So you want to buy a new boat? No doubt, you want to buy a quality vessel that will best fit your needs. But how will you know exactly what you're looking at? Even experienced mariners may have a tough time looking at a new boat and accurately judging how it will stand the test of time and rough seas.

Having tested hundreds of boats ranging in size from 13 feet to 72 feet for marine magazines, and being brought in as a consultant to boat builders, I've developed a few check lists, tests and sea trial tricks that help expose whether a boat is top–quality. You too can apply these techniques to boats you have in your sights, whether they are new or used.

LENNY RUDOWOn a sea trial, you should be at the wheel — not a salesman. You want to test the boat rigorously.

If you use these tricks, you will get a fairly reliable judgment after only an hour–long walk through, and an hour or two off the dock.

ANCHOR LOCKER ORACLE

The first part of your boat test should begin with a walk–through. You can do this either at the dock or on dry land, but doing it adrift in the middle of the bay or river, sea conditions allowing, is even better. You'll be hit by unexpected boat wakes, breezes, who knows what–and you'll discover how the boat reacts. The more time you spend on the boat away from the dock, the more you're going to learn.

Don't even consider buying a boat without a sea trial, and if a dealership or salesman doesn't want to let you go for a test run, there's probably a good reason for it–a reason you want to discover before you stroke a check.

Before getting started, let's check for all our tools: Notepad and pen, measuring tape, mirror on a telescopic arm (you can get them in most auto–parts stores), flashlight, a small magnet and a GPS if the boat isn't equipped with one. You can also invest in an inclinometer and a sound meter, if you really want to do this like a pro.

Start your walkthrough at the simpler end of the boat–
the bow. Whether the boat has an enclosed cabin or an open bow, there are some standard items to check.

HYDRA–SPORTS BOATSAfter the test, inspect the cabin again. Is everything in place, or have objects been flung around?

Start with the anchor locker. Check it for size, access to the rode (if you can't get an entire arm and shoulder through the opening, you'll have trouble if the rode tangles), anchor security and an anchor rode tie–down. Also, be sure that bow light wiring running through the anchor locker is well supported and won't get tangled in or ripped out by the anchor.

Next, take a peek at the bow rails; grab them and push to discover if they shake, bend or move excessively. Is there any crazing in the gel coat at the stanchion bases? If so, you should know that it will only grow worse over time. Also check to see how many fasteners hold each stanchion; three is ideal and, generally speaking, more is better. Next look to see if they're secured with screws or through–bolts, and if they're backed with backing plates. You can't do this from above, and this is where one of those boat–testing tricks comes in handy: Go back to the anchor locker, insert your flashlight, then your entire head and shoulder. The boatbuilder never planned for anyone to do this, so from inside the anchor locker you can get a look at the underside of those stanchion attachments, and the unfinished hull–to–deck joint–gobs of knowledge is exposed to those willing to take a dive into the anchor locker.

SCOUT BOATSCheck out every seat in the boat; don't just look at it, sit in it while the boat is underway.

From here, you can see if there are backing plates behind the rail stanchions, bow cleats, and windlass fittings, if the boat is so equipped. In all cases, aluminum, steel or phenolic (a super–dense fiberglass) plates are best; Polyboard is also good – and wood is a whole lot better than nothing. Light–duty boats will be backed with washers, and el–cheapo boats have screws with nothing backing them up.

While you're head is down there, look closely at the hull–to–deck joint. You're likely to see screws, but don't let this scare you off; the joints in most modern boats are chemically bonded with Plexus or a similar adhesive–you should see some of the hardened goop spilling out of the seams–and the screws are only there to hold the rubrail in place. Heavy–duty boats, however, will add through–bolts on four–inch centers, fiberglass over the joint entirely, or will run a backing strip around the joint and bolt through it.

Before you extricate your head from the anchor locker, look for one more detail. Turn around, and look aft to check the aft bulkhead. Make sure it meets the deck, and where it does, fiberglass putty or an adhesive/sealant should be evident. You're looking to make sure the builder attained uniformity in its major parts, including bulkheads, stringers, and hatches. A bulkhead that stops half an inch shy of the deck (or hull) is a dead give–away that some parts may not fit into place as they should.

As you move aft, be sure to check the hatches on each and every compartment. These are items that you have to look at on an individual basis, throughout the boat, as one in the bow may be done properly while one in the stern may be a mess. Do they raise on gas–assisted struts? If so, make sure the thick end of the strut is mounted higher than the thinner arm, when the hatch is raised (this allows gravity–fed lubrication of the arm when it is in use). Look at the hinges. These should be through–bolted, and remember that longer piano–hinges will hold up better than short, small hinges, which can be stressed if someone leans on an open hatch. Also make sure hatches dog–down securely. Open the hatch all the way, to ensure it doesn't smack a gunwale or railing. And finally, if a hatch is on a fishbox or cooler, knock on it with your fist; a solid sound means it's a solid hatch but a hollow sound means it is cored, with a different material inside. Cored hatches are lighter, meaning they are easier to open and less apt to slam down.

LENNY RUDOWMore is better then it comes to rail stanchion fittings; three bolts make for a solid rail.

DOWN BELOW

Inside of the cabin, what you want to examine will vary considerably depending on the size of the boat and your expectations. As far as amenities go, it's an open book. But you can get an eyeball on some construction quality issues below decks, too.

The best place to do so is at the access points to the bilge. Here, again, you'll have to poke that noggin into places the builder never expected. Check for bulkhead fit and unfinished wood, which, in the bilge, is almost guaranteed to rot eventually. Examine pumps and pump switches to be sure they're solidly mounted with float switches running athwartships, not fore and aft (this prevents them from getting stuck in the on position). Look at wiring and plumbing lines. The most important thing to check is that they are all well loomed and supported. Also check where they run through bulkheads, to be sure they are chafe–protected. Make sure you take your flashlight and mirror into these areas. They'll help you look into corners and crevasses that would otherwise be out of view.

In the cockpit, once again the most telling details will be found below deck level. Make sure all bilge items of importance–pumps, seacocks, valves and batteries, among other things–are within reach. You'd be amazed how many builders bury these items in spots that only a contortionist could ever access. Remember that any through–hulls below the waterline should be fitted with seacocks that can be shut off via a ball valve, and that all hoses and fittings should have double hose clamps securing them. Stainless–steel clamps are a must – and here's where your magnet comes in handy. Many clamps are called stainless, but the screw and mechanisms in them are made with cheaper metal. Run your magnet across them, and if the magnet sticks to the metal, the clamps are cheap. Magnets won't grab real stainless. You can use this trick throughout the boat, to check suspect hardware and make sure it's real stainless.

LENNY RUDOWNote the gas-assist strut supporting the hatch, and the fact that it stops the hatch before it hits the gunwale. This is a top-notch arrangement.

The bilge is also the area where you can slap an eyeball on the stringers. These make up the backbone of the boat, so they're an important part of its structure. Usually stringers are either fiberglassed to the hull, or are set in a bed of Plexus or similar adhesive. In either case, look along the bottom edges to make sure there are no gaps or cracks between the stringer and the hull. In older boats, any indication of rot – older stringers were usually cored with wood – or stringer separation should scare you away. Massive repairs could be required to get the boat ship shape. The same goes for bulkheads where they meet the hull.

Another item to examine is the bilge pump outflow hose. What you want to see here is a loop in the hose, above the waterline, just before it hits the through–hull fitting. This is called an anti–siphon loop. If the through–hull dips below the water, this loop is what prevents the hose from back–filling the bilge with water.

While you are back here, you might as well check out the power system too, right? Maybe you feel comfortable poking around, but I recommend that a trained marine mechanic be called in for used vessels. Sure, most of us know enough to check the oil and make sure it's not milky (a sign of water intrusion), and look at the plugs and belts to be sure they're clean and in good shape, but the power plant is a complex beast on which you depend–so shell out the bucks for a pro, if you're serious about buying a boat.

The same goes for the structural integrity of older vessels, especially those made of wood, which really should be surveyed by a pro before purchase. On new boats, naturally, powerplant problems usually aren't much of a concern. There are a couple of performance details to check, but that will happen during your sea trial.

ON THE WATER

You're ready to leave the dock? Great–now shove that sales guy out of the way and take the wheel. You'll learn a lot more about the boat by operating it yourself. Is the wheel "sticky" or does it turn smoothly? Do you have to fight it at high speeds, or in sharp turns? Is the throttle tough to move, or easy? Operating the boat near the dock or ramp at slow speed is important, too, because some boats operate well at speed but are tough to handle at idle, or vise–versa.

Once you're out on the water, make a chart on your notepad that lists out the different rpm ranges in increments of 500, from 1000 to 6000, or as appropriate for the boat. Write these down the left side of a piece of paper. Then make separate columns along the top: two for speed and one for sound level, one for inclination and one for gallons per hour, if the boat has fuel flow information at the dash. You need two columns for speed so you can take two readings in opposite directions, then average them together, to cancel out the effects of wind and current.

LENNY RUDOWThe anchor locker holds a lot of clues about a boat.

For taking inclination readings, you can get an inclinometer at any marine supply store that serves sailors; most have inexpensive ($10 to $20) plastic models with a bead that floats in a graduated curve, showing the angle of inclination. Simply mount it using a strip of duct tape on a flat surface of the boat, positioned fore to aft, with the bead at "0" when the boat is at rest.

The sound level (DBA) meter is also easy to find, though these cost a bit more at about $50. Radio Shack carries them, as do many other electronics stores. Using them is simple – just turn it on and you'll get a digital reading of sound level – but make sure you hold the meter behind the helm, where wind noise doesn't skew the results. Speed, of course, can be accurately measured with any GPS unit.

Set the throttles at 1000, and record your info–how fast you're going, how loud it is, how much bow rise there is, and how much fuel you're burning. Later, when you sit down and think about how different boats performed, having records of cruising speeds, fuel efficiency, sound levels and inclination will give you good hard facts to use for comparative purposes, when it comes to gauging performance and comfort.

Here (below) is a sample chart, collected on a sea trial of a Boston Whaler 32 Outrage, powered by twin 275–hp Mercury Verado outboards.

RPM	MPH1	MPH2	GPH	Level	DBA
1000	5.5.	5.7	1.6	0	61
1500	7.5	7.6	3.0	0	64
2000	8.9	9.1	5.2	1	68
2500	98	10.1	9.2	3	72
3000	12.3	12.3	14.2	5	76
3500	18.1	18.2	18	5	80
4000	26.1	26.2	19.4	3	82
4500	34.0	34.2	25.8	2	84
5000	38.8	39.1	36.4	2	86
5500	42.3	42.5	45	2	89
6000	49.7	49.9	51.2	1	92

You should also put the boat through a series of "helm tests" that will tell you how well the boat handles. With the speed set at a reasonable cruise, carve some S turns. Make a sharp U turn. Hit waves in a head, beam and following seas. This is your chance to find out how the boat will handle rough terrain, so don't be ginger–run it hard. If you can get it to bang on a few big waves, so much the better. Later, when you re–inspect the cabin, you'll see if a hard pounding shook anything free down there.

Finally, stop the boat and maneuver it as you would in close quarters; backing, opposing the motors (for twin–screw boats) and "walking" the boat sideways. Go from a dead stop to full throttle and note the time it takes to get onto plane. Then back the throttle down slowly, and note minimum planning speed before the boat falls off of plane. This is a very important detail because it tells you just how slowly you'll be able to plod along in rough seas, while still getting reasonable fuel economy and making a reasonable speed. Then ask yourself: do any flaws or stand–out attributes make themselves known?

Next, put the boat into neutral and simply let it drift. Anglers will want to note whether it drifts beam–to or stern–to in the seas (usually beam–to for inboards and stern–to for stern drives and outboards–but not always) and everyone will want to note how much it rocks and rolls.

Finally, sit in the passenger's chair, lounge or aft bench seat while someone else runs the boat. The helm is often one of the more comfortable positions to ride in, and getting a feel for how your passengers will fare at sea is something you'll want to do now, not after you subject the wife and kids to a hell ride.

When your sea trial is complete, take the wheel again. Make sure you run the boat back to the dock, and try putting it in its slip or onto the trailer to get a feel for just how tough these maneuvers will be in the future. Back at the dock, give the entire boat another once–over. Look for items that may have vibrated loose, hatches or cabinets that swung open, furniture that moved and any other indications that the boat isn't ready for prime–time.

Lenny Rudow was senior technical editor for Boating Magazine for more than 10 years, and is currently the electronics editor for Marlin and GoBoating magazines.