Newbie buying questions

[kentam]

I know it is wrong time of the year to be buying, but found what I have been looking for and have questions. If we hook it to water and start it in the driveway, is there anything in the motor or pump that needs to be drained before a 4 hour drive home in freezing temps? Should I be concerned about a patch in the hull (owner says it does not leak any water)? What other things should I be looking for (looks clean in the pics)? Have owned boats before, but new to outboard jets. Thanks for any advice.

 

[TNtroller]

Prices may be better in the winter time but it does make it tough to do the test drives for sure. If you hook the motor up to a hose, just leave the motor in the down position as long as possible so the majority of the water will drain out before the drive home. Parking on a slope may help drain additional water as well. you can put some water in the boat to see if the patch leaks, and with cold weather, metal contracts, so it could show a leak. You can always check the bilge pump this way.

 

[openseat]

There is a thread on here about clearing water before storing in freezing temps. You can probably find it with search function.

The upshot was that, after you are out of the water (or off the hose), you tilt the motor all the way up and then lower all the way back down. If you don't do this, its not a calamity. Since the jet pump is open to the air, water in there has room to expand if it freezes.

 

[kentam]

Thanks for the replies. I hope to check this boat out sometime in the next week, the bad part is the distance to travel and the weather closing in. I should be thinking about ice fishing, but I cant get this jet boat out of my head!