Is this a good deal????

We are looking for our first boat...limited money to spend at this time. Want an all purpose boat, mainly for fishing and we have to have a deep boat for the wife. We ran across this old boat and looked at her last night. Not in bad shape, floors seem solid, motor runs OK, (might need a tune up), has all safety equpiment, lights work.. it is a 76 Starcraft, motor is 55hp 78 model. The only potential problem I see is where the current owner used some putty to seal the keel. He insisits it was not leaking but he wanted to seal a small damaged area in case he drug the bottom in lower water, just for added safety. Seems an honest fellow, but, you never know. He is asking 1500 for it, includes the new top and depth meter as well as batteries, trolling motor, and trailer, which is in excellent shape. Appreciate any and all feedback!
http://huntington.craigslist.org/boa/1342184912.html:confused:

Re: Is this a good deal????

Page Not Found
Marc..

Re: Is this a good deal????

http://huntington.craigslist.org/boa/1342184912.html

lets see if this works

Re: Is this a good deal????

I always loved my Starcrafts. And what a memory you have just brought up. I had a new blue 1973 16ft Super Sport like you have pictured with a new 1973 85 Evinrude. I was working at a marina at the time and traded my 1968 14ft Starcraft Falcon and 1959 Mercury 58A. I recall that my payments were 93.97/mo for 2 years. The boat had lounging seats and I was able to soup up the motor with factory parts. That motor, by the way was a detuned 135. At the time, one could change the carbs on that motor to "Stinger" 'carbs (OMC racing parts), replace the lower unit and flywheel to that of a 65, which is what I did as new. The factory rep even helped me. S/s Teflon props were the new rage then (SST) and I had to have one. They were 150.00 as I recall. The boat would run 49 mph, which was a bunch for that boat. So, in answer to your question...it's a great boat, if it's in nice shape. A bit of nostalgia...I later sold the "Stinger" 'carbs to Terry Funk.

Re: Is this a good deal????

That's a fair price. Nice boat! Could use a little more motor but that will still move nicely with the 55.

Re: Is this a good deal????

He did fill the boat with water and no leaks were visable, looks like we will go for it. Thanks for your quick responses! I will be back with MANY more questions since we are just getting started.

Re: Is this a good deal????

are you taking a ride in it first?

Re: Is this a good deal????

Good luck and potentially welcome to the Starcraft club!

Re: Is this a good deal????

No Salty, I am not. If this fellow was closer to the water I would do that but he is 2hrs away from the nearest water entry. I know this is probably not the best thing but I think we will be OK with it. of course time will tell. I know it runs, does not leak, all electrical works, steering works, batteries are good, duel fuel tanks, so we SHOULD be OK. The obvious problems for us will be unloading and loading....
We plan to take the boat soon to a smaller local lake and try it out. Won't be able to run the 55hp motor though since it a 9.9hp rated lake but it has nice fishing and we can practice without too much boat traffic. Owner has shown me a lot and I have watched many boats do this as we like to fish near boat ramps (for bass) so again I THINK we will do alright.

Re: Is this a good deal????

My boat is the same basic boat as that one except it's a closed bow. Let me tell you, it's a breeze to trailer and launch and retrieve. It's small enough that you can pretty much manhandle it. I launch by myself frequently and even if things go bad (wind, current, etc) I can always get it under control quickly. You've really made an excellent choice for a first boat.

Re: Is this a good deal????

I am a little confused.....I do not have access to any other forums here to ask questions....and I see no contacts list to ask why....is this normal? I was able to post on this site yesterday and still can but if I go to say, the boat motor site I get a message that states the administrator 'may" not given me permissin to access the site or I am trying to modify another persons post ???? Makes no sense to me at all unless there is a time limit etc. Any help appreciated.

Re: Is this a good deal????

I had 2 of the 16' starcraft alum bowriders w/ 55 hp back in the seventies/eighties. The 55 is good b/c it's a 3 cylinder. Very easy for one person to launch retrieve WITHOUT PUTTING THE AXLE IN THE WATER. Each one eventually wore out from saltwater use, us teenagers and running hard through choppy water, I guess but if it doesn't leak now and you baby it, and you are primarily fresh water, you should be fine.