Considering "oldish" boat - Am I crazy?

[pckeen]

Lots of good advice above, from lots of experienced boaters.

I get that its all about how well a boat has been cared for - but given my level of experience would I be better off waiting another year to save some cash up, and buy a newer boat?

No - you should look at a whole bunch of boats, and go over them with a fine toothcomb. That way, when the great deal comes up, you'll have the knowledge to identify it. Don't know your budget, but from what you are looking at, I'm guessing anywhere from $4k-$15k. If you want to be confident in what you are getting, when you have identified the boat you want, spend the money on a marine survey, or if you are like me (in a location where such things can't be got), have a marine mechanic thoroughly inspect the boat.

 

[milehighjc]

I really appreciate ALL of the thoughts here, MOST helpful.

Thanks to all who have commented here, and Im truly glad I had the sticky with the checklist. I put a deposit on the boat yesterday pending an acceptable water test, which we are targeting for Friday. The budget was 10K BTW. Thats a bit over average retail NADA, so maybe Im overpaying? The current owner is a grandfather who used it to get some fam time with his grand kids, and they are involved in other things now (I recall those days, soccer, baseball, football, Cheer, track, etc etc that all consumed the weekends). After sitting for two seasons, he decided to sell.

I went over it as closely as I could (using the checklist that is in the sticky here) - tap test on the stringers near the motor mount, walked/bounced on the floor any where I could, and tapped with a rubber mallet over the entire floor, especially in the back near the motor.

For 15 of its 17 years, it was stored indoors, and has been covered the rest. It actually has not been in the water since the 2012 season. The carb was rebuilt and outdrive serviced three years ago before it was put up. It has 250 hours on it. He does have at least some of the service records, and told me who worked on it. Its a 5.7L Mercruiser Alpha. Motor oil was clean, but if it did have any water in it I probably wouldn't know since the boat has been sitting for a couple years. We fired it up on the muffs, and it started on the first crank. I did idle a bit roughly at first, but after warming up it smoothed out nicely.

The interior is nothing short of immaculate. Its a bit dusty, but there is no sun fade, tearing or cracking. Everything seems to work.

I have not been able to locate a surveyor yet, but am going to try to find a marine mechanic to go on the water test.

It does have a stainless prop - it has a couple of very minor dings in it, but otherwise seemed to be in great shape.

Here are a couple of pictures:

 

[milehighjc]

I bought a 1988 Cris Craft 19' cuddy not to use but rather as donor boat for my Chief project. It had all new upholstery, seats and she looked great. The guy said "take her out and have fun". Within 10 minutes it was clear to me that the boat was not seaworthy and completely rotten. The big thing they like to do is double deck over the original rotten one and it's easy to find by looking inside around the cutout for the bilge area. Peel back some carpet and take a peek. There are good boats out there but you have to know people sell bad ones too.

So it had a solid deck with one small soft spot back by the dog house but take a look at what I found when I go into her for the fuel tank removal.

That is one frightening picture. WOW.

 

[smokeonthewater]

What's worse is that it isn't rare or exceptional... LOTS of boats that the average joe thinks are great are in the same or worse condition.

 

[pckeen]

Indoor stored, under 20 hours of use each season - at 10k, that sounds like a reasonable price. When you pick it up, consider having the carbs cleaned again, and having someone do some basic maintenance, before using it. When boats sit, components (seals etc.) can deteriorate.

 

[milehighjc]

Well, after too much analysis, and too much gnashing of teeth, I finally pulled the trigger on the Crownie. I had pretty much given up because I didnt have an acceptable tow vehicle, but the current owner contacted me with an "end of season" offer - that I decided to take. We water tested her Monday evening, and I was even more impressed with the boat upon completion:

• Smooth, STRONG hole shot - Trimmed down, it jumped onto plane.
• Without trimming her out, was seeing high 40's on the speedo. I think it will do 50+ trimmed
• Further inspections really revealed nothing awry except the Nav Lights not working.
• Essentially no water to drain at the end of the water test (about 45 minutes to an hour on the water).
• No odd vibrations, noises or smells on the water test. Motor ran smooth as silk once warmed up.

Have to say that the stickied checklist was a BIG help... Had me looking closely at a lot of things that I would not have thought to check.

I've been cleaning, and working on it since, and its obvious the care that went into this boat. It appears to be a better boat than I thought initially. Could it generate a bunch of problems - I suppose so since it is a 17 year old boat. Hopefully my odds are good given the meticulous nature of the current owner. He may have been the single best selling feature. Carefully explained where everything was, what service he had done, both himself, and professionally. His son (probably late 30s) came along, and it was clear that he really didn't want to see the boat sold, but a very nice family all around.

So... the midlife crisis has been satiated at least for now, and I think I have a boat that will provide my family a lot of great memories over the next few years.

More pictures to come as I get her cleaned up...

 

[roscoe]

Looks great, congrats.


contacted me with an "end of season" offer ???? pray tell.

Did he throw in a tow vehicle ?

 

[Maclin]

Congrats, you found "the one"

 

[milehighjc]

Looks great, congrats.


contacted me with an "end of season" offer ???? pray tell.

Did he throw in a tow vehicle ?

A tow vehicle would have been nice! But he did lower the price materially, and offered to deliver it to my house. Got a nice wakeboard as well, and a bunch of miscellaneous gear.

Ill be spending the winter looking to trade off my trusty Ford Ranger for something beefier, but at least Im not on such a tight time schedule now. I also have multiple friends with tow vehicles that are all offering to help out in the short term. Ill probably winterize sometime in the next couple of weeks, so it wont be a lot of time, but hopefully can get some quality time on the water yet.

 

[Scorpion210]

Stainless Prop

I have a 1985 year old 21' Chris Craft Scorpion that i bought in 2007 that came with a Stainless prop. The mechanic that I use suggested that I switch it to an aluminum prop. His thinking was that if I do hit something solid with a stainless prop, the prop doesn't give. The outdrive has to give. With an aluminum prop, any hits have a better chance of being absorbed by the prop. He suggested that I keep the stainless prop as a spare or sell it.

Not sure it was great advice since my aluminum prop still doesn't have much of a ding in it after 7 years and about 750 hours.....but thought it was worth a mention

 

[smokeonthewater]

Thought you were lookin for an OLD boat...... That one has nearly a decade before being as old as my NEWER boat....

congrats... enjoy

 

[fhhuber]

Recently purchased a 1990 Kingfisher with 1990 Johnson 150GT.

Bad carpet was easy to see and kind of expected. Generally a sound boat though.
New equivilent size and capability boat would be about $25,000 to $30,000....
I got this for $2000. I can afford to fix a few minor issues and deal with the higher gas consumption of the old 2-stroke instead of a modern 4-stroke.

One issue to look at with the older boats is the accumulated crud in the bilge clogging up the pump. Amazing how much stuff was in the bilge...

 

[milehighjc]

Thought you were lookin for an OLD boat...... That one has nearly a decade before being as old as my NEWER boat....

congrats... enjoy

Old ISH is the key. I thought about trying to restore my brother's '74 Silverline, but decided that was more project than I was up for.

Today was fun... took a half day, took the the Crownie up to Horsetooth reservoir to enjoy the 90 degree weather, and wring the boat out. What a fantastic day. Boat ran like a dream, and the weather was spectacular. I think I really may just have found "the one"....

 

[Maclin]

Here's to many more days like that... :tea:

 

[slag]

Congratulations. You were in the right place at the right time.

 

[milehighjc]

I like reading other posts about how stuff like this goes... so Ill resurrect this thread with an update after the first full season.

This has been an exceptional purchase IMHO. The boat was clearly well cared for, and has given me essentially no trouble except stuff that was the direct result of my own inexperience/stupidity (one new alternator, one new battery).

As nice as it was when I bought it, it is nicer now upgrades/improvements include:

• Deep cleaning/detailing before I put her up last season (and about to happen again for this year)
• New stereo (Clarion M303, Infinity speakers up front, added rears, added subwoofer under bench seat
• Added Bimini
• Fixed a problem with the Nav lights
• Repaired two gelcoat blemishes that were there when I bought it
• Buffed out dock rash
• Named her "Change N Attitude"
• Installed SmartTabs (80lb)

By the numbers, she has had:

• Put 15% of her purchase cost into improvements/water toys (two slalom skis, new PFD, new rope)
• 31 outings for a total of almost 170 hours of time on the water, including an epic long weekend camping/boating
• 55 engine hours
• Fuel Consumption averaging 3.5 GPH

It took a while, but I finally succeeded in getting back up on the slalom ski (the primary intended use of the boat). It has provided some of the highest quality family time we have had in years. We are proof that the old saying of "the two happiest days for a boat owner is the day you buy it, and the day you sell it" could not be further from the truth. The day I bought it I was nervous and apprehensive about what I was getting myself into, and most every day we have had it out has been better than that day.

Im hoping to get one more outing before the dreaded winterization. But it is almost time to put it to bed for the long cold winter.

​Jeff

 

[phillipgo]

I have a 77 Manatee, great shape.

 

[thumpar]

Crownlines are great boats and hold up.

 

[Willyclay]

Thanks for the update.

 

[RGrew176]

August 14th I purchased a 34 year old boat. It has been well cared for and I have spent what little remains of the season here in Michigan tweaking the boat adding my little touches to make it MY boat. I did have to replace a freshwater system pump but I knew that going in. The GPS that came with the boat seems to have died. Thats not bad as I am planning to get a new more up to date GPS next season if the funds are available.

My daughter is finally getting married next September so funds for the boat will be tight but watch out after that. I am getting a new up to date VHF too.

She's an oldie but a goodie.

This is my 10th boat. 6 I purchased new and the other 4 used.