Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

[mperu99]

Hello,
does anyone have any experience with a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185 i met the guy yesterday to look at buying it, it was parked at a marina, i noticed that the entire back of the boat was full of water, water had come all the way up to the bottom of the altenator. we pumped it out via the bildge pump and then got on our hands and looked under the engine in the back and saw small leaking water in that hole in the back, The guy said he must not have got the plug in tight enough or its a bad plug...

so before i buy this.. is there any other possible explanation that would cause it to leak water in like that?

thanks

 

[rrhodes]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

How long was the water sitting in there? Could be a bellow, leaking transom.... If there was that much water sitting in the bilge I would be worried.

If you do want the boat I would have it surveyed.

 

[IVAZ]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

Welcome to iboats.
This boat was in the water when you checked?
Any things that are screwed to the hull are potential for leaks (pitot for speedometer, swim platform bolts, ladders etc.)
Unless the seller is going to give you a good discount, I would keep looking. It might be as simple as getting a new plug but it?s not really good to submerge any part of the engine. You also have to ask yourself how often it fills up with water. It has a great potential to have rot.

 

[mperu99]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

well there yesterday afternoon when i first met him there was no water when we test drove the boat but when i came back to meet him again like 2 1/2hours later there was water almost to the seats... we pumped out and looked under the doghouse and under the engine and saw that 1/2 hole water coming thru it. i wasnt enough to over take the bildge pump

 

[IVAZ]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

1/2 hole? Where was this hole at?

 

[this forum wont let me]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

Keep looking for a boat why buy one that already has you wondering things? I am no do it yourself kind of guy so I would say good luck to the seller and move on. just my .02

 

[mperu99]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

How long was the water sitting in there? Could be a bellow, leaking transom.... If there was that much water sitting in the bilge I would be worried.

If you do want the boat I would have it surveyed.

rhodes.. I had him put in a new plug.. then we pushed it back into the lake.. lifted the dog house and actually the water was coming down the transom..
like a water fall, as soon as you moved the wheel to the far right, it would drastically slow the amount of water coming in..

I pulled the boat back onto the trailer we pulled it out of the lake and looked at the bellows the very small one that has the cable inside if it it was completely split apart.. the rubber is still soft which makes no since...

I am hearing that the quick fix is to put silicone in the inner side of that bellow and zip tie it down on both ends

the repair from what im hearing from the marina is $1500, they will not just replace the bellow they want to do an entire overhaul of outboard unit, etc..... WTF!!!

so can you or someone tell me, surely it cannot be that hard to pull that outboard off to replace those bellows.... right?? it is a merc crusier lower and upper outboard unit

 

[IVAZ]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

I don?t know if a bellow repair should cost $1500 or not.
The problem is any time a bellow fails it requires you to fix what ever else got wet. The exception is the exhaust is bellow.
This boat is going to require other items addressed. Unless this boat is real cheap and you don?t mind gambling, I would walk.

 

[IVAZ]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

so can you or someone tell me, surely it cannot be that hard to pull that outboard off to replace those bellows.... right?? it is a merc crusier lower and upper outboard unit

They actually can be a real pain in the rear.

 

[mperu99]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

so basically unless this guy is unwilling to drop the price from $2600 to $1100 so then i could pay the $1500 to fix it.. walk away right?

 

[IVAZ]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

I would walk away if it was me. I paid 2600 for my 1988 celebrity and its not given me any issues and stays dry inside (I have put about sixty hours in five months). You should do your best to find a boat thats ready to go with no problems. There is good old boats out there, might just need to look for a little longer. Buying a boat with existing issues will end up being frustrating unless the price is good enough to justify it.

 

[mperu99]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

Ya a buddy that i finally got to speak with said that if any bellow is ripped then the sterndrive unit is full of water too in places that shouldnt have water.. so it would have to be pulled apart , cleaned up and replace any seals, bearings.. etc... which is why the marina was probably saying $1500 so that the entire stern drive unit would be refreshed and new bellows installed.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

If the water was up to the seats, then most likely it got under the deck, which means the foam is wet. It'll never dry out, & will add a ton of weight to the boat. You'll have to pull the deck to get the foam out. And if the stringers got wet, they'll rot. And you don't know how many times this happened. It sounds like a restoration project in the making. Ya sure you want this boat?

 

[marine4003]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

Time to walk away.....

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

Ya a buddy that i finally got to speak with said that if any bellow is ripped then the sterndrive unit is full of water too in places that shouldnt have water.. so it would have to be pulled apart , cleaned up and replace any seals, bearings.. etc... which is why the marina was probably saying $1500 so that the entire stern drive unit would be refreshed and new bellows installed.

And let me guess, it has a 470 Mercruiser in it too?

RUN AWAY RUN AWAY!

 

[mperu99]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

no it has a MERCRUISER 3.0L 130 HP

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

Well, that's better, but the boat has $$$$ issues. Good luck!

 

[jonesg]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

Look on craigslist, no shortage of good boats for that kind of money.

 

[mperu99]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

Ok, thank you gentlemen, I do appreciate your help as i am a first time buyer and will take heed and leave that $$$$ headache to someone else.

How does anyone feel about a 1977 Arrow Glass Cheetah (17') 140HP Merc.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: Ready to buy a 1987 REGAL MARINE MEDALLION 185

Ok, thank you gentlemen, I do appreciate your help as i am a first time buyer and will take heed and leave that $$$$ headache to someone else.

How does anyone feel about a 1977 Arrow Glass Cheetah (17') 140HP Merc.

I don't know. How do you feel about buying a boat that is more than 30 yrs. old? Don't even think about it without a sea trial.