I am going to be looking at a 2006 1848 Go Devil boat with 2010 35hp Go Devil SD. What are some key factors to look for?

In the hull, look under the boat and see if it has any major dents or hooks, if not, that is good.

For the motor, see if he has records of maintainence and when things were changed, how many owners, what performance work was done and by who. Pull the dip stick and see if the dip stick is clean or if it looks “charred”. If it’s clean, that’s good. Check out condition of the prop, when it was last worked, if ever, and the grease in the lower unit, etc.

Marcus, will, or russ can tell you much more in what to look for with the motor too

I would look at the bolt heads on the valve covers and case cover. The valve cover bolts should show evidence of use indicating that the valve lash was probably checked. If not, no telling what other maintenance was neglected, because that's an easy check. The case cover bolts showing evidence of being turned can indicate the torque was being checked regularly (good), or that it was pulled recently to change a gasket, which could mean it has a case leak (probably bad). None of the above would be a deal breaker for me, but for some, it could be worrisome if it's not something the seller tells you about voluntarily. Ask how to check the valve lash. If they dont know, and don't immediately offer that it was done regularly when serviced (without you asking), then know at best he/she checked the oil and maybe greased the lower, and that was probably it as far as maintenance. All that above could possibly mean you'll have a seal and bushing replacement in your near future, and potentially other nitpicky maintenance things that you'll be mad about not knowing.

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My main thing is determining if the seller is a dumbass that neglected his shit. See how knowledgeable he is about the rig. Do the things the others have said.

Having bought a used GDSD, check the movement in the prop to see if the seals need to be replaced. Go look over the owners manual on go devils site to see some of the things to look out for.

On that particular boat I would be looking to see if the foam is waterlogged. How was it stored, i.e. - did it sit in his back yard uncovered with 2ft of water in it for 8 months.

Go devil keeps really good records of parts ordered for each specific serial number. Take the serial number and give them a call, see if anything has been replaced on it if the seller doesn’t know.

Yep, that’s all very good info

Thank you for all the good information! I will let y'all know if it works out.