What is the weirdest thing you have ever bought on Facebook Marketplace?
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Whatever your answer might be, Andrew of AYO Fishing will probably have you beat.
Andrew likes boats, he also likes buying random things on Facebook Marketplace, luckily for him his two passions collided when he found a 64-person enclosed life boat for sale only 2 hours away from him. Without hesitation, Andrew and his cameraman Tommy hopped in their truck and made the journey to check out the amazing find.
Andrew and Tommy met James, the 80-something-year-old owner of the vessel.
James bought the life boat from on auction a few years prior on a whim and after enjoying his time with it, he was finally ready to sell. James kept the boat in good condition, he had even taken it out on the water in a lake near him a few times, and he cranked the engine periodically to make sure it still worked.
After checking out the inside, Andrew wanted to make sure that the boat would, in fact, start up.
After a couple of cranks with nothing happening, the trio realized that the batteries were dead and they would have to find some new ones. James offered to drive them all into town to find new batteries and show them around the place he called home.
What started out as a few hours to go check out the life boat turned into an entire day’s outing with equally friendly and funny James.
Andrew and Tommy sat in the bed of the James’s pickup truck while he whipped around the streets he knew so well going from place to place to find the batteries they needed. Once they got what they needed, James decided to take the pair out to lunch and they enjoyed some fresh catfish at a local restaurant.
Once they finally returned to the boat it was time to crank the engine and see, once and for all if the machine would start up.
After hauling the batteries on board and getting them properly hooked up, James cranked the engine and it started up almost instantly. Andrew, very pleased to hear the sounds of a healthy motor, wanted to take one final check of the vessel before agreeing to the deal.
He rolled under the hull and, though there were minor spots that had some rust, he was very happy with the total package.
While there were a few small issues here and there, such as a few rusty bolts and a bit of cracked plywood, it was nothing that would scare Andrew away from the purchase and he ended up shaking James’s hand on the deal, both with big smiles on their faces.
Before they left, James even gave Andrew a photo of his exact life boat out on the ocean, mounted on top of an oil rig.
The only thing left for Andrew to do was to figure out how to get the huge and very heavy boat back to his property. Luckily, James included a trailer that was specially made for the life boat. All Andrew had to do was find a way to tow it 2 hours through busy city traffic, and then the boat would be his, ready for a bit of sprucing up and all kinds of adventures.
Check out Andrew’s amazing Facebook Marketplace find in the video below.
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