To buy or not to buy 1995 Crowline 266 BR

[Michael.bovine]

I am new to this forum and hope to soon be the owner of a boat. I have the opportunity to purchase a 1995 Crowline 266 BR for around $4,500. It has the 7.4 mercruiser Bravo III. Engine runs great the exterior hull of the boat is in great shape. The interior is pretty rough. It will need a total deck replacement and probably most of the stringers. The dash and gauges are in great shape and the motor mounts are solid. I am just looking for thoughts and opinions on wether or not this is a good price. I estimate that I will probably have around $3,000.00 in the restoration cost so I will have around $8,000.00 in the boat when it is finished. The boat has 850 hrs on it. Thanks for your advise and opinions.

 

[smokeonthewater]

I think the sale price is way high and your rebuild estimate is way low.

 

[Michael.bovine]

Thanks for the reply smokeonthewater. What would you consider a good price for the boat? I have seen the same boat in good shape listed for $12,000 but I am new to the boat market. Don't want to make a big mistake.

 

[woodstockmarine]

I have sold Crownline for a local dealer part time for years. We dropped the brand last year when they went bankrupt. They are still making boats and I have a soft spot in my hart for the brand. Go to NADA.com and you will get pricing for your boat in good condition.

The stringers are made of wood encased in fiberglass they are probably ok but it is a huge job and you have to know what your doing with fiberglass to replace them. If the stringers have delaminated then the boat is junk in my opinion. The motor is worth what he is asking for the boat. seats and cushions will cost you big bucks if you buy from crownline and you probably won't be able to. so you will be looking for used and their not easy to find. Because Crownline went bankrupt last year all their liabilities have been released as i have been told...and I would assume that would mean their lifetime warranties. I would stay away from this deal personally but the motor / Outdrive and trailer together is worth 4500, So if the stringer problem turns out to be to much you could part it out and get your money back out of it. Good Luck

 

[smokeonthewater]

well a project boat has very little value.... I would give no value to the hull in current condition and would be looking to buy the trailer and get the motor for free

For an example look at my signature boats.... my 28' twin engine wellcraft cost me $543 to buy and ready to launch I had less than $4000 in it including the trailer.... You also have to put a price on your labor....

Unless you are experienced in the hell that is gutting and rebuilding a glass boat I suggest passing....

If you buy it I'd say get it for parts at a price that if the trailer turns out to be the only thing of value you can at least break even... maybe $1000...

Then if the engine turns out to be good, look for a good hull that has a busted engine.

 

[Natesms]

The deck and stringer replacement job is awful. I made this mistake a few years back on a smaller crownline. You will be gutting the boat and have a hundred hours into it before you know it. I suggest going to you tube and lookup the firscoboater channel. He has a series on rebuilding a searay that has 89 videos in it. His videos were incredibly helpful to me and gives you an idea of the job ahead. My favorite 2 minutes in the hours and hours of videos he has is when he's standing in front of his boat going "I just don't have it in me, the idea of taking that cover off and getting back in the boat, I just don't know that I can do it." pretty will sums the job up.

Unless you really want a huge project, pass on the boat. The motor, drive and trailer is all you are really buying here.

If I could go back in time I would have:
1. not bought my crowneline.
2. Yanked the drive, motor, gas tank and scraped it before I ever started on the stringer replacement.

 

[jkust]

Only if they gave the boat away for free and then only if your free time is in large supply. Do you want to go boating or do a long and drawn out project that will nickel and dime and frustrate you? 20 year old boats to me fall into the dime-a-dozen category and you can find a well kept one as easy as you can find a well worn one.

 

[muskyfins]

The problem is probably experience level....your own words, "new to boating" Friscoboater is a member of this forum and there are others here who have done the full deck/stringer replacement. I've never done it. Mostly because I've talked to these folks. It is a huge job.

 

[Blind Date]

Big job no doubt, but you'll never get it for free or a $1000. The present owner isn't dumb. He knows what the drive and engine alone are worth(4K) and trust me they aren't something that are hard to sell/get rid of. Unless you really want a long and involved boat restoration project move on. I'm in the middle of one with my CVX18. I'll be glad when I'm done.

 

[thumpar]

Are you sure that amount of work needs down. Crownlines are built pretty well. Unless it was not taken care of I wouldn't think it would be that bad but have seen some terrible boats even with the better companies if neglected. If it was that bad I would run away.

 

[tpenfield]

Usually, with a boat repair/restoration, there is more to it once you open things up. Just check out some of the threads in the restoration forum here on iBoats (my Formula 330 Bulkhead thread included) Most of them run into more problems than originally anticipated. So plan on it being more repairs than you are currently estimating.

The purchase price is high considering the value of a good condition boat and the work you have to put into it. In order to make it worth your while, the purchase price should be lower . . . maybe 1/2 as much. Keep in mind, you are taking the risk and at $4,500 + cost of repairs, vs. the value of the boat in good condition . . .. there is little left to cover your risk.

Also, if you are new to boating or boat restoration, get ready to climb a steep learning curve.

 

[Michael.bovine]

No Title

Thanks for all the replies and input. I know the current owner of the boat and the boat hasn't been abused at all just neglected if that makes since. It has been sitting in the weather uncovered for a long time. I don't know the full extent of the damage but we are going to take a saw to the deck the beginning of next week and see what will truly be involved. I am new to boating but have been in construction for 18 years and really enjoy a project vs buying new. I have been reading the repair forum here and watching friscoboater's videos and I am psyched about restoring a boat whether or not this is the boat is tbd. I will update after I cut into the deck and see what is beneath. Thanks again for all the info. I know if I do restore a boat this forum is a wealth of info.

 

[Michael.bovine]

No Title

Few more pics

 

[tpenfield]

We'll be here for you . . .

 

[Natesms]

Well, if you insist on putting yourself through the punishment of fiberglass grinding - that'll be a great boat when it's done.

It's tough to tell from the pictures what will be salvageable from the upholstery aspect, but I would probably up your restoration budget some. A boat that size will require a lot of resin, fiberglass, foam and wood and will use up a very good chunk of that $3k.

 

[jkust]

It is a shame to see such a nice boat in such bad condition. I think I winced looking at those pics. Good luck.

 

[Idlespeedonly]

Yep, that "was" a nice boat.

 

[woodstockmarine]

The more I think about it I would say the stringers are probably fine. They are fully incased in fiberglass and the wood is protected. I have only seen one crownlike with a delaminated stringer and you could see the hull had a bump in it. If you didn't know what you were looking for you would not have noticed. just replacing a floor is a huge job.

 

[Natesms]

The more I think about it I would say the stringers are probably fine. They are fully incased in fiberglass and the wood is protected. I have only seen one crownlike with a delaminated stringer and you could see the hull had a bump in it. If you didn't know what you were looking for you would not have noticed. just replacing a floor is a huge job.

My 92 Crownline the stringers were mush from the ski locker back. The Fiberglass was standing upright but nothing in between it. You could just pull it out with your hands.

 

[Natesms]

No Title

I'm betting it looks like this. Those blocks of foam weighed every bit of 40 pounds. Doesn't quite show the stringer rot will but they are toast.