1975 Sea Star trihull w/ 165hp Merc I/O (need opinions please)

[Butch Ammon]

Good afternoon... I have my dad's old 1975 Sea Star 17' bowrider trihull with the classic, legendary, 165hp inline 6 Mercruiser I/O. This old boat is really showing its age and, mechanically, the ol' 165 is still strong and running good. But, bodily wise and overall appearance, the poor old boat has seen better days. My wife and I jerry-rigged a piece of weatherproof plywood onto of the flooring in the stern to help strengthen the floor, but it is now all worn and looks terrible.<br /><br />Please click on these photos to see what I am talking about:<br /><br />View of stern (except you can't really see the old pre-alpha stern drive too well):<br /> http://members.aol.com/ammonc/SeaStar.jpg <br /><br />View from inside showing flooring (sorry for the stretched out (wide angle) photo shot):<br /> http://members.aol.com/ammonc/SeaStar1.jpg <br /><br />View of the cockpit and bow from inside:<br /> http://members.aol.com/ammonc/SeaStar2.jpg <br /><br />Lastly, a photo of me in front of the boat/trailer in the side yard:<br /> http://members.aol.com/ammonc/SeaStar3.jpg <br /><br />As you see by the boat trailer, it too is equally old, and is a combination of white, black, primer, and RUST! <br /><br />I have decided it is time to upgrade to a newer boat and am thinking of parting ways with this old boat (I talked it over with my wife, kids, and my 81 yr old mom as well - all in regards and in all respect and honor of my late father). My father would also agree, and would probably upgrade to a newer boat too.<br /><br />$75,000 question for all: After careful review of these photos, what would you consider a fair assessment or fair market value of a 30yr old boat like this one?<br /><br />Thanks for all the help!!!<br /><br />Butch A.

 

[kaiyuh1]

Re: 1975 Sea Star trihull w/ 165hp Merc I/O (need opinions please)

check out www.nada.com

 

[Butch Ammon]

Re: 1975 Sea Star trihull w/ 165hp Merc I/O (need opinions please)

Thanks...<br /><br />I had to search under "SeaStar" for Glastex Co. I either have the 17' Montego series or the 17' Playmate series (I can no longer can read the detailed description on the dashboard emblem).<br /><br />Anyway, it showed the info for my 1975 17' Glastex Sea Star:<br /><br />Low: $1250<br />Avg: $1500<br /><br />Wow, that is major depreciation... I'm "guess-timating" that the $1500 price is actually for a fully operable, fully restored model. The $1250 is probably for a basic, run-of-the-mill model for sale in up in a back field at a marina somewhere. My gut feeling is that the average Joe on the street would be talking $1000 at max. <br /><br />Butch A.

 

[rdl525]

Re: 1975 Sea Star trihull w/ 165hp Merc I/O (need opinions please)

I bought a 1974 Sea Star this weekend for $1100 with the trailer. Like yours, it needs a lot of work. I just got through ripping out the main seating. I'm hoping she is sea worthy. Good luck to you!

 

[Butch Ammon]

Re: 1975 Sea Star trihull w/ 165hp Merc I/O (need opinions please)

Thanks....<br /><br />You see, back when my twin daughters were in high school, we always went up to the lake and went boating, tubing, skiing, etc... - almost every single weekend.<br /><br />Now since my girls graduated, are now working and going to college, and my wife and I always seem to be busy with other things, the poor old boat just sits. Honest - we only used the boat TWO TIMES last year! What can I say? It was one of those weird things.... Everybody had something going on, or when we all got in sync, and planned on going boating, it would rain real bad with thunder/lightning!<br /><br />It is truely sad to see, because the old boat is a classic old trihull - it just needs major work to get it restored. And I just don't have the time.... <br /><br />Butch A.

 

[ziggy]

Re: 1975 Sea Star trihull w/ 165hp Merc I/O (need opinions please)

i'll probably get shoed off this forum for this statement. but get yerself a pwc. keep the tri-hull and fix yer dad's boat up, slow(it's part of your family history)floors are replaceable(mine has been and is and feels like a rock). ya will still be on the water with a pwc while yer fixin up the tri. and pwc are fun and go almost anywhere(exilirateing even). real easy to put in and out of the water too under many ramp conditions, not a lot of prep either. ya don't have to drive pwc crazy, they are crusiers now, mighty comfy, and if ya aint driven one, well. they are high proformance watercraft and handle that way too. ya can't take the tri out in 5' swells, pwc, yep. they like that. mine makes me fell young again. not to mention they are good exercise. <br />i was interested in yer tail as i have my dad's ol boat too. am slowly fixin it up. those ol tri's really look cool, recon they are classic now. and as far as i can tell, themz 165's, well, yer right, ya just can't get a better more reliable platform i don't think. nice and easy to work on too, understandable old technology.<br /> <br />if ya don't like the pwc idea, anything that gets ya on the water is acceptable . but keep yer dads tri. <br /><br />btw, my dad was out on my pwc 2 weeks before he died at 77, hittin 55mph with his hair in the wind and a smile on his face....<br /><br />as ya can see by my signture, i'm bias towards old tri's and pwc. keep on boating,,,,,

 

[JasonJ]

Re: 1975 Sea Star trihull w/ 165hp Merc I/O (need opinions please)

Its hard to sell an old boat with structural issues unless you are dishonest. I would have to agree that you may be better off keeping it and fixing it. The downside is it sounds like you need to do a full stringer/floor and maybe even transom job on it, not to mention buffing out the gelcoat and repairing/updating the interior. That sort of work starts to add up, and if you are not up to the task of the rebuild, can be quite daunting. You may end up having to sell it, but its doubtful you'll get a lot of coin for it.