Looking at a 1968 AristoCraft 9Teen

[automobiliben]

I am looking at a 1968 AristoCraft 19 and am a bit stumped on the seating capacity. These pictures are all I have to go off until I can go see the boat when I get back home from break. The current owner says it has a Buick V6 in it, it appears that there aren't any seats in the back. Is this correct? He doesn't really appear to know what he has but claims it is all original...

Thanks,
Ben

 

[ziggy]

Re: Looking at a 1968 AristoCraft 9Teen

welcom automobiliben.

The current owner says it has a Buick V6 in it,

that could be. it has an omc drive. which were mated with buick v6's in the era.

it appears that there aren't any seats in the back. Is this correct?

could be, by looking at the pic of what appears to be an oversized sun deck on her, ya'd almost have to assume it don't have the back two seats. guess ya could have the owner take a different pic of the inside, or maybe just ask him. he may not know much about the boat, but he can see if it has seats or not i'd think.
one observation i see is that 'that' boat has a whale tale on it. + non adj. trim tabs. both would be after thoughts. generally used to try to keep porpoising down. or keeping bow rise down. or getting up on plane faster, w/o bow rise. i guess, i would question why. most nineteens i've seen don't have these mods. however i have seen smart tabs used. on my ninenteen. i usually run with 2 people on board. with 2 people, i've not needed these mods. now, i have run with three and i'm ok with the oem set up for three. go up to 4 people and i start having trouble getting up on plane and i do have pretty good bow rise with the extra weight of 4 on board. if them extra 2 people are sitting in the aft seating. i really start to have problems with getting on plane and bow rise. i've had 5 on board and didn't like it. i would not run with 6 even though that is the max cap. of the boat. no more seats. i'd have to look at the safety cap plate, but i think it's not listed for people, but by weight.
another comment i'll make is. it's got an omc drive w/ a buick v6. neither of these are gonna be supported (hard to find parts) and ya may wanna take this into consideration. if there were two things easy things to avoid when making a boat purchase. staying away from omc would be one. and not having a merc 470 engine. the 470 has several known issues.

to bad that boat has the omc in it. it looks like a pretty good find short of that.

if it don't have back seats, that could be a draw back too. while i don't like having folks sitting in the back while i'm underway, i sure do use them a lot when i'm floating around. guess in thinking about it. my ol lady does like to sit in the back sometimes while underway. even shifting her weight from the ft port seat, to the very back port seat is enough to make the boat handle differently to include higher bow rise coming onto plane and slower time to plane. and that's just one person@ about 130-150 lbs.

good luck in your quest. cool color on that one. i don't see that green on very many. to bad too, i like that color green too.

 

[automobiliben]

Re: Looking at a 1968 AristoCraft 9Teen

Ziggy,

Can you elaborate a bit on why you would avoid this engine and outdrive combo? I have read about galvanic corrosion issues with the AL block on the engine and most of the studs breaking off.

Also, have you ever seen this seating arrangement? I can't imagine it has 6 seats in it as far as that rrear platform comes forward. I looked at all the pictures I could find and never seen one without rear seats, but the vinyl platform look like a dead match to the rest.

The owner thinks this is a Starcraft boat, so asking around here is better than asking him. My woodworking shop is filled with vintage tools and we have saying about this. "The current owner, standing in front of the machine in full light, still has no clue what he has." Sort of fitting here!

Ben

 

[ziggy]

Re: Looking at a 1968 AristoCraft 9Teen

Can you elaborate a bit on why you would avoid this engine and outdrive combo?

because omc is out of business and no oem parts are available. here's an example of a thread regarding this drive. a stringer drive i believe. over the years reading here on iboats. i've come to the conclusion that if i were buying (when i was buying in '03), that anything with an omc was out due to no parts availability and no merc 470's due to their persincktyness (known issues). use the search function here on iboats and see what ya can read about them. usually if someone is 'thinking' about buying one, the answer is always the same. try to avoid this.

Also, have you ever seen this seating arrangement?

no, i havn't seen that arangment. ya might contact AristoCraft and see what they have to say about this set up. they would know if it was a factory thing.

The owner thinks this is a Starcraft boat,

i see. that's funny. at least ya know yer on your own to find anything out about it since the owner obviously isn't in the know to much...

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Looking at a 1968 AristoCraft 9Teen

I had an Aristocraft 19 with the hardtop back in the early 70's. Mine had the 140 Mercruiser, and it was a very efficient hull.

But I'd never have one of the earlier Mercruisers again. We had problems. But at least parts were and are available.

OMC is no more, and there are no parts for that old Aristocraft.

Run from this boat as fast as you can. It has the wrong engine and outdrive system.

 

[renojim]

Re: Looking at a 1968 AristoCraft 9Teen

I would have to agree with Ziggy, stay away from that 9Teen. Its really too bad because it looks like it is in good shape. I've never seen one like that. Probably very rare.

OMC is no more, and there are no parts for that old Aristocraft.

That may be true about OMC but you can still get parts for the 19. Windows, seat skins and i think some hardware.

As for engines I think the guys at Aristocraft are partial to the 470 Mercs. As for me I agree with Ziggy, The 165 Mercrusier is the only way to go. They last for ever.
I do think the weight of the 165 inline 6 cyl. does make the stern sit a little lower in the water. I tried one of those whale tails and took it off after running it for an hour. I hated the way it made the boat handle.
If you do get a 19 with a 6 cyl. put on some automatic tabs that self adjust. They're resonably inexspensive for the difference in ride quality. When we go to the lake everyone wants to be in the sun. The back two seats are almost always filled. Before I put on the trim tabs you might be able to hit 25 mph before it would start to porpoise, no matter how you trimmed the drive. Now with tabs and people in the back seats top speed is 38 mph no porpoising. Thats at 4000 ft. elevation 17in. prop.

Now if you're wondering about the capibility of a 19 for skiing and getting around. My 19 is a165hp and where i ski is 4000 ft. elevation. Usually there are three people in the boat totaling about 450lbs. Myself on the rope at 210lbs. with a single slalom ski. It pulls me right up with little drag and i ski at 35 mph GPS.
I have skied with 5 people in the boat. It was a little bit of a struggle to get up and the boat only hit 31 mph.

The other half of the summer is spent on Lake Tahoe, 6200 ft. ele. with 4 to 6 people aboard. Tahoe gets pretty rough sometimes and we've been out there with 3' to 4' white caps coming from all directions. When it gets that bad the people in the back seats move a little forward so they don't get so wet. The 4 people in front are perfectly dry.
You gotta love it. They are awesome boats!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Looking at a 1968 AristoCraft 9Teen

If you like the looks & styling of the Aristocraft 19, there's no reason not to consider buying, when priced correctly. It doesn't have much wood substructure (makes it a good restoration candidate) and as an I/O, the transom isn't as difficult as an OB to remove & replace.

If you don't mind a project & can spend some time hunting for a suitable Mercruiser driveline to transplant into it, the 19 would be a great boat to have. Certainly wouldn't see many of them at most lakes.

It looks like there is a rear seat facing forward in the center left of this pix:

From here:
The AristoCraft 19 is a fun and unique vintage boat - National Vintage Transportation | Examiner.com

It's an early 70's 19, but should be very similar. And here's a '68 19, that clearly has rear seats:

Sun pad VS rear seats may have been an option.

I think you are correct though, w/ the sun pad, it's unlikely your's has rear seats:

If you need parts & pieces, here's an inexpensive parts boat. They also have an early 70's 19, that has rear seats:

There's a few 19's & 19 threads floating around iboats. Here's 1:
http://forums.iboats.com/aristocraft/1968-19-foam-questions-405069.html

Another:
[h=6]I just bought a 1968 9teen I think?[/h]
Good luck if you decide to buy her, start a thread over in the resto section if you do.

 

[lamphega]

Re: Looking at a 1968 AristoCraft 9Teen

Last I knew there were some parts still available from Aristocraft. Last year I purchased replacement windshield and rear curtain from them. I have a 75 with inline 6 165hp Mercruiser and I love this old boat.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Looking at a 1968 AristoCraft 9Teen

The family is still in business in the Atlanta area, and they make a beautiful small wooden runabout. They're the only manufacturer I've ever seen to stay in business that provides replacement parts for such old boats. And they're online.

The 165 Mercruiser is the preferred engine in the Aristocraft. I later had the Mercruiser 470 on another hull, and they were nothing but trouble for most owners--me included. The 4.3 that replaced the 165 is a real honey of a motor, however.

 

[automobiliben]

Re: Looking at a 1968 AristoCraft 9Teen

Thanks for the feedback guys!

The asking price is low, I might just go have a look at the boat knowing that it would be a major project. Try to low ball the guy and see where it gets me. That place in Dawsonville isn't too far from home, so getting a parts boat wouldn't be a problem.

I really wanted a AL StarCraft which is how I found this boat in the first place... Decisions. Decisions.

Thanks again,
Ben