Boat not used in 5 years. And then?

I *might* have found a stunning deal on a boat (non-CC), but the "might" is a very big might.
It's being offered at about 1/4 of the value of one in good shape. I haven't seen it yet, but the owner claims that it's in really good shape, but that it needs new "tubes". No idea what he's talking about.
But here's the catch; like the title says, it's been sitting for 5 years. What should I expect to do (and spend) to get it ready to use again, assuming it doesn't have any other problems?
Engine (Indmar LTR VRS 5.7L EFI, probably), steering cable, control cables, trailer (tires, bearings?)?

Any info and rough estimate of (minimum) cost is appreciated!

Have you seen the boat yet?
Any pictures?

Perhaps he is talking about the exhaust outlet "tubes?" That could match up with the term "tubos de escape," which is "exhaust pipes" in Spanish.

Go look at it!
I'm thinkin that if I lived in a country where there were only 10 boats and I could afford to get one of them I'd do it somehow. Especially at a 1/4 of its supposed value.

How close is the closest Indmar dealer?

I hope to be able to go take a look in the next week or so. It's not listed for sale anywhere so it won't go anywhere.
Closest Indmar dealer is a couple 1000 miles away, maybe in Mexico, or else in the states.

Is it definitely a salt water boat? If so, and not properly flushed like John said, it will have a lot of potential problems after sitting for 5 years.

If it's a fresh water boat, 5 years isn't necessarily going to cause any harm. No reason the steering cable, control cables, etc. are bad. Go on the assumption they didn't put it up properly before it sat, and you may have an injection system with crud in it, stale gas with water in it in the tank. Engines that sit for a long time shouldn't just be cranked over. The preferred method would be to manually spin the oil pump to prime the engine after that amount of time. If you can't do that, at least spray fogging oil or light oil in each spark plug hole before turning it over at all, though that won't lubricate the valve train.

What exactly is the boat?

It couldn't have frozen could it?
pull the whole engine out and figure out what all needs to be replaced.
the block and heads may be just as cracked as those manifolds(tubes)

that means it was turning when something bad happened

Frozen with rust maybe!

Given the weather in Costa Rica ruling out freezing, I'd say lost the raw water pump, overheated and seized. Still surprised at how that manifold cracked though.

I agree, look for a replacement engine.

What is the boat?

This caught my eye, so thought I'd try to offer some help. If it is a Correct Craft, the engine has been changed out after the boat was new. To my knowledge, we have never set an Indmar. The "L" in the engine serial number indicates to me that it's a left-hand )("standard") rotation, but again I don't know a lot about Indmar.

This does look like a candidate for a replacement engine. The simplest solution would be a "bobtail" engine from DIM or some other source. That means an engine with manifolds, water pumps, starter, and everything but the transmission, as opposed to a "base engine" which would be without any external accessories. It could be more practical to replace it with a PCM, but that is for you to decide after studying it. Another decision would be to go fuel injection or carbureted. There is a distributor here in Orlando who I know exports engines. The email addresss is JAChamb@aol.com

I hope this helps,
Art

Thanks for your help everyone. It is indeed a Mastercraft, a 2001 X-Star with 310hp Indmar LTR VRS 5.7L EFI.
Art, I'll send that guy in Orlando an email right away, thanks for the contact.

What can you use from the wrecked one? nothing? you need to figure this out.

yes the block could be any gm 350 5.7 block of similar age but I'd try to stick to Indmar stuff.

you need so much stuff that the bobtail is the way to go. get an indmar. so you get plug and play.

It won't be easy and it won't be cheap, especially in Costa Rica.

SNobsessed wrote: Going back to the original post - this boat was attractive because of the cheap price - is this still the case?

Ha, nice one. No, it's not going to be as cheap as we expected/hoped it would be. I'm thinking of making a super low offer, to have it up and running for less than 15K. Considering the fact that boats are about 30% more expensive here than in the US that would still be "not bad".
Finding a good used Indmar from a wrecked boat would be the ideal scenario.

Hola,
yeah I've been working with Miaminautiques a bit in the past. But good idea; I sent them an email.
This is a logistical nightmare logistical nightmare (anyone in Vegas?) but it might be an option. Any idea how easily(/hard) a Mercruiser would fit?