1990 29' Crest Sundecker - any gotchas ????

[calvinator]

Sold the ski boat last year. Been looking for a 'toon for about a year. For family fun -- family as in 10-12 people. Fishing, swimming, cruising.

I found a toon that looks interesting. Any thoughts here?

$6000
1990 Crest III Sundecker. 29'. It is a doubledecker w/ladder and upper sundeck (diving board for kids).
Good shape. Needs some cleaning, but useable.
Redecked & carpet.
Some new furniture, a few older pieces.
Mariner 60 motor. 12 MPH.
2 yrs old Full camper enclosure.
Bimini top for front area w/roll up screens.


I really like the size, the sundeck, and the camper enclosure. I rarely see this type of toon with these features, especially the sundecker. I would use all of these a lot. Esp the camper enclosure to stay out of the sun.

I don't like the motor size and 12MPH. Seems limiting...... and I'm not clear if any more HP produces any gains. If I motor swapped to a 90HP, do I get 15 MPH (not worth it). I would like to pull an inner tube with a kid in there --- but just for slow speed cruising. Is this not really an option for this toon/motor ????

And when this sits in the water, the rear of the toon's are 50%-60% submerged. see pic. Is that anything to be concerned about -- or is this just the type/size of toon used in 1990.

And lastly, I can not find any info about this pontoon (weight, toon size, transom rating). It is a 1990 Crest III Sundecker 29'. Anyone have a honey hole website/manual for more info ?

Lastly -- I have another $2000-3000 to spend on this. I like to buy older stuff and fix it up better than new. Something like a 3rd log, bigger motor, water glide ?

Just looking for any thoughts/info. THANKS - FRANK

 

[smoedog]

Re: 1990 29' Crest Sundecker - any gotchas ????

Wow, I would snatch that up in a heartbeat. That is everything I was looking for before settling on what i got.

I would sell the motor on there and pickup a used 115 or 150 (prolly have to beef up the transom for a 150).

I can get 25mph on my 24ft with an old 115 yammy (but that is crank hp)

 

[The Rooster]

Re: 1990 29' Crest Sundecker - any gotchas ????

That dosen't look bad at all "Calvin". I don't believe the "waterglide" will do much for a rig that big, and to get any real benefits from that third tube, you'll need quite a bit more hp. Just for reference, a good friend of mine has a 30' Suntracker partyhut. He's running a 115 4-stroke Merc. Max. speed approx. 20-21 mph, but thats at wot 6000 rpms. Cruising at 4000-4500, he's running approx. 16 mph. Good luck !!!

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: 1990 29' Crest Sundecker - any gotchas ????

Thats a very nice looking boat.

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: 1990 29' Crest Sundecker - any gotchas ????

Gonna be fun when it gets windy with that tent up. Do you leave that up all the time or is there a cover, cause the sun will make quick work of the canvas.

 

[calvinator]

Re: 1990 29' Crest Sundecker - any gotchas ????

Gonna be fun when it gets windy with that tent up. Do you leave that up all the time or is there a cover, cause the sun will make quick work of the canvas.

Good news is the camper enclosure is Sunbrella fabric and it can come down. There is a full mooring cover for this thing too.

Bad news is that there is a lot of canvas that needs to be put up/down, folded, lugged around, put away , etc etc.

In the end, I think all the canvas is good. Here in Ohio the boating season is 4 months. 1 month of spring COLD, 2 months of HOT summer, and a month of COOL fall. Having the canvas up keeps the fam out of the elements.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: 1990 29' Crest Sundecker - any gotchas ????

You must be way north, I am on the south Ohio boarder and we get 9 to 10 mouths here.

 

[lncoop]

Re: 1990 29' Crest Sundecker - any gotchas ????

Man, that thing is pristine. Very nice.

 

[old jim]

Re: 1990 29' Crest Sundecker - any gotchas ????

I think how low it sits in the water needs to be addressed. old jim

 

[rogerwa]

Re: 1990 29' Crest Sundecker - any gotchas ????

I would pull it out and have the checked for water and have them pressure checked just ot make sure you are getting as much floatation out of them as possible. It seems to be hanging low in the rear. with people and stuff, it will just get lower.

On my old boat I had cracked welds on the top of the toons which would take on water while underway, yet would not take in water just while sitting. $250 and they were fixed. He also found some pinholes that he patched up. Having the pressure checked is a relatively cheap peace of mind..

 

[calvinator]

Re: 1990 29' Crest Sundecker - any gotchas ????

Well, I bought her today. Happy to be a boater again ! ! !

1989 Crest III Sundecker. 29' of toon with full camper enclosure is what sold me. There was some wiggle room in the price too and some bonuses too, redecked 3 yrs ago, old furniture is very good shape, a couple of new pieces too. Covers for everything. Modern Sony stereo w/ (4) 6x9's. Big bumpers and new docks lines. New depth/fish finder. Ladder to get on the Sundeck and a front swim ladder too. 2 new group 27 batteries, Perko, solar trickle charger, 3 gas tanks.

I spent a lot of time crawling around the toons looking for cracks on the top. Found nothing. I did stick a stick in the vent plug on top of the toons to see if there was any water. Didn't find anything, but it wasn't the greatest of tests. AND it was 20 degrees and snowing, could have frozen water there. That will be another test for warmer days. Toons were 23" diameter.

I did take a gamble on the motor. It is a 1989 Marnier 60. I have some documentation from the local marina on it, including recent service on fuel system and winterization. We'll see ! !

OK, so what are the plans ?!?!

It needs a gooooood cleaning.

I will clean, polish, sharkhide the toons. I like shiny toons.

All the sheet metal will be re-painted a silver metallic.

I'll restripe the current graphics, but a little bigger and bolder. Dark blue will be the base color with a wide yellow stripe accented by thinner white and silver stripes. There are some SeaRay Sport boats out there that have this scheme and it looks great.

Maybe a vinyl graphic.

Subwoofer.

There is a lot of furniture and I'm thinking of a better floorplan to open up the front.

HUGE OHIO STATE FLAG ! ! !

And lastly, get this baby ready for use by May !

THANKS ALL FOR THE FEEDBACK AND POINTERS ! ! ! !

 

[The Rooster]

Re: 1990 29' Crest Sundecker - any gotchas ????

Congratulations, Calvin. I think you got a steal. Looking forward to seeing all the work you will be doing to her. With gas prices inching up, I was thinking about swapping motors w/ you !!!:laugh: Good luck !!!