1979 Chris-Craft Catalina 29' - is this possible?

[ArmchairDeity]

I'm looking at a 1979 CC Catalina... the thing is freaking immaculate. All original interior, no particular wear on any of the cushions. The woodwork near the entrance to the cuddy is a bit faded, but some darker wood oil would fix that. The only things it seems to need (after spending about 2 hours going over it pretty well) are the following:

• Remote control spotlight controls - the mechanicals inside the spotlight are broken
• Faded woodwork/paneling around the cuddy entrance
• Connectors/fasteners in the engine compartment (some of the c-rings have broken and are replaced by clamped vice grips)
• A good cleaning and paint on the keel
• A few surface mars on the gunwale and hull
• One of the boards in the teak swimdeck is split and needs to be glude and clamped, possible a few brass screws added for looks and strength
• Bimini top was lost to a storm, needs an entirely new top
• Team trim panels were sanded thru and nasty so he replaced them with upholstered panels instead... so I can leave them or restore them with teak veneer on marine plywood
• Windows... a few of the window tracks are busted, probably needs new window frames on both sides of the cabin
• The pump handle in the head needs new pins. Right now it has 2 screwdrivers pushed thru the connecting rod ends to make the pump work
• The shower head is busted where it connects to the top of the faucet, so it needs a new faucet and shower hose

It's got the original compass and depth sounder that work, the fumes detector, all bilge pumps and plumbing are functional...

The guy has lost his job and is looking at losing his house, so he's extremely motivated to sell.

The American Boating Association site gives a current price of $8700-$9700, but the 79 Catalinas I'm seeing listed in other places are listed for between $16k and $30k.

I can get my hands on this boat for somewhere between $3500 and $4500.

The only real catch is that it's currently at a marina and has no trailer, so I either need a trailer (and a new truck lol) or I need to cover the $2400 annual slip fee for a year while I get it ready and try to sell it.

Any thoughts? Any serious gotchas? Am I insane or is this the kind of deal it looks like?

 

[ricohman]

Re: 1979 Chris-Craft Catalina 29' - is this possible?

What about the mechanicals? Are you getting a survey or taking it out yourself?
Big boats = big trailers which = big $$$

 

[ArmchairDeity]

Re: 1979 Chris-Craft Catalina 29' - is this possible?

I should probably have a marine mechanic take a look... and I'm not going to buy it without starting it.

After reading the guy's thread about picking up a Catalina 251 for $1000 I'm envious and drooling. This is the ultimate big-water fishing boat... 14 lines between down riggers, lead/copper core and planer boards...

It's taking all the willpower I can not to call the guy and say "I'll take it!" lol

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1979 Chris-Craft Catalina 29' - is this possible?

Hi AD,

The best advice I can give you is to keep your perspective.

Once this boat fever gets in your blood, it can warp reality and make your brain go round and round in little circles, until you finally succumb...:facepalm:

Remember that the high end prices for those boats are probably for Pristine or almost Mint condition...more than likely everything is in very good working order and it is a turnkey boat having been very well maintained...the "Book" values are what you should guide yourself by...remember, asking price and selling price are rarely, if ever, the same...

Before you spend your money, make sure you get a qualified marine surveyor to have a look at it...for the price of the survey, you could save yourself a ton of headaches and misspent fortunes, or you may have hit the jackpot, and found a great deal...

Not only should it be properly inspected, but a sea trial is a must! Run it, test everything, feel it, etc., etc...You will probably have to invest some of your own hard to come by money to do the sea trial and get it inspected, etc., but the expense will more than pay for itself in the knowledge and peace of mind you will have gained, irregardless of which way the deal goes...

Also, look around and start pricing out a trailer for this large of a boat and the appropriate sized vehicle to able to tow it...you might find that it is cheaper to keep it in the slip for now...

Best of luck!

 

[QC]

Re: 1979 Chris-Craft Catalina 29' - is this possible?

Note that boat has a 10' 9" beam, so I am not sure what your trailering plans are, but needs to be considered. Specs say 6500 dry weight which is pretty laughable. I am guessing near 10K total weight on the trailer.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: 1979 Chris-Craft Catalina 29' - is this possible?

I think your going to stuck in a slip with a 29' inboard boat no matter the truck and trailer. Launching one every weekend is not very practical.

With that said, it might be worth finding out from a broker what 29 Catalina's are actually selling for. Around here they will not list for much more than $10k and I imagine most are selling far south of that number.

With that said the chris crafts of that era should be a fairly solid boat. Is this a flybridge model or an express?

 

[ArmchairDeity]

Re: 1979 Chris-Craft Catalina 29' - is this possible?

It's an express. It's a beauty, and I'm trying to keep boat fever out of my blood. As soon as you start to mix in emotions with this stuff your chances at being successful drop to even less than infinitesimal.

Not sure where you got your specs QC, but where I was looking it was listed as almost 9k just for the boat. That's about $1/lb! lol

I'm figuring a minimum of $3k for a trailer if I want one and ive wanted a diesel Expedition for years. But with a 11 foot beam and a dry weight of almost 9000 lbs I'm pretty sure that moving it around much may not be the best idea.

Then again the landing in Two Harbors kind of proves that wrong. You should see the boats that go in and out on that landing...

 

[superpop]

Re: 1979 Chris-Craft Catalina 29' - is this possible?

I would be very leery of this deal. If you are looking to flip the boat you are looking at a major risk of losing money if there is anything of substance wrong with the boat. Just based on the description, it sounds like there could be a lot of deferred maintenance and the parts list you rattled off could easily be thousands of dollars to fix. Also, not sure what the towing laws are in your state but I think anything over 9 feet wide needs special permits, and signage on the boat and tow vehicle. My neighbor just picked up a 10 year old RV that sold for over 400K new for 60 grand and this thing looks brand new. Boats are similar in that there are a lot of them out there and lots of desperation sellers. If you are buying for your own personal enjoyment and plan on keeping it for a while, I would say get it surveyed and if it checks out buy it and enjoy. Otherwise you probably have better odds down at the track with your money.

 

[sqbtr]

Re: 1979 Chris-Craft Catalina 29' - is this possible?

^^^^+1

I'm thinking, if, I had 30g to spend on a boat ....................................the last boat I would consider would be of wood construction. You went from wanting to flip boats to buying an Expedition to haul a monster wood boat that has vice grips holding the wiring in.

What boats are listed for and what they actually sell for is equating night to day. The most I would offer for that boat is the balance of the slip fee for the year and hope I would get that money back.

JMHO

 

[25thmustang]

Re: 1979 Chris-Craft Catalina 29' - is this possible?

Sqbtr this is a fiberglass boat. The older Chris Crafts were usually well built glass boats as well. They usually have Crusader inboards and standard systems. Not bad projects as a starter type large boat. Towing one might be tough but anything is doable.