"If the boat is in good condit
"If the boat is in good condition, have a marine survey done. You may be able to get the present owner to kick in for part of the cost or adjust the price, based on the results. A survey will cover the hull, drive(s), deck, upholstery, electrical system, running gear and everything else, if the person doing the survey knows what teey are doing. Call around and ask if the various marinas A) if they do surveys, B) if they do them for insurance companies (if an insurance company trusts them, they might be pretty good at it) and C) if they know the boat or its owner. If they know the owner well, they may give a somewhat biased result.
There is a lot to a thorough survey and it takes a fair amount of time, even on a small boat. They aren't free but the marinas should charge a fair price. The survey should be thorough because the marina is actually staking their reputation on the results. If they say it's in good condition and it suffers a catastrophic failure, they could be liable. Some won't do a survey because of this risk."
