Boat Search, Day I

I got up in my hotel and immediately got very excited to go see the boat I had seen over winter break and have had my eye on for the past several months. I checked out of the hotel and drove to the seller's house. I got there and saw him crawling around inside the boat. I was somewhat surprised since he said that he was going to have it ready to go for a sea trial as soon as I got there. There was apparently a problem with the electrical system that had recently appeared. After the two of us fixed that problem, a few other issues with the electrical system became apparent. Rather than trailering the boat to the ocean right away, the two of us worked for a couple of hours fixing things and getting her ready.
We finally hooked the trailer up to his truck and I followed him to a public boat launch. We had to hit the trailer with the tire iron for a long time to extend the trailer tongue that was completely rusted. Once that was finished, we tried to step the mast with his homemade winch thing. After the mast nearly fell over, he called his friend to come help us. His friend showed up and helped us steady the mast as it was raised. When we were finished, he backed the trailer down the ramp and put the boat in the water. I crawled inside and immediately started checking the hull for leaks. The propeller shaft began to leak so I kept that in the back of my mind as I kept checking the rest of the boat.
Next, I checked the head. I opened the seacocks and filled the bowl. As I pumped the bowl empty, the contents of it began spewing out all over my hands and onto the floor. I was getting very worried about the boat at this point so I crawled into the tiny engine compartment to see what was in there. I reached my hand down into the bilge and came up with a handful of rotten wood so that was about the final straw.
I decided not to buy the boat and told the owner this. He was visibly disappointed but understood that his boat would not be the best for a long trip. I helped him derig the boat and came up with a new rope system that made it possible for a single person to take down the mast.
I was completely disappointed that the primary boat that I had been looking at fell through. I went to a hotel and started from square one searching for boats again. My parents helped me out quite a bit and I tried to contact several people that are trying to sell their boats but was only able to leave messages.