I got taken : (

[Zraden]

Hello all

Not sure if this is the right section to post this but here it goes.

New to the board and figured I would just jump in to things.

I bought a 1990 Campion 185 Allente with a 4.3 merc engine and leg for which I though was a good deal...Dam was I wrong.:facepalm: We finally got in to it over the weekend and what a disappointment.
We hooked up the muffs and started the engine. Sadly ... water was leaking everywhere.

The manifolds are cracked on both sides. Looks like the seller stuffed the cracks with putty that held out for the test drive, but not much more then that.
The trim solenoid is toast.
I think the block has a 1 cm crack in it. (cant confirm at this point. Might just be an imperfection)
The boat is yellowed.
The spark plugs were original factory.
The distributor cap is cracked.
The engine is burning so rich, it makes your eyes water.
The boat is very yellowed.
Most decals are chipped and peeling.
The covers are ripped.
The interior is somewhat .. ok

I feel like I'm in over my head on this one but my dad assures me its ok and we will tackle one problem at a time. So.... let the restoration begin. The boat pre inspector clearly sucks and should be fired. But its my boat and my problem now. If I do sell it, I refuse to sell it in the condition its in.

I have ordered new manifolds and gaskets.
Buying a new solenoid tomorrow.
Dropping the covers off to an upholstery shop tomorrow for repair.
Bought new plugs.
Having a hard time finding a distributor cap and rotor.
Want a carb rebuild kit but cant find numbers to order one. Its a Rockford 2bbl quadrajet carb if anyone can point me
in the right direction?

Hopefully a good tune up and new parts will get it running right again which
brings me to the hull.

We want to strip the boat to the gel coat pulling off all decals and
try to restore the original white to the boat before applying new ones.

Is there anyway better then another to restore the boats white shell with out stripping it
down to a bare hull?
As for the upholstery, its in pretty good shape but I hate the pink stripes in the seats and arm rests.
Do vinyl dyes work or will someone end up with dye bleed on there suit and skin?
Can you dye and seal effectively? I have done some reading on the subject with mixed reviews.
some say it worked great, others said sunscreen caused it to bleed. Any suggestions or personal
experiences with dyes?

Sorry for the 1000 questions. Just so much on my mind to restore this boat to its former
and boating season is right around the corner :blue:

 

[tpenfield]

Re: I got taken : (

Welcome to iboats . . . Probably the right section to post. You may want to break out your engine work into the Mercruiser forum.

Post some pictures, those always help visualize what you are explaining in words. I am curious as to how you missed many of these issues, when you took the boat for a test ride?

I can only comment on a few of the questions . . .

You could/should run a full cooling system pressure check to see if the engine has additional cracks internally, etc

SEM makes a vinyl paint that can give nice results in renewing old vinyl upholstery.

You would not want to grind the gelcoat off for a restore of the finish. There are more ways to freshen up the gelcoat, but pictures would help see how good/bad it is.

Google is your friend in terms of finding stuff for your boat and engine.

Post your engine serial number so the folks here can comment regarding parts and repair.

I bet the next boat that you buy will be thoroughly inspected.

Keep us posted on how you proceed.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: I got taken : (

... and what did you expect when buying a 23 yr. old fiberglass inboard boat? You'd have been better off to have one of your friends kick you in the yarbles 3 times and forget about the boat.

The problems you've listed are just the immediate problems, there will be more cropping up soon. What's the condition of the bellows and gimble bearing on your outdrive? Did you check to see if the boat has been "double decked"?

The price you paid for the boat was a good deal... for the seller! He unloaded an ill maintained money pit and is now a free man.

 

[brnschoneck]

Re: I got taken : (

unfortunatley this happens to a lotta first time boat buyers "happen to me too "" although mine was dumping oil out of the rear main seal ughhhh !!! i test drove it on the water n all rran fine till a day on the lake when i noticed it i didnt look down in there good enough and when i drained bilge i was like ooooo noooo what is all this oil ???? well i fixed it put a new deck on it tune up bellows n all were good sold it n bought my o/b and i loveeeee it .... dont be discouraged with a lil time and lotta money (lol) u can get er like new !!!good luck keep us posted ....follow advice on here many guys in ur sit... and exp... with the knowledge to HELP !!

 

[dozerII]

Re: I got taken : (

:welcome: Zraden, it is pretty easy to get taken on your first boat purchase, I say that from experience which is only gained by getting kicked in the yarbles. I don't know if I would be ordering a bunch of parts till you check everything out. You may have a talley sheet that is not worth doing. If the block is cracked you will have to look for a new motor, make sure the hull is not saturated with water. Check out Tony at Auto Obsessed in Edmonton, he has some incredible polishes to bring the shine back on the hull.

 

[mwe-maxxowner]

Re: I got taken : (

Tpen, I have picked out a few products to spray my seats. The vinyl is not torn or cracked, just spotted. Is sem a brand?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: I got taken : (

Well............ you have a "to do" list now.

I would concentrate on the mechanical first, inspect the hull and make sure you do not have any exposed fiberglass and repair as needed then you can concentrate on the appearance.

When your boat is flying along .......... no one will notice the dull finish.

Good luck with your new project.

 

[Zraden]

Re: I got taken : (

... and what did you expect when buying a 23 yr. old fiberglass inboard boat? You'd have been better off to have one of your friends kick you in the yarbles 3 times and forget about the boat.

The problems you've listed are just the immediate problems, there will be more cropping up soon. What's the condition of the bellows and gimble bearing on your outdrive? Did you check to see if the boat has been "double decked"?

The price you paid for the boat was a good deal... for the seller! He unloaded an ill maintained money pit and is now a free man.

I had a 3 page written inspection done on the boat before we took it out on the water and before I bought it. The inspector missed the cracked manifolds as well. When I called the inspection agency, they told me after the fact "they don't test winterized boats for leaks", only boats on the water. Had I known that, I would have asked for the boat on the water before I had it inspected.

On a good note, the compression test did came back with 120 psi on 5 cyls and 110 psi on the 6th.
There is no oil leaking anywhere. I did get the service records from the owner before the guy I bought it from
and he was meticulous about everything ... its the guy after, that managed to run it in to the ground for the year he had it and I'm guessing ,, failed to winterize it properly.

Here's the manifolds I pulled off and cleaned all the cap out of.
We didn't find the leaks our selves until we ripped half the boat apart to fully expose the engine.
I would say the bellows and gimble bearing are in great shape except.. I don't know how much of this inspection report I can trust any more. I really did think I did everything right by getting an inspection done and taking it for a test drive... but I guess not.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: I got taken : (

Zraden . . . Wow !!!

I'm not sure what kind of inspection was done, but an 'inspector' should have been able to spot that outside crack on the manifold, just visually, not even by running the engine. I think you got taken by the inspector . . . How did you come across the inspector/company?

Maybe you have some re-course with the inspection company, etc. :noidea:


SEM is a brand of paint SEM Products :: Home they have some decent vinyl painting products.

 

[Bondo]

Re: I got taken : (

Zraden . . . Wow !!!

I'm not sure what kind of inspection was done, but an 'inspector' should have been able to spot that outside crack on the manifold, just visually, not even by running the engine. I think you got taken by the inspector . . . How did you come across the inspector/company?

Maybe you have some re-course with the inspection company, etc. :noidea:


SEM is a brand of paint SEM Products :: Home they have some decent vinyl painting products.

Ayuh,... That's Bad,.... I'd atleast expect a Refund....

Hopefully, the Block ain't in the same condition,... long shot, but maybe...

 

[ezmobee]

Re: I got taken : (

The VERY first order of business is to determine if the block is cracked, because if it is, this project may not be worthwhile. Hopefully it isn't and we can proceed from there. As mentioned, post your engine/drive related questions in the Mercruiser section because the engine techs don't hang out here in resto. We'll help you with everything else. Let's see some pics of this thing. I'm very sorry that you got taken despite having an inspection done. I'd want every penny back from the inspector at minimum.

 

[Pmccraney]

Re: I got taken : (

When I called the inspection agency, they told me after the fact "they don't test winterized boats for leaks", only boats on the water. Had I known that, I would have asked for the boat on the water before I had it inspected.

At the risk of beating a :deadhorse:, wow..., that's a bit shocking (especially in Canada, where freezing temps are a huge concern)...

 

[sheph]

Re: I got taken : (

Welcome to the club. Seems to happen to everyone who buys a boat that old. One thing you'll want to check is integrity of your transome, decking, and stringers. Rot is very common in these older fiberglass boats (a lesson I learned after I bought mine). Try not to get too bummed out about what you're facing. Look at it as an opportunity to learn something new and get an education.

 

[Hoosmatroos]

Re: I got taken : (

Whow, seems you have a project on your hands. Take care of the mechanics first. Perhaps you can enjoy the boating seasons and after that take care of the cosmetics.

Good luck, I will follow your progress.

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: I got taken : (

I'd call that "inspector", and see if he'd like a nice big cracked paperweight for his desk.
That's ridiculous! I would be pounding his desk DEMANDING a refund.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: I got taken : (

How much did you pay for the inspection? What DID it cover? Do you know a good Lawyer?

 

[fat fanny]

Re: I got taken : (

If it were me I would as mentioned above get it mechanically sound and running, make sure the hull is at least seaworthy and then move onto the cosmetics following any below deck work if needed (most likely) spread it out over a couple of seasons if the rig is appealing to you to keep!

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: I got taken : (

You bought a boat as-is it really sucks. If I were in your situation I would take my contract with the inspector to an attorney to have it reviewed before fixing anything. I would see what that inspection was supposed to cover, alot of times a simple letter from an attorney will fix things very quickly. You said you test drove the boat before so you saw it in person you knew about the yellowing and interior ahead of time so that will not be a concern with the inspector. The engine, and structure would be your point of contention, addiotionally if it was inspected before you test drove it then it wasn't rewinterized immediately after the test drive when you got home then you may be out of luck.

 

[flipbro]

Re: I got taken : (

With cracks like that on manifolds id do a good inspection of the block. Have you drained the oil to cheak 4 water? When a block cracks its usuly more then 1cm

 

[tazrig]

Re: I got taken : (

You bought a boat as-is it really sucks. If I were in your situation I would take my contract with the inspector to an attorney to have it reviewed before fixing anything. I would see what that inspection was supposed to cover, alot of times a simple letter from an attorney will fix things very quickly. You said you test drove the boat before so you saw it in person you knew about the yellowing and interior ahead of time so that will not be a concern with the inspector. The engine, and structure would be your point of contention, addiotionally if it was inspected before you test drove it then it wasn't rewinterized immediately after the test drive when you got home then you may be out of luck.

^^^+1. Unfortunately it sounds like you did everything right, first the inspection then the sea trial, and still you ran into some bad luck. Was the boat re-winterized after you sea trialed it? If it wasn't that really isn't the inspectors fault. If it was properly re-winterized after the sea trial then as stated earlier I'd consult with a lawyer to see what was supposed to be covered and go from there. A blind man should have found those manifold cracks if they were there before the sea trial.