Possible purchase - 91 Tidecraft Calypso

[ckaiser]

Good morning knowledgable boat gurus...
I'm still looking for a first boat purchase. Looking for a 17-18 ft open bow, stern drive, not OMC. Under ~$2700.
Looked at a bunch of "no thanks" so far.
Saw an ad for a 91 Tidecraft Calypso. v6, Mercruiser. Talked to the guy. Had a recent service, sounded pretty complete. Always ran good so far, interior photos look as good as they can on CL. Boat is about a 3 hour drive away. A little pricey, but probably within my limits once I talk him down a bit.
I know most of what to look for when checking out a boat, so on an individual basis, I can determine yea or nay.

My question is this; From what I can see, that boat was only made for 2 years, and there doesn't seem to be much info on the Calypso. I found a thread on the texasfishingforum site that really pans the Tidecrafts, but they're talking about the bass boats. Anyone know if this boat is worth looking at? I just can't find enough info to decide.

Thanks!

Charlie

 

[spdracr39]

Re: Possible purchase - 91 Tidecraft Calypso

My experience has been that you can buy a cheap boat and invest to fix what is wrong with it or spend the extra up front to buy one that is already fixed. Main thing is if you like the boat just make sure you have enough funds to put it in the water after the purchase. It's inexpensive for a reason whatever the brand.
And absolutely don't buy anything without a test drive of at least 30 minutes.

 

[DC20]

Re: Possible purchase - 91 Tidecraft Calypso

I would ask the seller to email a bunch of close up pics before making a 3 hour drive. I made that mistake once, wasted a tank of gas and a whole day. Now, if a seller won't do it, I keep looking.

 

[ckaiser]

Re: Possible purchase - 91 Tidecraft Calypso

Good info, but I'm hoping someone knows something about the Tidecraft Calypso specifically... Some things you just can't fix...