My New Project... Good Buy??

[tysonnathan]

I recently bought this boat as a project to work on for the next year or two...
It is a 1992 Infinity, 20'5" Bowrider. It has a Mercruiser Alpha 1 sterndrive with the chevy 5.0 engine. The boat is going to need a new deck, stringers, possibly a transom, and the interior will need to be redone. I will also have to replace the bellows and the gimbal bearing. There are some other minor things here and there that are going to have to be done. The previous owner did not baby this boat by any means, but I feel like I got a pretty good deal on it, and I will enjoy doing the work. I purchased the book "Runabout Renovation" and have read it a couple times in preparation...

Has anyone ever heard of this brand?? I did a little research and saw where it was made by Smokercraft, who I think have a pretty good reputation in the pontoon business, but I have not been able to find any information on this boat in particular.
Any thoughts/recommendations on this boat/project are appreciated...

Btw... paid 2 grand... Too much?? Although too late now

 

[tmh]

Re: My New Project... Good Buy??

Well, I think you paid too much for all that work, but that's done so don't worry about it. IF the engine and drive are in great shape, you can wind up with a nice boat - after a ton of work. I would always worry that a boat that was let to go to crap inside may not have an engine that has been to carefully maintained. i hope you checked the engine out closely to make sure it was in very good running condition!

The interior needing t be "redone" worries me the most for cost. The deck, stringers, transon are what they are - a LOT of work, but more labor than cost, even though it will cost some. To redo an interior with good materials is costly. If function, not looks are all you care about then you can get some cheap replacement seats and not break the bank. They look cheap and do not match the boat, but they can be sat on! Other things like trim upholstery, pads, etc. can be re-made i guess.....I did this some on my boat but the actual vinyl was in great shape so i reused it. Fabricating new pieces from wood was a tough job for me because I'm no woodworker!

Good luck. Post so pictures as you get the work done.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: My New Project... Good Buy??

Really nice looking boat, great powerplant, definitely worthy of the work you're going to put into it. The trailer, engine, and outdrive probably worth close to what you paid. I think you paid the top amount of what that package would be worth needing the work it does. However, I don't know the market in your area so it may well have been a good deal. I don't think it was a BAD deal though. Good luck with your restoration.

This boat is a classic example of WHY DO PEOPLE LET THESE BOATS ROT OUT??? I mean this is a NICE boat? Is keeping it covered really that friggin' hard? I'll never understand that. But hey, lucky for you. You'll end up with a nice boat for not a lot of scratch.

 

[tysonnathan]

Re: My New Project... Good Buy??

The engine is in great shape... It sat up for a long time, so the owner had it rebuilt a few months before I bought it. It was a lady who did not know how to work on them so she had it totally rebuilt... she gave me the receipt which was about $1400. I took it out shortly after I got it for a test drive... the motor ran great, but I did find out then that the gimbal bearing was bad.

The interior is really bad... The boat sat out for a couple years causing the deck and interior problems. I cut the floor and only found a little bit of rot in the stringers, it might could be patched but I want to redo it all. I am not sure if the transom is bad or not. It feels solid, but with the rot in the deck and stringers, it wouldnt surprise me.. need to do a little more investigating.

I plan to rebuild the wood part of the interior myself and then take it to have ot covered.. Im hoping this will save me some $$. I also plan to do most of the stringer, deck, and mechanical work.. Only thing that scares me is the glassing.. never done it. I have lots of time and little money, so I will try to do everything that I can by myself.

The transom is shaped really weird because of the swim deck design.. I cant really get to it from the inside to check it well. Anyone got any ideas on how to do so???
Anybody know anything about this brand of boat??

 

[tysonnathan]

Re: My New Project... Good Buy??

Really nice looking boat, great powerplant, definitely worthy of the work you're going to put into it. The trailer, engine, and outdrive probably worth close to what you paid. I think you paid the top amount of what that package would be worth needing the work it does. However, I don't know the market in your area so it may well have been a good deal. I don't think it was a BAD deal though. Good luck with your restoration.

This boat is a classic example of WHY DO PEOPLE LET THESE BOATS ROT OUT??? I mean this is a NICE boat? Is keeping it covered really that friggin' hard? I'll never understand that. But hey, lucky for you. You'll end up with a nice boat for not a lot of scratch.

Thanks 4 the reply!
Im with you on the whole boat maintenance thing... I dont know why people let such huge investments deteriorate.


Honestly, I could have invested a lot more in a nicer boat, but after doing a little research, I would rather rebuild one myself... I have seen 5 y/o boats that were rotted from the tip the bow to the transom... I would rather have a boat that is rebuilt right than a brand new one that is prone to rot... I know that if you take care of them the chances for rot are decreased, but I just dont trust the makers of some of these boats. I love to take my friends out skiing, and with wet people getting in and out all day, if there is a way for water to get in the deck or below it, it will.
I plan to start a post in the restoration section later to keep track of the progress... its going to be a long term thing though. Ill invest the funds as I get em...

 

[ezmobee]

Re: My New Project... Good Buy??

It was a lady who did not know how to work on them so she had it totally rebuilt... she gave me the receipt which was about $1400.

In light of this new information I have to revise my opinion to: firmly a good deal.

 

[tmh]

Re: My New Project... Good Buy??

Don't worry about glassing the deck. it's a fairly nasty job, but not really that hard. heck, i did it and i'm no good at such things. It's also a satisfying job because it means you're getting near the end of that phase. Just read here in the restoration forum and you'll find 100s of posts on how to do it right. Wear a respirator.

Maybe you'll luck out and find the transom is OK. THAT will cut your work down a lot!

It's true that you could likely recover your $2k by selling the trailer, engine and drive.....so not a bad buy! Truth is, the boat itself is worthless OR LESS with an older, poorly kept boat. All the cost is in the engine and drive.

 

[tysonnathan]

Re: My New Project... Good Buy??

Oh, and forgot to mention... it also came with a set of skis, ski ropes, a couple vests, and a half bottle of sunscreen...

 

[tysonnathan]

Re: My New Project... Good Buy??

.

Maybe you'll luck out and find the transom is OK. THAT will cut your work down a lot!

QUOTE]

That would be great... right now I cant even get to the transom from the inside to check it out... The integrated swim deck is over the transom and I cant get to it... Maybe I can get to it after I tear the floor out?... Im not sure how to go about rebuilding it either. I dont think I will be able to get to it from the top...

 

[ezmobee]

Re: My New Project... Good Buy??

If your interior is going to pretty much need a total replacement anyway, you should consider removing the cap. That, in itself, is a pain, but will make it SO much easier to do everything else. It may be the only way to properly do your transom.

 

[tysonnathan]

Re: My New Project... Good Buy??

If your interior is going to pretty much need a total replacement anyway, you should consider removing the cap. That, in itself, is a pain, but will make it SO much easier to do everything else. It may be the only way to properly do your transom.

Yeah, I am going to take the cap off.. I have already started disconnecting the wiring, steering, etc so that they will come apart. I am going to replace the deck all the way to the front of the boat, so the top is going to have to come off. But, even with the top section off, I think the transom will still be hard to get to. You can see in the pics that the boat cuts under to the transom. The swim deck is just glass. I think that the only was to get to the transom is thru the floor. If its tough to get to, I guess I could go the seacast route?...

 

[ezmobee]

Re: My New Project... Good Buy??

I literally can't still be difficult to access when the cap's off. The factory had to get it in there somehow! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[danond]

Re: My New Project... Good Buy??

I paid $3500 for mine. Almost perfect interior, excellent engine and drive (though it was OMC). Came with a trailer with surge brakes. The drive needed seals and bellows. Also needed 15 gallons of old fuel pumped out (that was painful to watch), a serious tune-up and a new throttle cable. I got a killer deal, though because I bought it non-running. Could have been a total screw-job but I did a prelim inspection and in the end simply lucked out.

That's a great looking boat, by the way. Fix 'er up.