Pre purchase inspection- what to look for?

[jeromeo25]

This may be in the wrong place, but it will be a restoration eventually. I am going to look at a 69 Dorsett Catalina this weekend. Being a 40+ year old boat, I am sure it will need a transom at the minimum. Should be easy enough to do with seacast. If it needs stringers and a floor that will probably require the whole cap to come off , A bigger project than I think I want to get into at this time. Any advice on checking the floor and stringers before I buy? I cant start drilling holes in a boat that isnt mine yet. What are some tricks to checking things out non- invasivly? Thank you.

 

[zarillus]

Re: Pre purchase inspection- what to look for?

Guaranteed you will need new stringers and or transom and new deck.I can assure you this will need to be done.Do not buy this boat if you do not want a restore project.It will not be a couple weekends but several months of work.The first thing you can check is just steping on the deck and if you feel any soft spots you know this will need to be repaired.Check out my post what did i get myself into.

Happy hunting

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Pre purchase inspection- what to look for?

It all depends on where the boat has been stored and how it has been cared for. My boat is 48 years old but... It was stored in a barn ALL of its life so it was in pristine condition. My transom was as good as the day it was made and so was the deck. Not sure about the make of your boat but some of the OLD boats actually had fiberglass decks and fiberglass stringers so even if they were exposed to the weather they faired pretty well. As stated check for soft spots in the deck, cracks, checkering, ask questions about how it was cared for etc. Check the Chalkiness of the gelcoat, check for ANY flex in the transom. Ask when the motor was LAST started. GET A TITLE if possible, if not check with your state on how difficult it is to file for a lost title. All of these things are important.

I'm just sayin...

 

[jeromeo25]

Re: Pre purchase inspection- what to look for?

Thank you for the input. This is an outboard model and does not come with a motor. I have done the whole stringers and floor deal before, so i have a good idea what is involved. That boat had a small closed bow and did not require removing the cap. This one is a cuddy and i cant see it being possible to do the strigers without complete removal of the whole top portion. The last boat had no papers and couldnt have been easier to get a title. Went to the dmv with a bill of sale, told the nice lady the year, length, and manufacturer and had a title a few weeks later. Could be different now, that was around 2002 or so. Any other thoughts?