Hello, everyone!! Well I'll start by saying I have never owned a boat before. But I am very mechanically inclined and have experience with fiberglass and woodworking. I'm not afraid of a project and sometimes stupidly so,:laugh: lol. But anyway...
I have found my self a 1978 16 ft VIP bowrider I think. It has a outboard Mercury 115. Ive been told it will run but hasn't been run in a few years. The interior is completely junk, all the wood panels and vinyl need redone. No, big deal imo. The floor seems solid, all window glass is intact, the hull is faded and dirty but no noticeable cracks. And the trailer is in good shape.
It also seems to have a very shiny new looking aluminum gas tank. Is this standard? And I was digging around looking for a hole for a bilge or something but came up empty. Does it have anything like this? It is super cheap at only 300 obo. The guy said its so cheap cuz his parents gave it to him and he hoped one day to work on it but life happens and he is now tired of storing it.
Well I'm lookin for advice if I should make the purchase and fix it up for myself or if it has some crappy frame structure that I cant see that will cause nothin but probs. I've been pokin around and it seems if the people that don't own a VIP think they say they are junk. Any insight on this? I know its a hell of a first boat but I'd be up to it if its a decent boat.
I have found my self a 1978 16 ft VIP bowrider I think. It has a outboard Mercury 115. Ive been told it will run but hasn't been run in a few years. The interior is completely junk, all the wood panels and vinyl need redone. No, big deal imo. The floor seems solid, all window glass is intact, the hull is faded and dirty but no noticeable cracks. And the trailer is in good shape.
It also seems to have a very shiny new looking aluminum gas tank. Is this standard? And I was digging around looking for a hole for a bilge or something but came up empty. Does it have anything like this? It is super cheap at only 300 obo. The guy said its so cheap cuz his parents gave it to him and he hoped one day to work on it but life happens and he is now tired of storing it.
Well I'm lookin for advice if I should make the purchase and fix it up for myself or if it has some crappy frame structure that I cant see that will cause nothin but probs. I've been pokin around and it seems if the people that don't own a VIP think they say they are junk. Any insight on this? I know its a hell of a first boat but I'd be up to it if its a decent boat.