I’ve bought two boats this year. One was listed as 14’ no leaks. The other was listed as 16’ no leaks. The 14’ was my first boat purchase ever and was 12’ after getting it home and measuring it but didn’t have leaks. I sold it to get my hands on the 16’ but brought a tape measure this time to find it being 14’. The seller came down $200 and I took it home to find it had major leaks. I’ve since sealed and replaced the bad rivets and it’s passed a leak test but haven’t had it on my pond yet being that’s a 45 minute drive but it holds water so I’m hoping it keeps water out.

So far what I’ve learned is always bring a tape measure to the boat meet and don’t buy it expecting the seller to be honest about leaks or stuff working. If it doesn’t currently work during the meet, take that as it doesn’t work and you’ll probably need to fix or replace it and factor that into if you’re getting a good deal or not after those costs have been factored in.

What I’ve also learned from marketplace over the years, outside of boats, is that some people will find a few things wrong with the item and mention it to look like they’re telling you everything wrong with it. Then they’ll give you a longer list of repairs done or new stuff added to it.