Buying older boats

[dkirbywv]

I am looking for experienced advice on buying an older boat. I have my eye on one that is an 88 model but looks good. I think it has set because the floor is shot and it needs some general cleaning with bleach It is a 22' cuddy Regal. It was used in salt water and i am sure that has an affect. Opinions welcome...

 

[Coho Ghost]

Re: Buying older boats

d,

Here is my take on old boats. (anything 10 years old + or maybe less!) After buying what I thought was OK, and it turned out needing a new transom, and a new deck is probably next, and following iboats for near 2 years, I am suspicious of ALL of them. I was a real rookie and just didn't know. If the boat has not had thru hull holes that mount motors, out drives, sounders, ANYTHING, properly sealed and there is wood coring and sub decking, there WILL be rot! If you think water might have gotten into someplace it should not have, well, it probably did! Any boat that has been casually stored out in the elements is a high risk boat. I believe the only time a boat should be out in the real world is when you are in it, the rest of the time it should be in a secure enclosure, heated if possible. Yeah I know this maybe unrealistic, but it is the best scenario to extend the life of the boat. If the boat you are looking at has a bad floor, we call it a deck, and it has wood interstructure, my guess is everything wood is probably rotten. This means replacing the stringers, decking and the transom. You never mentioned anything about the engine, and that is another complete issue in itself.

Just my thoughts,
Coho Ghost

 

[proshadetree]

Re: Buying older boats

Older boats are mostly not worth restoring. If however you need a project that you will use for many years they are a blast. Watch you money when building. What engine is on or in it? OB are worth as much by their self as a complete boat. IO can be substituted with a car block or engine sometimes. How many parts will you need? I could make money on my baylinner, My century and my sidewinder will never repay the investment I have or will have in them.

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: Buying older boats

I will never buy and older boat ever again after what I have been through on two of them.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Buying older boats

Jay,

The way you are restoring your current boat, you will NEVER have to BUY another boat!!!!! If the MFG's built their boats like you do, NONE of us would ever have to restore another boat.

 

[proshadetree]

Re: Buying older boats

Frisco Bull you are addicted you will have to have a new fix

 

[jonesg]

Re: Buying older boats

I am looking for experienced advice on buying an older boat. I have my eye on one that is an 88 model but looks good. I think it has set because the floor is shot and it needs some general cleaning with bleach It is a 22' cuddy Regal. It was used in salt water and i am sure that has an affect. Opinions welcome...

A boat with a bad deck doesn't look good. Forget the cosmetics, the value is where you can't see without getting beneath the deck.
If the deck is shot the stringers and transom are very likely done for.
If you want a project you found it.

 

[dkirbywv]

Re: Buying older boats

guys, thanks for the info. I took an hour or so and looked at the long thread of the boat rebuilds, good work but wow. Thats alot of work. Earlier i left out the info of the engine. I have read on here that you may as well buy a new one versus rebuilding. I agree. the guy selling it said the engine was bad...? thats it. As for the outer part, i have no clue if it is good or not, doesnt look to bad but that can be deceiving. Really this boat looks good on the outside for an 88 model, which the guy lists as a 99. I found that not to be true because the model written on the side doesnt match the year he stated. The NADA doesnt list that model until 1988. I believe the NADA. The trailer looks good too. So all in all, nice trailer, nice initial looking boat, looks modern doesnt look like an 88. The second look in on the interior starts to explain the price. Floor rotten, seats look great, but the wood in them is shot. Not sure about the 'transon?" but scared to look now. Engine, well, buy a new one. He said it was a chevy 350. It has a mercruiser breather on top. Also, not sure how you would pull the engine out as it sets back in the housing. I thought with a new floor, some seat work and a new engine, i could put this together. I may look at it one more time to verify the total floor and transom area. As for the lower unit, i dont know. As is for $2200. I figured it wasnt worth that with the work needed. Could be a nice boat though.

 

[crablegs]

Re: Buying older boats

New floor, and it will need new stringers too, add the seat work and a new engine and you are looking at probably a 6000-7000$ boat, plus all of your hours. Worth it to you?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Buying older boats

If you want to get on the water cheaply with the least chance of financial ruin, look for an aluminum hull with an outboard.