should I buy this boat?

[mooseman1616]

I know you probably get this q' all the time, but I just wanted to get ya'lls opinion. I am looking at buying a little 14' boat. It is a Chrysler with a 100hp Johnson on the back. The motor runs like a top, the transom seems to be solid, but the floor is soft. Not like fall through soft, but if I push really hard with my foot I can make it "squish" just a lil' bit. The boat and trailer come with titles. The asking price is 900 bucks and I am going to offer him 700. If he bites at 700 should I buy it and just replace the floor(I'm not scared to get in and get dirty and do it myself, but I would probably be asking you guys a lot of questions) or should I run far away. Thanks for the help.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: should I buy this boat?

That 100 is probably an electric shift so you may want to take that into consideration. A number of parts related to that system are NLA. And I'm assuming you've been down to the resto section so you can see what is involved with a deck replacement. Not a small job. However, those Chrysler hulls are really heavy duty and worth fixing up and any boat that floats and has a running motor is surely worth a couple hundred.

 

[dt342]

Re: should I buy this boat?

I was gonna say as long as it's not red and from Rhode Island.

 

[1979checkmate]

Re: should I buy this boat?

I was gonna say as long as it's not red and from Rhode Island.

OH BOY, here we go again. haha

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: should I buy this boat?

we know nothing about your experience or intended use, but 100 HP on a 14' boat is a serious speedboat, not for the faint of heart.
But price-wise, $900 for a running motor of that size is usually OK, and 2 titles is an essential starting place.

 

[BTMCB]

Re: should I buy this boat?

I was gonna say as long as it's not red and from Rhode Island.

Saw that one coming.......LOL

 

[mooseman1616]

Re: should I buy this boat?

Thanks for the help

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: should I buy this boat?

Moose,

Soft floors usually lead to rotten stringers and transom. A simple deck replacement is rare and usually leads to a full rebuild. Sounds like this one might be still useable for a year or two. The $700.00 price sounds okay but you could be following that with another thousand or two depending on how much follow-up work there is. Definitely read up in the resto section before you buy.

 

[mr 88]

Re: should I buy this boat?

Besides the resto section here you may want to check out and post on fiberglassics.com there are few guys there that are into the them and may be able to give you a heads up.

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: should I buy this boat?

I would say only if you are willing to have about $2700 in it when you are done and that you understand that you will never be able to recoup that money. Understand that it is quite an ordeal to do it properly. EDIT

 

[smallboatlover]

Re: should I buy this boat?

listen my boat is being fixed right now look in the resto thread and look at the progress and i think that motor is over powered i haven't seen a 14' Chrysler with a 100hp on it. there was a 14' dart that had a max of 20hp i think than were was my boat the vailent with a max of 55hp.

 

[smallboatlover]

Re: should I buy this boat?

sorry it would still be over powered but the boat you might be looking at is the hydro v hull charger this boat could hold a 90hp outboard or a 130hp i/o

 

[444]

Re: should I buy this boat?

If you can get him to take 700, go for it. If the floor isn't too bad I would just leave it. If the boat doesn't leak too bad I would just run it for a few years, then scrap it. Chances are by then you're going to want a different boat anyway. Don't invest anything into the hull. When it comes time to scrap the boat you can probably sell the motor+controls for 700, trailer for a couple hundred and chop the boat up with a sawzall and haul it to the dump.

 

[superharmonix]

Re: should I buy this boat?

Mooseman, what model of Chrysler is your 14 footer? What year is it? I love those old Chryslers. I have got a 16' Chrysler myself. the 100hp does sound a bit brutey for 14', but I am curious as to year/model?