Should I buy this boat that was left uncovered?

[Joolz]

Briancc, what's your take on the Bayline Capri? I see mixed reviews on these and there are plenty around here. The ones I seen were total trash as owners left them to rot outside. And rotten they were. But these are more in line with my budget. The 99s like the one in your sig look pretty decent. But should I stay away? We decided we want something no older than a mid to late 90s.

 

[MTboatguy]

I would not buy a Capri, I have never seen one in good shape and I have looked at a lot of them over the years, if I buy one, it is normally to get the engine and trailer, I take the boat to the dump an pay about $20.00 to get rid of it, just like I did with the Glaspar a couple of weeks ago.

 

[southkogs]

I've got an '02 Capri Classic 1950. I like it for the most part. It rides nice and is pretty easy to care for. If I hadn't gotten it for nearly nuthin', I probably would have passed ... the fit and finish is lacking a little. But overall it's not a bad boat. I'm not looking to get out of it or move on any time soon.

 

[briangcc]

Briancc, what's your take on the Bayline Capri? I see mixed reviews on these and there are plenty around here. The ones I seen were total trash as owners left them to rot outside. And rotten they were. But these are more in line with my budget. The 99s like the one in your sig look pretty decent. But should I stay away? We decided we want something no older than a mid to late 90s.

I'd still own it IF both my cousins didn't get pregnant again during my ownership. I was their 30-60 minute nap time for the babies as it put them right to sleep. My boat got suddenly small when they announced they were expecting kiddos again.

Feature wise, it's not glamorous. Build wise there was nothing wrong with it. The bashing you'll see on Bayliners is based off the early 80's stuff you used to see outside K-mart. I had no structural issues with my boat and quite frankly I'm actually scanning Craigslist to see if it pops up again as I'd actually like it back. I will say I would avoid one like the plague IF it had the FORCE outboard still on it. Those motors were junk.

 

[Joolz]

Great, thanks for clarifying that. I should also clarify that the reason the ones I saw a couple of years back were trash is due to them being left outside without a cover. It puzzles me why someone would invest thousands on a boat and cheap out on a simple cover. Still like the idea of going with a boat that has no to minimal wood in its construction. But if we don't find one in the next couple of months, may settle for whatever pops up that's in good condition and it shows no signs of being left to the elements. As far as features go, not too concerned about that. Don't care if it lacks a radio and speakers. More concerned with it having a sun shade than anything else.

 

[spoon059]

Briancc, what's your take on the Bayline Capri? I see mixed reviews on these and there are plenty around here. The ones I seen were total trash as owners left them to rot outside. And rotten they were. But these are more in line with my budget. The 99s like the one in your sig look pretty decent. But should I stay away? We decided we want something no older than a mid to late 90s.

I just recently bought a 95 Capri 1800 LS. It was in great shape, covered most of its life. Floor, hull and transom were solid. Vinyl was in great shape for 23 years old. Even the Force 120 outboard starts immediately, runs great and gets us going 35 mph out on the Chesapeake.

Its certainly not the nicest, cleanest, fastest or most well built boat out there... but its a great starter boat for my family. Hope to tool around for another year or two before we upgrade to a bigger boat, but it is fantastic right now!

 

[briangcc]

Great, thanks for clarifying that. I should also clarify that the reason the ones I saw a couple of years back were trash is due to them being left outside without a cover. It puzzles me why someone would invest thousands on a boat and cheap out on a simple cover. Still like the idea of going with a boat that has no to minimal wood in its construction. But if we don't find one in the next couple of months, may settle for whatever pops up that's in good condition and it shows no signs of being left to the elements. As far as features go, not too concerned about that. Don't care if it lacks a radio and speakers. More concerned with it having a sun shade than anything else.

You're welcome. I made (2) modifications to mine beyond replacing the POS Force....I added (2) cleats on the deck right ahead of the front windshield - one per side - and (1) small grab bar at the rear swim platform with the ladder to make boarding much easier for little ones. Something to consider should you end up with an '99 1800LS.

As for shade....a bimini or convertible top is easy to add to any boat. Iboats and other retailers stock them along with any of the hardware you may need to attach it so don't let that be a determining factor if everything else checks out.

As for being left uncovered...there's no IQ test to take before the owner plunks down thousands on a boat. Some people have more $$ than common sense.

 

[Fizzlesticks]

Going to get one of the 2000 Larson Flyer's myself this upcoming weekend. Boat title/registration has it at 15'11" so it's under the magic 16' which is kind of nice. Everything works, hull is perfect, all gauges work,swim ladder is there but missing a screw up on top where no water goes. Floor and transom are solid. Upholstery is all cracked/sun damaged as there was never a bimini on this boat. Has a 2000 Johnson 70hp inline 3 on it as well which my mechanic says is one of the better ones. I'll weigh it at a local scale when I have it out of curiosity. Boat is supposed to be 1080, trailer is 375, and engine should be about 200. I can live with cracked upholstery, I'm more concerned about the "bones" of the boat. Hoping it is as nice as it sounds, will update as appropriate.
I did read another forum that discussed the transom design of these little boats. There's a "step" in it where many owners have had a suction issue where the boat will not plane out properly until it "breaks" loose of the suction which doesn't return until you slow way back down. Several "fixes" for it that aren't complicated so we'll see if it's an issue with the smaller motor.

 

[jbcurt00]

Fizzlesticks please observe the 90day inactivity rule

Closed