[chesapeake724]

Hmmm... was the kicker bracket just removed, or has it been off for a while and the holes left open like that? :-/

I sort of bought my '87 off eBay. It was listed and I found it on eBay, but was about 30 miles away so I bought it as a local buyer.

Bar Hopper,
Stringers might be tough to check, but you can find clues in the bilge that might tell you if there's been water sloshing around in there. In this vintage, the floor and transom are also important to check. From what I could tell on mine, that box the passenger bucket seat sits on was not very well sealed by Wellcraft. The above-the-fuel-tank hatch on the sideways picture is also probably bad. The 8" inspection hatches weren't sealed that well. That said, the current price isn't too bad. Unless it's in above-average condition, I'd allow $1000 for the engine and the hull+trailer might be worth an additional $1500 to $3000, depending on the condition. If it was me, I don't think I'd pay much more than $3k for that rig. If you look at his response to the first question he says something about the motor losing partial power. In the pic, I'm guessing that Merc is a 150 or 175, yet he's got a hydrofoil on it. Was that put on there to try and squeeze some performance out of a gimpy engine? I don't like the vibe. If I was still shopping and it was reasonably close, I'd be skeptical, but at the current price, I'd still go check it out. You're not out any money.