[SteveKras]

I flew to the MidWest to see a boat on the Great Lakes and the owner met the broker and I at their indoor storage yard. The owner absolutely sucked the air out of the room, telling me how great everything was they had done to the boat. A very friendly guy, but didn't want us to miss any little detail he was proud of. I think we had to stand next to the dinghy and listen to a speech on it for 5 minutes. I swear he was more proud of his dinghy than the mother ship itself. OOOPH.

I left that viewing feeling like I couldn't do what I went to do. If I opened anything, I got a 10 minute story. I think most owners would make this mistake, because it's too personal and they don't know how to sell.

I had a similar experience on survey day. The owner would not shut up. Thankfully the owner didn't show up until after the surveyor completed all the heavy poking and pinging on the boat. The surveyor was basically transcribing his notes and gathering miscellaneous specs like battery size and tank size. My wife who is a better people person than I went and had a chat with the owners so that I could talk freely with the surveyor.
Now, after the sale, I wouldn't mind sitting down with the previous owner to hear his stories. The previous owner had the boat for 30 years and knew the original owner. So like SanderO, he knows a lot of history behind his the boat. I just don't want an owner interjecting stories while I am inspecting the boat.

 

[SteveKras]

Our past 2 Volvo's state within 500rpm of WOT.

Mark

I have a 2012 Volvo D2-40. I pulled the following text from the manual.

Cruising Speed

Avoid operations at full throttle for best fuel economy. We recommend a cruising speed that is around 500-1000 rpm below the maximum rpm at top speed (full throttle).
Depending on the type of hull, choice of propeller, load and sea state etc., maximum revolutions at top speed may very, but should be within the full throttle range; refer to the Engines section.

The engines sections lists engine RPMs at 2800-3200 for D1-13, Dq-20, D1-30, and D2-40 engines. I typically cruise at 2200 rpm which puts me around 6.5kts in chop for a boat that has a theoretical hull speed of 7.6. I believe I have gotten a little over 7 kts at around 2500.
Buying a boat without a thorough test of its engine to WOT would be like buying a car without fully testing its ABS brakes. I know, not the same, but stay with me. just because a boat can motor through the harbor, doesn't mean it can operate within the manufacturer's design at WOT. Just because your car can stop in a parking lot doesn't mean the brake system will function to the designer's intention when you stomp on the brake peddle on the highway. I'm not saying you're going to measure all the engines tolerances to compare, but a surveyor with an average amount of knowledge should be able to determine if you need a proper mechanic to examine the engine further.