1963 Cadorette assesment

[chconger]

Hey All

A buddy of mine is interested in purchasing the this boat;

I really like the glass layup here;

Now he is not interested in getting into a full on restoration. So a principal thing is to determine the state of the stringers and transom.

The current owner says the boat is solid, When we asked him if the transom was sound, he said yes; he did a "leak test" on the transom. I am not sure what that is or what that proves as far as rot; I suspect the current owner may not know and just threw that out.

So, we are going down to have a look. Ideally the owner would let us drill some 1/4 inch test holes and see what comes out. But its also a possibility he may not want a couple of yahoos near his boat with a drill.

So my question is...if the drill is not welcome; what other non destructive options are there to determine the state of things?


Thanks
Chris

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1963 Cadorette assesment

Get inside the boat and with a ball pein hammer tap on the lower portions of the transom and check to see if it's solid.
Raise the motor and bounce on the lower leg of it and check for any flex in the transom. If it flexes even just a bit, that's an indication it will need to be replaced in the near future. While inside the boat check every nook and cranny of the floor/deck for soft spots. This would indicate problems below the deck, i.e. stringers and bulkheads could be wet and rotting. If none of these are found then she should be good to go.

Good Luck on your "Look and See"

 

[chconger]

Re: 1963 Cadorette assesment

Thanks Wood. Good advise as usual.

Road trip is set up for Sunday AM.

Chris

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1963 Cadorette assesment

Based on this pix:

There may not be a typical deck w/ stringers etc.......

You can also get a general impression by gauging the overall condition & appearance of the boat, it's interior & exterior, motor & trailer.

From the pix, it seems to be well maintained, not perfect, but also doesn't appear to have anything that would be a red flag that something has been covered up.....

It does look to have been left outside uncovered, from the leaf/brown staining along the keel in the pix I re-posted. Maybe just once :sleeping: oops

But there's no haloing in/on the gelcoat around the chrome fittings & not much (if any) pitting on them. The steering wheel also looks to be in near mint condition. They are very susceptible to UV damage & cracking....

I doubt the seats are original vinyl, but that can just be another thing to bring up. Not really a hammer to help lower the asking price, but can let the seller know that you aren't un-knowledgable about boats & their construction and etc... That w/ what you've learned in your tear down & beginning put back of your boat project..

Good luck

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 1963 Cadorette assesment

Not to be nosy(well yeah), but what is the asking price? Often that can determine if it's worth even looking at.

 

[chconger]

Re: 1963 Cadorette assesment

He has him down to $850 by email alone. So perhaps more to come if stuff is faulty but not "walk away" territory.

The back story is it he is the second owner, bought it at an estate sale and had it only one year. Yes I agree, it does look like it was cared for. If that's original gel coat, the red came through these 50 years pretty darn well.

I wonder if there are any stringers at all? Ill bring a camera along and post back for sure.

Cheers
Chris

 

[matt167]

Re: 1963 Cadorette assesment

It looks almost like my Custom Crafts foam support core with the seat supports and all, which is interesting because the steering wheel also looks very close to the wheel on my boat. gold colored resin with gold flake wheel with a nearly identical center.. The side brackets for the windshield is also similar tho they were probably just stock Taylor made items The rest of the boat is totally different..

 

[chconger]

Re: 1963 Cadorette assesment

So we went on a road trip;

That survivor gellcoat was not. It was a painted deck

Plenty of stress cracks:

In the hull too:

There was no floor, which let us see the stringers, and the cracks & weepage out of them;

Here was the port stringer at the transom;

We leaned on the motor and the transom flexed over an inch.


So we walked.


Just to add;

The seller said it had electric start: It did not even have a starter motor, and never did according to the Johnson model number.

The seller said everything worked but "perhaps the trailer lights needed to be fixed": The steering cables were broken. Briefly before they broke, they were made from blue clothesline.

The gas tanks in the boat were not matched to the engine. The engine required the 2 line type. These tanks were for the later model single line type.

Anyway. A total waist of time...but there is no better way to waist time then to play around in boats (and not spend money), it's another good day.

Cheers
Chris

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 1963 Cadorette assesment

Oh well, ch. You got to look at a boat, so not 100% waste, maybe 85%. Slightly off from the sellers ad! How did the windshield go from so nice in the first pics to so grungy in your last set?

 

[chconger]

Re: 1963 Cadorette assesment

Oh well, ch. You got to look at a boat, so not 100% waste, maybe 85%. Slightly off from the sellers ad! How did the windshield go from so nice in the first pics to so grungy in your last set?

Actually it was a great morning. How can a brief road trip with a buddy be bad?

The windshield in my most recent pictures has dew on it, that's all.

 

[Sailexit]

Re: 1963 Cadorette assesment

Thanks to CHC for starting this tread and going with me to check out the boat.

I asked the seller all the questions before going on a road trip.
He did not provide the real answers.
How can one ever really know.

Great road trip though.
Beautiful sunny Sunday morning.
The afternoon was windy too, so we went sailing.
Boating sure is a great hobby.

Thanks again
Shaun

 

[chconger]

Re: 1963 Cadorette assesment

Hey Shaun


It was fun! On to the next candidate....

Cheers
Chris