The boat had been on a lift, and a tropical storm turned out to be much more damaging than originally forecast. By the time the owner realized it was going to be bad, the power was out. Then the waves started to build, and all they could do was watch it beat itself against the pilings. After the lift collapsed, the boat washed up on a sandy beach. They used a wrecker to drag it up the beach and back onto the trailer. The trailer appeared to be in good shape, and the front half and bottom of the boat looked very good, other than one short section of damage on the starboard bow. The back was chewed up more than you can see in these pictures; the whole port deck stern quarter was hanging on by a thread and was flopping around in the breeze on the drive home. The gray tube you see on the starboard side is a plastic pipe they use to carry control lines back to the rear of the boat; it was gouged and beat up but it did protect the stuff inside. Key West uses NO wood in the boat, so I wasn?t worried about rot. All the electrical stuff in the back of the boat was corroded to nothing (typical when submerging a live battery in saltwater). The transom looked and felt solid with beefy stringers and a solid motor well structure, and the motor looked very steady on the ride home. There were a few gaping holes where the swim platform had gotten ripped out. The motor looked like a very dedicated vandal had taken a hammer and smashed EVERYTHING on the motor. No plugs, no coils, no electronics, no temp sensor, and most of the carbs gone as well. However, the lower unit (and prop) looked pretty good. My thought was here is the cheap fishing boat I was looking for; quick and dirty repair of the sides and I?ve got a boat I don?t need to keep clean or worry about dings. Self-bailing, no wood, no carpet, easy to trailer, and nice-looking (well, after some work).
