Need advice on buying an old boat

jsfinn · Jul 27, 2004

Quite a while ago, I posted a few questions about buying an old Boston Whaler. I got some good advice then but still didn't buy the boat because the timing wasn't right. Well, the boat is still for sale and the owner has dropped the price a bit and I still can't stop thinking about this Whaler. It's a 1962 Nauset with a mid 80's (I think) 90 HP Johnson/Evinrude. The owner has told me that the motor runs fine until it gets to about half throttle where it starts to choke out. The owner has an air pump that he rigged inline on the fuel line so when that motor starts to choke, he turns on the pump and the air pump must push gas through the line (yikes..). He's got something weird going on with the gas line connector also here is a picture - http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/joshsfinn/detail?.dir=/f024&.dnm=7a3e.jpg The boat has alot of cracks and chips in it - it's not the best looking boat around, but it's a 1962 boat in 1962 condition. I took a lot of pictures of it today and was hoping to get an idea of what people think about it. A lot of the pictures are close ups, so I hope you can figure out what everything is. If not, ask and I'll do my best to figure out what part of the boat the picture is.

The things that worry me the most is the area on the bow where the anchor would attach. The glass seems to be in pretty rought shape there. Would I have to worry about the cleat pulling out? ( http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/joshsfinn/detail?.dir=/f024&.dnm=7824.jpg ) and there are a few chips/dents/gouges in the bottom of the hull. Are these hard to fix? Would this be a deal breaker? ( http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/joshsfinn/detail?.dir=/f024&.dnm=2e89.jpg , http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/joshsfinn/detail?.dir=/f024&.dnm=1c6c.jpg&.src=ph ) also, it looks like someone added a 2nd bow eye and JB welded (maybe) it in place??? Have you ever seen anything like this? Think it's strong? Here is a picture - http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/joshsfinn/detail?.dir=/f024&.dnm=3b37.jpg Is it worth buying? How much do you think it's worth? How much do you figure it weighs? Can I tow it with my Ford Escape (with tow package and 4wd - rated for 3500 LBS tow/300 LBS tounge weight) I know it's going to be a lot of work and I've never done anything like this before but I'd sure like to give it a shot. I know a little bit about motors from tinkering around with my 15HP Evinrude and the book I've got covers this one. I've never done fiberglass work but would give it a shot and I know I could make that mahogany look spectacular. The entire photo album of the boat is at http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/joshsfinn/album?.dir=/f024&.src=ph Thanks for the advice - I sure need it! -Josh

steam_mill · Jul 27, 2004

Re: Need advice on buying an old boat

I think the boat is quite rough. It is a very nice boat (I'm partial to whalers) but nonetheless it is quite rough. I've had old boats and currently run a 50 year old evinrude on my fishing boat. It is all clean and tidy. This boat has many unusual 'features'. The air pump is just weird. I think the 90 is more of a 70's vintage. It all depends on how much work you want to do. If you want a boat that you will put a couple of years of work into, then this would be an excellent project boat especially to replace the motor with a '60s 'rude. Now if you are looking for a boat you can use right a way and tinker with, I would walk away. Notice, I have not talked cost. The boat is worth what any one will pay for it. Tx. Joe

HYDRASPORT84 · Jul 27, 2004

Re: Need advice on buying an old boat

I can tell you fom experience unless you are a mechanic , fiberglass master and general mr fix it. Do not purchase. (unless you have plenty of money) I have purchased two boats at what I considered a great deal, By the time I got them like I wanted them something else would tear up.A boat is a hole in the water in which you throw money. The older the more you throw. my two cents

Captn Dave · Jul 28, 2004

Re: Need advice on buying an old boat

What's the asking price?

jsfinn · Jul 28, 2004

Re: Need advice on buying an old boat

Steam_Mill and Hydrasport, Thanks for your input. Both of your posts are valuable. Half of me keeps saying "BUY IT! BUY IT! BUY IT! It won't be that hard and it won't cost THAT much to fix it and it would be a real nice looking classic Whaler!" and the other half of me keeps saying "Josh, you would be making a mistake... put your money into a newer boat". Ugh..what to do?! Wave, the asking price is a little hard to determine. The owner is interested in my boat so it might be a trade. My boat is much smaller than this one but is in very good condition wheras this one is a bigger boat in poor condition.

gsbodine · Jul 28, 2004

Re: Need advice on buying an old boat

Originally posted by jsfinn: It won't be that hard and it won't cost THAT much to fix it and it would be a real nice looking classic Whaler!"

well, it may not be that difficult for someone with an interest in and reasonable skill in manual and technical labor, assuming the engine works reasonably well (besides what you mentioned), BUT, it WILL cost THAT much to fix it, at least if you want your last statement to be true. I think it was KeltonKrew that redid a little old whaler like that into quite a beautiful machine. Search his posts to see it, but I know his costs are in the few to several thousands. I have an older more or less restored vessel (well, it's late 70's) and it always costs more than you think to fix things,EVEN when you do it yourself. It is not just labor. just some thoughts. I see you already have a boat, so maybe this isn't a big deal to you. Just be sure, that's all.

JasonB · Jul 28, 2004

Re: Need advice on buying an old boat

The motor is a '77-78 or newer due to the trim style and the hood and paint showing in one spot screams Evinrude..

Captn Dave · Jul 28, 2004

Re: Need advice on buying an old boat

Here's my 2c worth. The chips and gouges in the hull can be easily repaired using Marine-Tex. There's an Interlux epoxy primer that's supposed to be good for the cracks in the gel coat. If you're going to paint it I'd recommend to go with a 2 part epoxy, such as Interlux's. I've used it with great results. It's expensive but it's very durable. If the pin in the bow is rigid and secure, then it should be okay. I would replace the bow eye though. I believe on their smaller models, the bow eye was bolted straight through the boat. Is there a corresponding nut or fitting on the inside of the hull? Any places in the fibreglass that are worn through or cracked through would have to be reglassed. Not the most difficult job but tedious to get the repair smooth and unnoticeable. I would have the compression on the engine checked. The fuel problem is most likely in the source (fuel line, filter, pick-up, etc.) or in the carburetors. (rebuild) Not overly expensive to fix. It looks like the galvanized trailer may just need some new rollers, etc., but should be worth rebuilding. Having said all that, I wouldn't pay any more than $1000 for the set-up. I've been looking for a 16' BW hull for some time now, in two relatively popular boating areas, Jacksonville Florida and Long Island New York, and haven't been able to find one in decent shape and at a resonable price. So I know that the deal of the life time is hard to come by. Still, I wouldn't pay anything more than $500 for that hull. And then figure $500 for the engine. And the trailer thrown in for good measure. I hope this helps. Good luck.

jsfinn · Jul 29, 2004

Re: Need advice on buying an old boat

Everyone, Thanks for the input. I've done a ton of reading on restoring this old boat and if I can work a sweet enoguh deal, I think I'm going to take a crack at it. If things work out, I'll keep updates in the backyard boat section. Thanks again - I know I can always count on the iboats community for good advice!

quantumleap · Jul 29, 2004

Re: Need advice on buying an old boat

It looks like the guy jerry-rigged everything that was done to the boat and spray painted over his repairs(and everything around them too!). I would hold out for a boat that has had better care.

POINTER94 · Jul 29, 2004

Re: Need advice on buying an old boat

Good Deal / Bad Deal if you buy this I would imagine you will recieve an education. But the $1000 mark sounds about right +/- 15%. If I had an extra 1000 bucks I would take a whack at her. Could be a real head turner along with the seaworthy charactoristics of all Whalers. Good Luck....

jsfinn · Jul 30, 2004

Re: Need advice on buying an old boat

Quantumleap - you're right. Everything is rigged. We went out on it today for a little test drive. Everything went well .. the motor choked out a couple of times, but we were expecting that. I've got pretty good ideas of what's wrong but will know better after I do a compression test on the motor. Pointer - I think you're right too. I'm starting to get more comfortable with this boat. I'm going to add up what I think it'll cost me to restore the boat and bring the list to the owner which will help me negotiate the price. Incase anyone is interested, I took a couple of pictures of the boat while it was in the water at the ramp. It's the last 6 pictures in the album http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/joshsfinn/album?.dir=/f024&.src=ph

steam_mill · Jul 30, 2004

Re: Need advice on buying an old boat

Finn: It is a handsome boat. I've said that right from the start. Best of luck and hope you get a great deal and more importantly use the boat for another 40 years..... I'm hoping the celebrate the centenary of my '54 7.5 'rude... Joe

jsfinn · Jul 31, 2004

Re: Need advice on buying an old boat

Well, it didn't work out for me this time. The owner wants more than I'm willing to spend on a boat that needs this much work done. I came up with a list of everything the boat is going to need and how much it'll cost for me to do the work and subtracted that from what the owner wanted. This figure was about half of what he was asking but I figured it was worth a shot because the boat has been for sale for 6 or 8 months. I politely gave him my offer, which he refused saying that he has more fun than that while he's on the boat, only if he does only take it out a couple of times a year. He's a nice guy. I think we'll probably stay in touch. I hope he invites me on his boat next time he goes out and I'll ask him to come bass fishing with me sometime. Who knows .. maybe if the boat is still around in a few months, he'll change his mind. I'm disappointed ... I was really excited about the Whaler. Oh well...

JasonJ · Aug 1, 2004

Re: Need advice on buying an old boat

Just out of curiousity, what was he asking?

Need advice on buying an old boat

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