77 Cajun Boat

rolltide58

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Is $900.00 to much for a 1977 Cajun Boat with an Evinrude 85 HP motor with trailer? Also has trolling motor and 2 batteries. Boat is in good condition. Boat is faded and seats. Motor does run.
 

cyclops2

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Re: 77 Cajun Boat

Length & type ?
34 year old boat.
I am always assuming it is going to cost big bucks in repairs. So I only advise no more than $ 500.

Buyers market for the next 20 years.
 

southkogs

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Re: 77 Cajun Boat

Assuming that's a Cajun bass-boat type rig, and with an 85hp it's gonna' be at least 15' or so ...

... and assuming that the boat is in good shape (good floors and transom especially) with no leaks ...

... and assuming the motor runs well at idle and speed with good compression ... $900 is probably a good price (or reasonable at least).

Just make sure that you test the boat's structure (floors, hull and transom are all solid and not rotting out), and the outboard. An outboard motor running in the driveway is not like having the engine in the water pushing a boat ... so if you can't lake test it, have a marine mechanic look at it (unless you're confident in your ability to assess it).
 

rolltide58

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Re: 77 Cajun Boat

Its 15 ft, really a 15 1/2 foot. fiberglass. Yes. a bass boat, Mach1. Got a better look at it yesterday. Didn't look as good as I thought. Transom had been repaired, think the guy gave it a rough time. It didn't look good, but he said it didn't leak. Paint bad faded. Carpet was fair. Deck was good. Windshield was missing. Motor seemed to be ok, but we didn't lake test it. Looked like the guy just spray painted the motor with white spray cans. He said I could come back another day when it wasn't so windy and take it on the lake and try it out. I think I'm going to have to pass on it. Was expecting better, but I guess for $900, you can expect much??

Thanks Guys.
 

southkogs

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Re: 77 Cajun Boat

Not a big fan of bass boats myself, but this time of year - if you can add another $1k to your budget, you can dig up a nice fishing rig off CL in pretty decent shape.
 

rolltide58

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Re: 77 Cajun Boat

Yeah, I think you have to be in the $2000.00 range to find a good boat. Thats where I've been looking, Craigslist. Thought I could fing a better deal now, since its winter time.
 

rolltide58

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Re: 77 Cajun Boat

Did find another boat, Terry. 1978 15 1/2 foot. Looks just like the Cajun Boat, very similar. It has a 85 hp Johnson on it about the same width, but looks a lot better than the Cajun boat. Motor has just been serviced on it. Carpet and deck are good. Paint is coming off in some places, but still looks good and shiny. Trailer looks good. The guy is asking $1500.00 for it. I think Terry is a good boat??
 

Bondo

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Re: 77 Cajun Boat

Ayuh,.... Any boat of that vintage needs some serious digging to make Sure it ain't rotted out...
 

rolltide58

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Re: 77 Cajun Boat

Are you talking about the transom? Transom looked very good. Deck was very good. I got in the boat and walked around in it and it was strong.
 

rolltide58

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Re: 77 Cajun Boat

I'm going to ask a dumb question, I have never owned a boat in my life. I always had friends with boats. So, I'm new to all of this. Is there wood in the hull of these type boats?
 

southkogs

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Re: 77 Cajun Boat

Most of the time, yes. Depends on the manufacturer and the age, but as a rule ... the stringers (hull supports) and transom at least are wood.
 

rolltide58

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Re: 77 Cajun Boat

Thanks southkogs. Never knew the hull had wood in it. I knew the transom did, but not the hull. Thanks

Do you think that is a fair price? Probably would need painted if you wanted it to look "nice" but for me, pretty dosen't matter that much.
 

southkogs

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Re: 77 Cajun Boat

If you wanna' post the CL link people will take a look at the ad and give you some feedback.

I don't know much about Terry boats, but really at that age - manufacturer means less than condition. Like Bond-O said, a boat that old needs close inspection to make sure everything is good. If the OB is in good shape, those 85 Johnsons have a good reputation. $1,500 might be reasonable for the boat in good shape.
 

rolltide58

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Re: 77 Cajun Boat

Sorry, got the motor wrong, its a Evinrude 85HP. I cannot find the listing for it. The listing is couple of weeks old.
The trim cylinder on it leaks, that would need fixing.

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southkogs

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Re: 77 Cajun Boat

Same basic motor - Johnson/Evinrude are pretty much the same thing. If that's a running outboard (good strong compression & consistent running under load) the boat looks like a good boat (as much as one can tell from a photo). $1,500 feels a little high to me ... but I'm a cheapskate. I'd probably want to hit a little closer to $1,000, but depends on what values in your area are doing ... and how motivated the seller is. I'm guessing there are several auxiliary things that aren't working - live well, gauges, maybe lights.

However, look at boats in the $2K range in your area and see what the difference is. The extra $500 might be worth waiting for ... there are some good deals out there right now, if you wait for your pitch.

One thing I don't like about that particular type of boat is the narrow beam. Because it's not very wide, it can tend to rock quite a bit and in any sort of weather struggle to be real stable. I had a buddy who had one, and we used it quite a bit ... but I always felt like I was gonna' fall off the thing. Food for thought.
 

rolltide58

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Re: 77 Cajun Boat

Well, I told him $1000 would be all I would pay and he agreed to it. Live well pump works, lights work, guages don't. Trolling motor and depth finder work.
The Beam is 72 inches wide. Is that too narrow?
Wished it did have a better paint job on it though, but I guess looks really don't matter too much?
 

southkogs

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Re: 77 Cajun Boat

If you like the boat - and have looked for other stuff you'd like better - and that motor runs like a champ (and I mean you've had it out on the water runnin'), then $1,000 is a "go for it" number. Be prepared for some problems to make it more of a $1,500 boat (meaning you'll probably have about $500 in repairs this year).

My comments on the beam of the boat was general in nature. Several boats of that type were manufactured, and some boats are made narrow for specific applications. I just don't personally care for them. But, also remember - I'm a guy who doesn't care for bass boat types in general. The boat is safe, it's more of a style issue.
 

rolltide58

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Re: 77 Cajun Boat

OK, Thanks. I didn't know if that was a narrow bass boat, I guess some are wider and some are narrower?
I just cannot find a desent boat around $1500 to $2000.00. I live in Alabama and I check out Birmingham, Huntsville, and other small cities that are close to me. When I think I found one that is good and and I will call and ask questions about it, they all say it is a very good boat and then I go look at them, LOL, I cannot believe they tell me this and they will be several things wrong with it. Just like the Cajun boat, the guy on the phone said everything is good, then go look at it, transom looks like crap and other things. Went to look at another boat in Huntsville, the guy told me Nothing is wrong with the boat, he was asking $1500 for it, so I go look at it and it had a hole in the hull where it meets the trailer, I couldn't believe it, plus other things wrong. I told the guy, you wasted my time, he didn't care. Whats funny, you look at ads on CL and they say its water ready, everything good, then when you call them up, oh, its got this wrong with it and it wont cost you that much to fix it and I'm thinking, why don't you fix it if its wont cost that much. :(

On the Terry boat, he just run the motor in a tank, seemed to be ok, but like you said, you need to take it out on a lake to really try it out. When you ask some people to do it, they say, its no need to do it, the motor is good.
Sometimes I think I might be better off without a boat, LOL.
Do you know of anybody that has one to sell, bass boat, or fish and ski boat?

Thanks
 

southkogs

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Re: 77 Cajun Boat

I've seen bass boats that are surprisingly wide (some of the newer ones I see 'round here are fattys), and then thinner ones like the Terry you're looking at. I did a couple of quick CL searches in Birmingham and Atlanta (usually some good buys pop up in the Atlanta area) and that Terry looks like it's in the mix for your area at $1,000. So, it's worth a look. If you can get it on the water - GREAT. If you can have a mechanic give it a look, that might work too.

I find in our area the fishing boats (bass boats particularly) take a beating before they get sold. The guys who run these boats are typically more about fishing than boats ... so the boats get run hard. Which means it gets hard to find a decent one for cheap.

Do a little hunting on CL in Atlanta. It's a bigger market, and usually has more options. Look to your south near the coast too. You might hit the jackpot and find a guy selling a nice center console that he's been using on the coastal waters for cheap.
 
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