For me, the go/no go is whether the stringers are gone or not, I just don't have the desire to tackle that job. You can try tightening all the motor mount bolts and get a rough read from that, also poke around with a screwdriver or punch to look for rot. Is there a listing or some pictures so we could take a look?

Poking with a screwdriver isn't going to tell you a lot about the stringers. 99% of the time the rot is in the bottom half of the stringer,and the top can look fine. Take a bolt out of the motor mount and look at the end of it. It it is wet, rusted and/or the threads just about gone, then the stringers are bad.