[Bushwacker]

Josh, if the boat sat unused for very long w/o Stabil or equivalent in the fuel, there may be a lot of gum, varnish, stale gas and/or condensate (water) in the tank. Modern fuels start to deteriorate after about 30 days if some preservative isn't used! Unlike most modern boats, the tank on any Scepter or Seafari can be easily removed (once it's empty!) thru the deck hatch, unless some dummy replaced the tank and foamed it in! You can pull the hatch by pulling 4 screws and cutting thru the silicone sealant to make sure it hasn't been foamed in.

The transom and balsa core decks are suspect in any older boat if any holes drilled into those areas were not properly sealed, but my '72 is all original and still solid in all those areas, so age alone is not the only indicator. It's fairly easy to check for obvious structural problems - look for transom flexing when you step on the motor's cavitation plate, check for cracks in transom around the motor cutout and in the deck, and stomp on the deck to look for soft spots. If boat is in nice shape and they're asking a lot for it, it may be worth having it surveyed.