1994 Maxum 3200 SCR - Advice for a Buyer/Owner

[Mongoose]

Hello, everyone.

I figured I would start a thread to talk about my journey to become a Maxum owner. It started today when I went to look at a 1994 3200 SCR. I'm hoping to connect with other owners and learn some things and share my own experiences with everyone else as I go through the buying process, and god willing, ownership.

Here are my initial thoughts after giving it a quick first look today. It's very clean and seems well taken care of. 100% freshwater boat. No funky smells. Every nook and cranny I could stick my head in was dry and solid. Cockpit and cabin upholstery are in great shape except as noted below. Looks like mostly original equipment except the modern TV and sound system. It has a generator w/99.6 hours. Not sure the hours on the 5.7 engines because I couldn't find the hour meters. Does anyone know where to locate them?

A couple issues that I found and that the owner brought up are as follows:
- Windlass may or may not work. He never used it. Only one place to anchor in the lake.
- Search light remote doesn't work, but on/off switch does.
- Small leak from one of the hoses on the toilet.
- The fiberglass helm panel has some fissures where it meets the superstructure under the walkthrough windshield. Didn’t appear to be a major issue; cosmetic only.
- The fiberglass superstructure on the port side where the cabin door and the windshield meet near the gunwale has some cracking.
- There’s a small access panel in the ceiling of the aft cabin on the starboard side that looks like it may have some water stains. There appears to be a water line that runs under the gunwale there. Might have leaked at one point.
- I thought the 1998 came with EFI? This one appears to be carbureted.

The owner and I have agreed that I could put some money down to hold it as I continue with further inspections and sea trials throughout this month after it gets put in the water. I called about getting a full survey/sea trial professionally done, and they want $2500 and the boat for two weeks. Not sure if it’s worth it. I’m a former aircraft mechanic, and I don’t mind getting dirty on just about any job.

Anyway, that’s my situation. I’d like advice on problem areas to look for on this model, and I’d appreciate comments on anything I’ve noted above, especially the hour meters. Thanks in advance!

‘Goose

[mmwjr]

The cracks you mentioned are common to most boats and not a structural issue. Most boats of this era came standard with carburetor engines and EFI as an option. Check with you insurance company as many require a survey report to insure.

[shrew]

Get a survey. Make sure the surveyor takes detailed moisture readings where there is cracking and spaces that correspond to staining.

I wouldn't worry about 25 year old gas marine engine hours. Expect that if you're going to own the boat for 5 years, you're going to replace the engine. The average lifespan of a gas engine on a cruising boat is around 1,500 hrs or 15 years.

Yes there are always exceptions, like the many engines I've seen blow at 500 hours and 10 years, but there are also exceptions where I've seen them go 2,000 hours and 25 years. Basically, YMMV, but for gas engines, they're aging.

[Mongoose]

My wife and I went to look at the boat again. This time the owner wasn't there, so we were free to poke and prod all over and take a ton of pictures as we methodically inspected from pulpit to prop. Halfway through I found the documents pouch tucked away. All the original owner's manuals were there for everything from the boat and motors to the VHF radio. Surprisingly, the Maxum manual said 1993 on it. Huh? Then I found the registration...turns out the boat is a 1994, not a 1998 as was advertised. Makes me wonder about a lot of other things.

So anyway, we took a ton of photos this time as we went along. I'll try to attach them here with captions and comments. I've never had any luck doing that on forums like this, so if it doesn't work, I'll post them to the Facebook group. Here goes:

EDIT: It didn't work. I shared a link in a comment below

[Mongoose]

Of course that didn't work. Anyway, you can see all my pictures here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...usp=share_link
https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...usp=share_link

[mmwjr]

Looks fairly normal for a boat this age but a survey is a good idea. A sea trail is a must to see how it performs.

[shrew]

I don't see anything outrageous. Yes, that boat needs a lot of basic maintenance. The boat cannot be launched in its current state. The outdrive bellows have parted. The bellows on both outdrives will need to be replaced before the boat can be seatrialed.

Hydraulic pumps are for the outdrive tilt/trim. Blower intake hose is fairly normal, it goes far enough IMHO. Engine bolt is not outrageous, it's tough to get them perfect. If both were tweaked, I'd suspect they might be sagged in a rotting stringer. Everything else looks fairly typical.

Get a survey. If you're handy great. If you can learn quick, good. If not, learn to write checks without wincing.

[Mongoose]

Originally Posted by shrew

The outdrive bellows have parted. The bellows on both outdrives will need to be replaced before the boat can be seatrialed.

Thanks for the input, Shrew. The boat is getting ready to be summerized by the owner. I'll let him know that the bellows will need replaced. I can see the exhaust bellows are clearly bad. I can't really see the drive or shift bellows. Is it a moot point? As in, they should all be replaced if any of them are bad?

[Mongoose]

The seller is having the mechanics replace the bellows before she gets launched. I bought new magnesium anodes to start fresh and be sure the current ones weren't cheap aluminum. I'll wait until the fall when the boat comes back out to change the props and give the bottom a fresh paint job. I'm also planning to change the impellers, plugs/wires, batteries, and belts just to be on the safe side. I'll keep the old ones as spares if they're in decent shape. I think some of the electrical could use my particular brand of OCD when it comes to routing and connectors. Also going to add engine hour meters to the dash.

I think that sounds like a good first season of projects!

[mmwjr]

Originally Posted by Mongoose

The seller is having the mechanics replace the bellows before she gets launched. I bought new magnesium anodes to start fresh and be sure the current ones weren't cheap aluminum. I'll wait until the fall when the boat comes back out to change the props and give the bottom a fresh paint job. I'm also planning to change the impellers, plugs/wires, batteries, and belts just to be on the safe side. I'll keep the old ones as spares if they're in decent shape. I think some of the electrical could use my particular brand of OCD when it comes to routing and connectors. Also going to add engine hour meters to the dash.

I think that sounds like a good first season of projects!

So you will only boat in freshwater; correct? Otherwise magnesium is the wrong material.

[Mongoose]

Originally Posted by mmwjr

So you will only boat in freshwater; correct?

Yep. Freshwater only.

[Derby Time]

There do seem to be a lot of little things. I would agree that they are mostly very typical maintenance issues, just a lot of them.

I did want to comment on the hinges made out of duct tape on aft port seat. Those are just cheap plastic, but there is a good solution made from aluminum extrusion. I'll try to locate it and post the link, but there is a thread on the site.

The one thing that does bother me a bit is the cracking around the hinges on the cabin door. If there is a failure you would probably have to go to a glass company to have them cut you some new panels.

Good luck with your purchase! We love ours and have never heard of anyone who didn't.

[Mongoose]

I've uploaded some more pictures now that the shrink wrap is off and the sun was out, even if only for a bit. https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...u8jJLJKlxHzF8w
I have two main concerns before the purchase process can go forward to sea trial: bellows and vinyl.

The last update I had was that the seller was going to have the bellows replaced because the exhaust bellows had separated. However, I think the mechanic told them that exhaust bellows being separated was no big deal; that the drive bellows were the only important ones. Either way, I did a close inspection of the drive and shift bellows, and they are all dry rotted and ready to fail (if not failed already; see pics). Am I justified in demanding that they be replaced before it goes in the water? Shrew stated in a previous post that it shouldn't be launched as is. What does that job typically cost for twin Bravo 2s? Parts alone look like $300+ per side.

Next, I didn't get to inspect the vinyl glass until now because it was in storage. It's bad. There is no way you can operate the boat with the panels down. The one over the windshield pass-through is so bad it has cracked and has holes in it. The canvas seems to be okay, so it could be reused and just repaneled to save money. Any ideas on cost for that?

The last thing of concern was the left-to-right movement on the port outdrive. I shared a video here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CS5...ew?usp=sharing
Is that movement normal? I'm hoping that it's just because the hydraulic system isn't powered up, but I don't know. The up and down was solid on both.

I appreciate all the advice so far. It's been very helpful. So much to learn in such a short amount of time, but I'm ready for the challenge. Keep it coming! Thank you all!

'Goose

[Mongoose]

I recieved a quote from the local marine mechanic for just under $2000 for parts and labor on the bellows replacement. Sounds fair based on my research and given the current economy. They seem like good folks and would allow me to do some of the work myself in their storage yard to save some money on labor that way. They're also slammed given the season.

Does anyone have experience with the GLM vs Sierra vs OEM parts? The GLM contains an upgraded(?) sealed gimbal bearing. Is that the modern standard that the other kits have as well?

Thanks! 'Goose

[Derby Time]

I personally feel that you would be taking too big of a chance on those bellows. There was only one in the pics that looked good to me. One of the shift bellows looks like it would already leak to me. Those are small leaks, but I suspect that the drive bellows are not far behind. I personally think that if the boat was priced as water ready that seller would be paying for this (normal maintenance) or reducing price accordingly.

For my area that quote for the bellows replacement is on the steep side. The last I paid for was between $600 and $700 per. This was about 4-5 years ago. You seem to be fairly mechanical and know your way around a boat. The replacement is a pain, but very doable.

I'm not sure what panels with glass have the issues, but from my experience you are looking at around $200 per piece give or take depending upon size. It looks to me like that would clean up a lot, but fronts especially are probably too far gone to run with it up.

The play on the port drive is getting pretty bad. The Bravo II drives are under a lot of stress with those monster props. You need to keep after that top nut to mitigate wear. Tighten to spec and see how it feels. If not much improvement, you are looking at a bigger repair.

Good luck!

[shrew]

Isinglass and Vinyl and normal wear item. Like buying a car with faded paint or faded and torn seats.

Bellows should be replaced and it's hard to justify launching a boat with a torn bellows, regardless of whether or how quickly it will sink the boat. I wouldn't have that mechanic do any work on the boat.

[mmwjr]

Most kits come with the sealed for life gimbal bearing. I have no experience with the GLM kit but their exhaust manifolds I would stay clear off, based on that I would do the same with any of their products.

[Mongoose]

The drives are off for the bellows to be replaced, so I got a bunch more pictures of everything. I inspected all the old bellows and couldn't find any holes. However, the starboard gimbal bearing and shaft looked a lot less lubed than the port side. There was a bit of surface rust on the bearing and shaft. I'm not sure how big a deal that is. If anyone has insight, I would appreciate it.

In addition to that, I opened up the owner's manual pouch and took pictures of everything in it. My plan is to scan all the documents and make them available here. That will take time, but if anyone has a specific request, I can snap some photos now on an as-needed basis. It's the least I can do for all the help I've received. Thanks!

Here's the link again to my Google drive with all my photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...8w?usp=sharing

[mmwjr]

There is a lot of cracking in the folds of the bellows which is a sign they would completely fail soon. I would replace both gimbal bearing since you are there.

[venom]

I have the same 1994 Maxum SCR 3200......just replaced both engines with new 5.7 350 non vortex engines. Definitely make sure you change the bellows on both sides (just changed mine cost me about 700) the 1994-1999 basically have the same specs. if you look on the back of your boat the last 2 digits of your hin is the year of your boat. GLM are very good products just bought new GLM exhaust manifolds and risers for both engines works excellent. You might want to change your trim pucks if there are not working. Very Nice Boats!