1981 Beachcraft, what to do with it...

[jmdub85]

My grandfather recently gave me his Beachcraft boat which I believe is a 1981 model 175. The boat has always been kept covered in a garage and was used very little. The last time it was in the water was in 2004. Everything on the motor looked good so I changed the oil and put a new battery in and it fired right up. It runs great and the outdrive seems fine. Aside from the colors which I don't like the interior is in great shape. The carpet could stand to be replaced and I think the floor may need to be replaced. My original plan was to sell it but now I am wondering if I should fix it up. If I decided to sell it what could it be worth? Check out the pictures and let me know.

Thanks!

 

[jigngrub]

Judging from the condition of the interior I doubt the decking (floor) needs replacing and new carpet will be all you really need.

I say keep the boat if you're going to take as good of care of it as Gramps did.

 

[bigdirty]

If you are going to keep it and use it, maybe find another (trashed) boat with the same motor and drive.. Those stringer drive OMC units are quirky, and getting hard to find parts for. Oh, and check the boot in the transom and replace if its cracking.. they typically only last for a few seasons in my exp. and it will turn the boat into a submarine if it starts leaking.. :lol: Nice looking old girl though...

 

[Woodonglass]

Ditto to everything BigDirty said!! The Drive unit on this boat is the big drawback. A Knowledgeable boat buyer would not want this boat even though it's in excellent shape. If you wanna go boating for a season or two, I'd use it and enjoy it but as stated, if things start to go wrong with the powerplant it may be a problem getting it worked on.

 

[jmdub85]

Thanks for the info everyone! The decking feels soft in a couple places which is why I think it needs to be replaced. I have been reading a lot on this site and it seems like if the decking is bad then most likely the transom and stringers will need to be replaced as well, correct? I was wondering if it is worth doing all of that work to it but it sounds like maybe not with the possible issues with the motor and drive unit on this boat.

 

[bigdirty]

Personally, if it was a 'family' boat (has meaning to you, or some sort of attachment) I'd dig into it and see what it needs... IF it needs stringers and the rest, its decision time.. cause if you're that far onto it, a transom re-do is likely imminent anyway.. so a re power with newer motor/drive would be my advice. Find a good running/operable merc 4 cyl and alpha drive, and rebuild the ol' girl. If the OMC motor and drive are in working condition, you may be able to recoup some $ there, as there are people looking for parts/rplacement pieces to keep their own going.. I've seen plenty of otherwise nice condition boats, with twin OMC drives go for scrap with one drive toasted or needing work...

 

[bigdirty]

Personally, if it was a 'family' boat (has meaning to you, or some sort of attachment) I'd dig into it and see what it needs... IF it needs stringers and the rest, its decision time.. cause if you're that far onto it, a transom re-do is likely imminent anyway.. so a re power with newer motor/drive would be my advice. Find a good running/operable merc 4 cyl and alpha drive, and rebuild the ol' girl. If the OMC motor and drive are in working condition, you may be able to recoup some $ there, as there are people looking for parts/rplacement pieces to keep their own going.. I've seen plenty of otherwise nice condition boats, with twin OMC drives go for scrap with one drive toasted or needing work...

 

[jigngrub]

You said this boat was always kept covered in a garage, and if that's true I'd say any rot would be minimal. The decking may just be dry rotted or just rotted from the carpet never having a chance to dry out quickly after each use.

Stringer and transom rot come from heavy water intrusion due to being left exposed to the elements and it doesn't sound or look like that's the case with this boat.

The only way to tell what you really have is to remove the seating and pull up the old carpet and cut some inspection holes in the decking so you can see what lies below. If it's just the decking it'll be a pretty easy fix and won't cost that much time or money.

 

[jmdub85]

After some research and based on what has been posted in this thread I doubt that the boat has any rot in the transom or stringers. I decided to take the boat out today and see how it goes but there was a slight problem. I hooked water up to the outdrive and fired it up this morning to make sure everything was ok. It fired right up and ran great for a few minutes. I shut it off and attempted to start it again just to double check. As soon as I turned the key to start everything lost power. Even the things that run with the key off (bilge pump, blower etc.) will not run. I have checked all the grounds and everything seems fine. The battery is brand new. I found two large fuses above the starter and they seem fine as well. I don't have a lot of boat experience but I have been working on cars for years and everything to me sounds like a fuse or bad ground but I can't find one anywhere. Any ideas?

 

[GA_Boater]

Clean both battery posts/terminals and the connectors. Shiny bright!

 

[Rickmerrill]

Good point GA. Once bought a car cheap, intermittent starting problem. PO had replaced starter, alternator, voltage regulator and cleaned battery terminals. I cleaned the ground connection at the engine block. No more problems. It didn't look bad either. I'm rebuilding my 20 year old boat. Always garage kept. Turns out the holes at the bottom of the bulkheads for drainage weren't sealed up. You just never know what you got below.

 

[jmdub85]

The battery and cables are new so it's not dirty terminals. I cleaned the connection at the block with no success. Further testing shows 12 volts at the starter switch when sitting. As soon as I turn the key to the on position the voltage drops to 0. Same thing with the blower, bilge pump etc. As soon as I turn any of them on voltage at the starter switch drops to 0.