Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

[Fasttommyv]

Hey guys,

This thread is a continuation from my previous thread regarding the test drive from hell with the Bayliner 2355 with the 6.2 Mercruiser. The bearing broke on the impeller, causing the belt to come off, and the seller drove it back shore with no cooling and the temperature pegged. I ended up walking away from that boat, and now am looking for another cruiser. I keep on coming back to this Doral 270 listed in FL.

1997 Doral 270SC 27 ft. Cruiser (Power) For Sale: $12,999 -- American Used Boats Inc -- Boat Details

From what i have read, the Dorals 270s are a fantastic boat. As you can see the boat is a hot mess. But the more i look at it, the more i can convince myself that i can really clean it up nicely. The price point is extremely tempting as well. Assuming that it passes the survey and water trial, what do you guys think? The other major concern is that I am in southern CA, and would essentially be buying the boat sight unseen, and just rely on the surveyor's assessment. I also have to budget $2.5k to have it sent out to CA, which is money that would be lost and never recovered.

Thanks,

Tom

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

The further away the boat is, the more difficult the logistics are. The less experience you have in buying and selling boats, the more risks are involved. You should also figure travel expenses for yourself to go look at the boat and be present for the sea trial and survey. Too many horror stories about folks relying on inspections from a distance. Are you sure that you can transport the boat for $2,500??? it could be more.

Also, do a bit of research on the selling broker . . . they look like a repossession dealer, which can be a different ballgame.

As for the boat itself, Doral boats are fine, but with used boats, condition is the trump card.

The boat itself will probably clean up OK. It looks like the deck hatches over the cabin have been leaking, so you will have to check those sorts of things out, etc.

 

[Toddavid]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

Besides the leaking hatches, I see a Gen1 Bravo3 outdrive. Insufficient anode capacity, which resulted in frequent corrosion issues, especially at the lower drive output shaft bearing. I think I see a rattle can paint job on that drive, paint is flat instead of glossy and the hardware is painted over...

 

[VegaSS]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

Hard to tell. One question though. Do people who put pictures of a boat for sale know the meaning of "Soap and Water"? I mean really? Why would you post a dirty boat if you really want to get rid of it? Just really gets me I guess. :grumpy:

 

[h2odick]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

Personally, when looking for a boat.. If the owner (private party, dealer or otherwise) can't clean up the boat, that gives me a really good idea of how it was taken care of (or lack thereof). This is an easy tell tale, if the owner can't take an hour to clean up the rig, I'm not remotely interested. I think you can find a better boat much closer. Double check your $2500 transportation quote as well, that's pretty cheap, less than $1 a mile. My suggestion is take your time, find the right boat. If you rush into things, you may be setting yourself up for some serious disappointment.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

Besides the leaking hatches, I see a Gen1 Bravo3 outdrive. Insufficient anode capacity, which resulted in frequent corrosion issues, especially at the lower drive output shaft bearing. I think I see a rattle can paint job on that drive, paint is flat instead of glossy and the hardware is painted over...

Actually, the outdrive is one of the better looking things on the boat. There is a retro fit kit for the first generation Bravo 3 drives to add more anode protection. There does not appear to be much corrosion on this drive.

Based on what the boat looks like, it may be a repossession or have been involved in some other sort of incident. So, it would be best to find out more about the boat's history, ownership, documentation, etc.

 

[Toddavid]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

Looks like a spray paint job to me on the upper drive. Not sure what that is hiding.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

I think I would be interested but ONLY if I could look at it in person first AND transport myself for under $1000... You are IMHO way too far away to even consider this boat... you could lose more than it costs on the transport home and various hidden surprises after it shows up.

You hire a surveyor to find things you miss but again IMHO not to replace your own inspection.

 

[riptide09]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

Spray Paint job on lower unit does not necessarily indicate a problem. My lower unit was scratched up, the paint was worn off the skeg. Mostly all done before I bought the boat. Last fall I dropped the lower unit to change the impeller. While I had it down I cleaned it all up, sprayed some primer over the bare metal and then put a few coats of spray paint on it. It is obvious the lower unit has been painted but all the means is the lower unit was painted.

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

You'll be alot more than $2500 to ship that thing to CA. If the boat is in that condition the trailer is probably no better. How much are you prepared to pay when the trailer craps out in the middle of TX?

 

[MarkSee]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

The flame arrestor/intake cover says Bravo "one" yet a B3 is installed. Wonder why........but a B3 seems better for a cruiser of that size anyway.

Mark

 

[funk6294]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

It's a good looking boat and I wouldn't totally run away from it, but the photos show some things that are for sure questionable and will cost some money to correct. The biggest thing I noticed is what appears to be mold growing in a lot places on that boat. That's what's on the seat in the cockpit, growing over the Doral logo and running down the side of the boat. The biggest corn area is it is growing in the cabin and appears to be thriving well in the headliner. This will cause the interior to smell at minimum, but could also pose a health risk if the deposites are severe enough. A lot of the mold is just par for the course for where that boat is located, however given how much there is it tells me the boat has been sitting unused and unattended for quite some time. If we move on to the mechanicals the drive has for sure had some one into. The paint does look rattle can fresh but not sure why just yet, could be bottom paint. The addition of the b3 lower is indicative of someone trying to improve the boats performance (which is good for you the b3 will bite harder than the original b1). The other item I saw was the steering pin/ upper bushing has been redone at some point on this boat as the transom shield has the repair kit on it. Could mean the setup has a lot of hours, could also just be it got loose and no one tightened in time resulting in the gimble getting loose. You hope they actually repaired all of what was worn and causing the issue, but as I have seen on another boat the cost often gets in the way and only partially repaired (FYI the steering shaft is a couple hundred alone and the gimble ring is close to 700). From there we move to the trailer. Looks like a yard trailer based on the bunks, so not sure if they are throwing that in, but if they are those trailers are usually a genaric fit and used for just hauling in and out not neccassarly cross country, you would want to check the fit of the boat, as well as tire and bearing condition. A transport company will be pretty pissed if they have to deal with faulty equipment. They may not transport it at all on that trailer if they do not feel it road worthy. Another thing to consider with transporting that size boat is the width and if it needs wide load permits. If it needs permits, it will need one in every state it crosses which would raise the transport fee considerably. As stated before 2500 is a pretty good deal. If you have found quotes for that make sure they have come out and actually looked at the boat first. One of my biggest questions on this boat is its history considering the part of the country it's coming out of. Is it a storm recovered boat? I know it sort of seems like I am trying to burst your bubble, but just want to provide you some food for thought when your thinking about this. I am the king of getting emotionally attached to a decision and will be the first to tell you that it has almost always cost me more money in the end vs having just shopped around a little more. If you want to explore purchasing this boat, I would say pick up a Southwest super saver fare and fly out to see it first hand. Sure beats having it towed all that way only to have a sinking feeling and an empty bank account when it lands in your driveway and the condition is other than what was expected.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

just seeing all that mold tells me either boat has sat for a long time with no maintenance or has been abused or both. A detail shop looking at that mold would tell you it is there and time to replace, not recover, ALL the soft goods. Would hate to see what is living on the cabin roof when the cover comes down. I would need to look no farther than to be sure there were no holes in the hull and offer $4500 max as there are probably more problems than anyone wants to deal with.

 

[Toddavid]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

Spray Paint job on lower unit does not necessarily indicate a problem. My lower unit was scratched up, the paint was worn off the skeg. Mostly all done before I bought the boat. Last fall I dropped the lower unit to change the impeller. While I had it down I cleaned it all up, sprayed some primer over the bare metal and then put a few coats of spray paint on it. It is obvious the lower unit has been painted but all the means is the lower unit was painted.

That may be true on *your* boat, but not necessarily on this "hot mess" of a boat. General neglect turns an innocent spray paint job into another red flag, especially considering the propensity for the Bravo 3 Gen1 to easily corrode.

My comment should not have been taken out of context.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

I might be one if the few who wouldn't be scared of that boat. Short if a trashed motor/drive or structural issues, the rest can be fixed without worry.

 

[funk6294]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

I might be one if the few who wouldn't be scared of that boat. Short if a trashed motor/drive or structural issues, the rest can be fixed without worry.

I am kind of with you here, although I know the OP put out a budget of 16 k and this boat needs about 5 k worth of upholstery work at minimum let alone the likely 6k shipping cost to get it to SoCal. What worries me most on this boat is that the moisture around it allowed a ton of mold to grow. While that can usually be solved with bleach, I do have some worries about all of The wood on the boat. Leaks happen, and if there was ever a situation for structural wood to rot the high humidity of FL would be it. Go look at the boat in person then bring a surveyor over if you think it's worth it. Without seeing it in person and checking the overall condition it's hard to know how rough this diamond really is.

 

[lakegeorge]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

I didn't even bother looking at the pictures because I would never buy anything site unseen. I can't even phantom anyone doing that. I think you need to slow down and take your time looking for a nice boat and not buy someone else's problems.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

The OP has not checked in with any comments as yet, but I think the issues are well covered so far.

This boat may have some potential, and certainly at the right price, but it is not an undertaking for a novice buyer, more something for an experienced buyer and maintainer.

I'm not sure how much experience this person has. . . :noidea:

 

[Fasttommyv]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

Hey guys. Thanks for the feedback. The more I step back at the situation, the more I realize that I'm pushing too hard to find something. I need more patience. Although ive been around boats for some time, This will be my first boat, and I would definitely consider myself a novice compared to you guys. Logistically it will be difficult to purchase, and I may/ likely be buying a major headache. I didn't even think that the boat could be moldy, I just assumed it was dirt. I will just be checking daily for some good boats to hit the market locally, and go from there. Case closed unless the boat drops another 3k

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Rough Looking Doral 270. Diamond in the rough or nightmare?

I have to admit I considered selling mine and grabbing this one but I'm MUCH closer to it and can tow it myself but I decided to hang on to my 10 yr older rig for a while longer.