Need Input On Boat Purchase
 

a friend of mine bought a project boat a year ago and never worked on it and now his wife is begging him to sell it. i have the chance to buy it but i want some of the seasoned boaters input.

it's a 1984 ish Imperial V (he said deep V??) 19.5fter? walk through front window... it's an inboard outdrive with a Chevy 2.5 I-4 freshly rebuilt with over $3500 worth of reciepts on the motor, mercruiser outdrive w/2 different stainless props. new galvanized single axle trailer (easy tilt drive on???), the boat was damaged when the previous owner he bought it from got it. it had a crack in the hull and he took out the floor to patch the hull from the inside and finished it from the outside. it looks un noticable to me that it was repaired. it comes with all new uppulstry, seats and what not, fuel tank, resin and fiberglass mat to put the floor that isn't in it back in it, primer and paint to repaint the hull....

i'm wanting to know

1) how hard is it to put a floor back in one?
2) what is a boat that old worth?
3) how deep of water does there have to be to set this baby afloat?

1) not bad could be done in a weekend. Weather is the key this time of year
2) probably less than what he has in the motor
3) 3' with an I/O

Now the bad. The 2.5 wasn't a powerhouse. Don't expect to ski behind it. Their biggest problem is leaks at the exhaust riser.

now a question for you...can you see the patch on the inside? how wide is it covering the crack? how many layers? there are standards when it comes to glass repair.

My boat is a 2.5 and will run 42mph wide open and pulls a skier fine. It would go for between $3500 and $4500 around here depending on shape. Since that one still needs work I would guess between $1800 and $2500. I love my boat and it runs dang good on the water for a 17.5ft boat.

i'm not sure.... haven't looked at it real closely lately. the old man, the previous owner, gave this dude the reciepts for all he did so this guy has very minimal in it and i can get it for that. apparently the old man knew a good bit about boats as my friend said he had 4 or 5 others there that were in perfect shape that were old. this one he was gonna fix up for his grand son and he never bought anything for it let alone came over to help so he said screw that (for lack of better words) and sold it off to my friend. the motor has never been fired off since the rebuild and i know that can be a bad thing so i'll put some MMO down the spark plug holes and let it soak a while before i try anything with it......

so you're saying it's worth say $400?

I have a Chevy 350 I/O with your name on it if you want it...:)

Yeah it is worth well more then $400.

Andy

the hull isn't worth much, 500 or less.
hulls are cheap to come by.

how old is the out drive?
check ebay, mercruisers especially the older ones are easy to get parts for but not worth much.


the interior is a bonus but if the junk you'll need to find an other hull it will fit well in to.

the trailer a good galvanized one i might value it $500-$750


pictures would help is possible

wish i was closer i broke my 4.3 mercruiser

Boats down yer way should be pretty damn cheap right now with being the off season and drought. I keep thinkin about lookin for a pontoon boat while prices are cheap, just haven't gotten around to it.

i'll try to get some pics of it this wekend when i get home. a friend of mine has been in the boat muffler business for years and knows his fiberglass...... i'm gonna try to get him to go over and look it over with me and let me know what he thinks.

Me too...:5:

That's good to have someone who knows about boats to look at it.
I have a 27 'ft and we can ski behind it easy it has a mercruiser they are good.
I love boating. I drive the boat on and off the trailer
I forget the name but their is a site were you can check the value of the your boat something the kelly blue book.
Good luck

Heres a comp
http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listi...quick&is=false
If you can get it for 400. you won't loose if you part it out on fleabay.

Check out http://www.speedwake.com/upload/myvbindex.php There is many phoyos of this ad many peoe will let you know what to do..

ok well i went and looked at it a little more in the daylight.... haven't taken pics yet but aparently the whole bottom had been cut out and replaced/reinforced/reattached. it looks good just needs a final coat of gelcoat that comes with the boat. it's dirty as all get out but nothing a pressure washer wouldn't fix. i'm working on negotiation the price a little (barter some goods i have that he needs) as my "check is in the mail" for some work i did so when it comes in hopefully the boat will be in my back yard....

Ben, I really want to see pics of the repair before you buy. These hull's are hand-laid fiberglass with a gel coat surface so it takes a competent fiberglass man to do it right. I've had my 21ft Malibu repaired after hitting a huge log and the guy that did the work taught me about how the hull should and shouldnt be repaired. I'm no expert but I've seen what an expert does. On the inside of the boat the patch should be a minimum of 6 inches longer and 4 inches wider than the crack. It should be raised up about 1/2" and then glazed over with resin and gel coat. On the outside of the hull you should barely see where the crack was and after the gel coat you shouldn't see it at all. When the paint gets properly laid over the gel coat you shouldnt be able to tell that there was a repair.

easy grasshopper.... i'm trying to be not as lazy and get some pics.... we just keep running out of daylight here.....

No, you do it...and you get it done NOW mister. :w2:

Ben if you ever take my advise take it now... RUN don't walk... RUN away from the boat. Trust me. You do NOT want a fix-r-upper boat. It will nickle and dime you to death. Spend more money up front and buy a boat that is ready to go. And also remember that the definition of a boat is "a hole in the water in whih to throw money" as the son of a boat mechanic and the owner of two boats I know this first hand.

that means you'll volunteer to help me work on it. well even if i don't "fix-r-up" i'll part it out. i think it'll be alright.... i'm use to being nickled and dimed to death... i live in a 104 year old house and i have a wife..... she told me i'm stupid for thinking about the boat and not going ahead and getting it..... she wants it more than i do. i think it would be cool to have.... if i never fix it up i can always plant flowers in it in my yard.....lol

oh ya got lazy and ran out of daylight to get pics.... i'll try harder tomorrow....

I hear you... Don;t get me wrong. I love to tinker with my boat. Just remember. You will fix it up and it wont really be worth any more then it is. Crap for boats is a HELL of alot more then a pickup.... You think a diesel truck can get expensive... just wait... I can find you a NICE boat that size up here for a couple grand if you want. Hell... If you find one up here we will set up a DB meet somewhere between us And I can bring it to you.

I never consider money I spend on a vehicle an "investment", I'm not likely to ever get it back. More like "entertainment", only worth it if I derive enjoyment from it.
The two best days of boat ownership are the day you buy it and the day you sell it.:pca1::c: