Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

[MikeB0307]

My neighbor has a 1980's center console, his first boat. I'm not really sure of the make. With a 90 Yamaha. He bought it for next to nothing. He was told it had a "new floor", which has turned out to be a piece of 1/2 plywood covered in carpet. We also found that the po had actually run some of the screws through the bottom of the hull. So after he replaced some screws and sealed the hull, he wanted to follow us in our boat down the intracoastal today as a shake down run. The weather was crap, nasty chop, and we found ourselves taking a beating. But his boat was doing surprisingly well. We came up behind a large cruiser(34'-36') and it's 3' wake. He actually took a bad angle, got too close, and dropped into the trough between the waves but powered out of it ok. Rookie mistake. Now the problem, as soon as we cleared the cruiser we noticed his boat listing about 6" left. Ran his pump and very little water, and shifting wieght in the boat really didn't help. Another bad omen was the shards of wood in his bilge. There is no visible damage to the hull or chines. My question, could a rotten/broken stringer cause the list? If not, please give thoughts and opinions. Trying to help him find out if she could be saved or if he should just count it as getting a great deal on a good 90hp Yamaha.

 

[agallant80]

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

I'm going to go with he got a great deal on a 90hp

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

sounds like it has some "red flags " of rotten stringers & transom.

 

[MikeB0307]

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

That's the direction I'm leaning. The transom seems sold,( I grabbed the motor while tilted and tried ti flex it and found no flex) But I am really thinking he has rotted stringers. Brown water in the bilge as well. And the water on the intracoastal isn't brown!

 

[limitout]

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

I think it may be well worth it to have new stringers and a proper floor put in.

if he has it for next to nothing then its worth the investment to save it.

all this is contingent on you tearing out the floor and confirm there are no major unseen structural issues under the floor

I think the guy just had no clue how to properly replace the floor and stringers so as long as the hull is still true its worth saving IMO

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

Decide what the finished value of the bare hull is.... if it is less than $5000 then trash it and find another hull.

I'm gonna say he bought a motor.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

BTW... for future reference NEVER NEVER NEVER buy a boat with a "new floor" unless it is aluminum OR you can see pictures of the new stringer work and correct installation of the floor.

 

[MikeB0307]

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

His boss sold it to him for $300 and it runs great, so it's an awesome deal for a mid 90's Yamaha that looks like new. And a decent aluminum trailer.It's his first boat and he had no clue what to look for. But, I know I wish I'd have heard about it! I guess we'll tear up the floor to show him the bad news, seeing is believing. Then we can help him find a decent hull...

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

tell him he royally screwed up but I feel sorry for him and will be there tomorrow to double his money for him.... LOL

Yeah he got a motor and a trailer for free... just had to pay for the tires, wheels, n lights lol....

Who knows... maybe you guys are rowdy enough to rebuild her..... figure $1000 in materials and $4000 worth of your own labor.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

Brown bilge water,, listing~~ all after trauma sounds like stringers are shot. It sounds like an older small boat and unlikely not worth the cost of repairs.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

the listing is probably from soaked foam.

first warning sign was carpet in a salt water center console!

But a good center console hull like an old privateer or seacraft or many others may be worth fixing, as long as he regards it as a work boat and is not concerned about finish. doing it "nice" gets into the bucks.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

I would take a closer look at the outside of the hull. Certainly sounds like the structure broke in some places, but the listing to one side would be more indicative that the boat was taking on water.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

Gee, Why speculate. Pull the deck screws and see what you have. Some boats have stringers that are waterproofed. Maybe it is just bad foam and remnants from the original deck, maybe it is new rot...

Post some pictures in the restoration forum...

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

keep in mind, too, that here, the arm-chair estimates of cost to rebuild come from lake boaters with bowriders--they are frequent victims of rot for a variety of reasons, but they are also a whole lot more intensive to take the cap off, seats and consoles out and get to the hull, then reinstall all that and make it look nice.

Many center consoles have removeable consoles. It's easily worth a look, maybe not that bad to fix, certainly not as bad as a more finished hull interior.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

I'm going on the work and cost that the PO put into my 20' center console........ I DID estimate a little on the high side since we don't know the extent of the damage or even what boat it is.

that said even on a fairly simple boat there is a LOT of work involved to do it right.... I'm definitely looking forward to the pics tho.

As we get more and more info we can close in on the best solution to the problem.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

IMHO there is NO WAY any of us can give you a definitive answer to your questions without being able to SEE the problem(s). Pics are/will be an absolute necessity if you want us to be able to use our expertise to help you resolve the potential issues with this boat. Without them it's just speculation and THAT will do you absolutely NO GOOD AT ALL!!!!

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

Cheap boats are cheap for a reason, because they need time, work, and money invested back into them to make them safe and seaworthy.

Good luck finding a decent hull without a motor or even a bad motor for a cheap price. Most if not all will be rotten donor boats in the same or worse condition than the one your neighbor will trash. Boats rot just the same down in Fla. as they do all around the world, and finding a good hull for a good price in the hay stack of rotten boats down in Fla. will be finding the needle in that hat stack.

If your neighbor really likes the boat he should consider restoring it if he has the ability and money, if he doesn't have the money he doesn't have any business owning a boat in the first place.

Center consoles new, used, and rotten sell for a premium price... especially in Fla.. If your neighbor restores his boat he will get a like new boat for a very small fraction of the price of a brand new one.

 

[MAC ATTACK]

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

Seems like it is working for very little investment so far. I have recently been doing a lot of work to my CC and love it. Depending on the make, some weight relocation and some holes for water to drain just might keep him boating until he decides what to do. Definitely pull the floor or cut some holes to be covered later with round deck covers to investigate. Is it a liner hull or roll gunnel? Mine is a roll gunnel which makes doing any stringer repair a lot more labor intensive.

For that amount of money he is a winner either way. If it is safe, I would run it till the gel coat wears off.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

If it is safe....

I don't think the evidence supports it being remotely safe:

Now the problem, as soon as we cleared the cruiser we noticed his boat listing about 6" left. Ran his pump and very little water, and shifting wieght in the boat really didn't help. Another bad omen was the shards of wood in his bilge. There is no visible damage to the hull or chines. My question, could a rotten/broken stringer cause the list? If not, please give thoughts and opinions.

But until the poorly done deck is pulled & some pix are posted, there's NO way to guess what the actual condition of the boat & below deck structure and foam.

he should just count it as getting a great deal on a good 90hp Yamaha.

Most likely ^^^

 

[MikeB0307]

Re: Need opinions for my neighbors problem...

I agree that it's probably not too safe to run. I talked to him more about it and gave him my opinion, which is the same as the majority here, pull the floor and see how bad it is down there! I will post pics as soon as he/we pull the floor. Thanks to everyone for your advice and input.