JoLin
Vice Admiral
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2007
- Messages
- 5,146
Most of us buy used boats, so I thought that sharing real-world experience might help those who come looking here before they buy. The boat is the one in my sig, and I picked it up on May 31, 2009.
I had a survey done, and that was a good investment. He documented a dozen minor problems that were fixed before I picked it up, and he also gave the structure and mechanicals a clean bill of health. Critical IMO as most of us can't tell if a hull, transom and stringers are all really sound. Moisture meters, tap tests, and the experience to tell what's what really do count. He was right, too. I replaced the garboard plug flange last weekend. This is on the transom right at the bottom of the hull, where any saturation problems will likely be very evident. When I drilled some new holes for it, I got clean, dry, tan sawdust off the drill bit. Nice.
The dealer prepped and splashed it, and I just ran it for the season while I made sure it was worth keeping. I've spent this Spring finding and fixing a million little things that had basically been ignored for the last 10 years- mostly electrical. As I delved into why my cabin lights wouldn't work, it became obvious that I needed to disconnect, clean and generally spruce up or re-make every electrical connection (and PO screwup) I could find. Much of it was on the verge of giving me problems, so it was effort well spent. It isn't rocket science, but it's a time consuming pain in the butt. I now know my nav lights will be there when I need them.
I strongly recommend that every new owner put that activity high on the to-do list. High humidity conditions are simply awful for electrical stuff. You can't get around it.
As for the boat itself, it's probably no different from most in being an odd combination of builder competence and 'what the eff were they thinking?' In the end you need to take a hard look at those things that aren't the way you would have done it, and decide:
- Can I live with it, work around it, or do I need to change it?
- Will changing it really accomplish what I want, or is there an inherent design factor that will never let me make it 'right' for my needs?
- Is it worth changing, or would I be better off with another/different boat?
In my case I guess I've decided it's worth changing because I've started down that path. I mounted grab handles at the stern to ease getting up the ladder, and another pair of stern cleats because, well, you never have enough cleats. I'm still noodling changes to the bow (handrails, cleats, anchor roller, etc), because some of that will require having the cabin headliner removed and reinstalled. I don't think I have the skill to tackle that job, so it'll be expensive.
When you're shopping, take a long time considering how you're going to use the boat, and what nautical and social activities you'll be engaged in. Do you expect to anchor out a lot? Then get up on the bow and make sure you can retrieve the anchor from the locker and deploy it- what would it be like when the boat is pitching? I was leery of my boat- it has a very sharp slope to the bow that concerned me. My wife and I both went up there and went through the motions before we bought, and we still underestimated the difficulty in actual use. Hence, the thought I'm giving to what I can do up there to make it easier/safer for the 'anchor wench'
I had researched my boat quite a bit before we closed the deal, and that helped too. The cocktail cruiser type was really my wife's choice. I wanted to get something more traditional/manly. I have to admit, though, for the way we use it, it fits the bill pretty well. Lots of comfortable seating for our guests and the raft-ups.
For the most part the Chris Craft lives up to my expectations. Build quality and materials are both top-notch. The more I've crawled around the hidden spaces, the more impressed I am. Its behavior under way is just as impressive. It's a soft-riding, deep-v hull, heavy, solid and quiet. The V-P engine/drive package is a perfect match. Plenty of oomph and it just loafs along at 3200 rpm/24 mph. Docking and tight maneuvers with the duo-prop are a far cry from my old outboard. My docking ability (still not wonderful) improved 1000% immediately.
Okay, I'm not exactly sure why I wrote all this but maybe somebody will get something useful out of it.
I had a survey done, and that was a good investment. He documented a dozen minor problems that were fixed before I picked it up, and he also gave the structure and mechanicals a clean bill of health. Critical IMO as most of us can't tell if a hull, transom and stringers are all really sound. Moisture meters, tap tests, and the experience to tell what's what really do count. He was right, too. I replaced the garboard plug flange last weekend. This is on the transom right at the bottom of the hull, where any saturation problems will likely be very evident. When I drilled some new holes for it, I got clean, dry, tan sawdust off the drill bit. Nice.
The dealer prepped and splashed it, and I just ran it for the season while I made sure it was worth keeping. I've spent this Spring finding and fixing a million little things that had basically been ignored for the last 10 years- mostly electrical. As I delved into why my cabin lights wouldn't work, it became obvious that I needed to disconnect, clean and generally spruce up or re-make every electrical connection (and PO screwup) I could find. Much of it was on the verge of giving me problems, so it was effort well spent. It isn't rocket science, but it's a time consuming pain in the butt. I now know my nav lights will be there when I need them.
I strongly recommend that every new owner put that activity high on the to-do list. High humidity conditions are simply awful for electrical stuff. You can't get around it.
As for the boat itself, it's probably no different from most in being an odd combination of builder competence and 'what the eff were they thinking?' In the end you need to take a hard look at those things that aren't the way you would have done it, and decide:
- Can I live with it, work around it, or do I need to change it?
- Will changing it really accomplish what I want, or is there an inherent design factor that will never let me make it 'right' for my needs?
- Is it worth changing, or would I be better off with another/different boat?
In my case I guess I've decided it's worth changing because I've started down that path. I mounted grab handles at the stern to ease getting up the ladder, and another pair of stern cleats because, well, you never have enough cleats. I'm still noodling changes to the bow (handrails, cleats, anchor roller, etc), because some of that will require having the cabin headliner removed and reinstalled. I don't think I have the skill to tackle that job, so it'll be expensive.
When you're shopping, take a long time considering how you're going to use the boat, and what nautical and social activities you'll be engaged in. Do you expect to anchor out a lot? Then get up on the bow and make sure you can retrieve the anchor from the locker and deploy it- what would it be like when the boat is pitching? I was leery of my boat- it has a very sharp slope to the bow that concerned me. My wife and I both went up there and went through the motions before we bought, and we still underestimated the difficulty in actual use. Hence, the thought I'm giving to what I can do up there to make it easier/safer for the 'anchor wench'
I had researched my boat quite a bit before we closed the deal, and that helped too. The cocktail cruiser type was really my wife's choice. I wanted to get something more traditional/manly. I have to admit, though, for the way we use it, it fits the bill pretty well. Lots of comfortable seating for our guests and the raft-ups.
For the most part the Chris Craft lives up to my expectations. Build quality and materials are both top-notch. The more I've crawled around the hidden spaces, the more impressed I am. Its behavior under way is just as impressive. It's a soft-riding, deep-v hull, heavy, solid and quiet. The V-P engine/drive package is a perfect match. Plenty of oomph and it just loafs along at 3200 rpm/24 mph. Docking and tight maneuvers with the duo-prop are a far cry from my old outboard. My docking ability (still not wonderful) improved 1000% immediately.
Okay, I'm not exactly sure why I wrote all this but maybe somebody will get something useful out of it.
