Advice on buying a Wellcraft Eclipse

[rauch0812]

I'm looking into buying a 94 Wellcraft Eclipse 196S. This will be our first boat so all the advice we can get is appreciated. We've negotiated down to $4K for the boat including GPS, customer covers, etc... and he's willing to take us on a test ride when the weather warms up. So that all seems great to me. My concern is there is a soft spot on the deck near the door where you would store your skis and such, and a soft spot toward the back of the boat. The seller states these are no problem because of there location and I can have them professionally repaired for under $400, which he may be willing to negotiate off the price of the boat. Does this sound reasonable? Are there other things I should check? Is there such thing as a $400 "spot" repair and does that include cutting into the carpet? Should I just run away? I'm very interested in the boat. Thanks in advance for any advice and even advice on what other things to check. Remember - I'm totally new to the boating world so "boating for dummies talk" would be wonderful!

Desera

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Advice on buying a Wellcraft Eclipse

If it was me....I'd walk. Sorry.

Like 90% of the time these soft spots are indicative of more serious rot below. Having to do a full rebuild on this boat would kill any potential good deal you're getting. If you check out some of the threads in the restoration you'll be able to see what's probably under that deck.

 

[Philster]

Re: Advice on buying a Wellcraft Eclipse

Soft spots are one of the first things to look for, and you can imagine that if boat shoppers look for soft spots near the top of the list... then finding them is often a deal breaker.

A boat that old could be a good buy if it were trailered and covered between all uses.

Doesn't sound good.

 

[superpop]

Re: Advice on buying a Wellcraft Eclipse

Wellcraft makes a great boat, I used to have a 1996 Wellcraft Eclipse 195SS and it was a great boat. Mine had snap out carpet and a fiberglass floor though and it had no rot. In boats, rot typically happens from the bottom up so if you are finding soft spots in the deck, that is typically indicative if lots more rot underneath. Not always but most of the time. If you are brand new to boating and do not have the desire or skill to work with fiberglass then this is not the boat for you. A new floor can be thousands of dollars to repair if they have to replace stringers ect and unless you can do this work yourself then you will be spending way more than the boat is worth when you factor in what you have paid.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Advice on buying a Wellcraft Eclipse

If the boat is a carpet over wood floor, I would just go up a few years until you get the models that start using fiberglass floors. My Wellcraft Eclipse is a 24' but it has an all fiberglass self draining cockpit.