2001 Regal 1900 lsr fastrac 6000$ good idea for first boat?

Hello everyone! I,m a boating world virgin looking to buy my first boat so any advice is greatly appreciated. I've found a 2001 1900 Regal fastrac. This boat was meticulously cared for until 09 when the son inherited. I'm of the opinion it can be saved. the hull and body are immaculate. minor damage to the prop only on the sterndrive, and it seems to have gone uncovered for a short period of time. I have three questions. 1.The engine runs hot according to the seller. Also he mentioned a bearing repair. How much trouble am i in for there? 2. what is the proper prop for the 4.3L mercruiser engine and how much for that and a great bimini top. 3. the asking price on this boat after new tags and repairs is 6,000$. Does this sound like a decent deal? I would really love to resurrect this beautiful boat, but i really want my first foray into boating to be a good one. Any advice, information, and your opinions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Re: 2001 Regal 1900 lsr fastrac 6000$ good idea for first boat?

Welcome to iboats!

I will move this post to where it will receive more attention and answers

Re: 2001 Regal 1900 lsr fastrac 6000$ good idea for first boat?

Sure you will get more advice, but it sounds like it should be OK provided there is no major mechanical problems. Get a survey or at least a good mechanic to look over the mechanicals.

The 'running hot' thing can be scary. If it overheated, there could be expensive damage. It will need maintenance on the water pump, fluids changed, etc. all things that really should be done on a new to you used boat so you know they are done.

The bearing could be realtively minor (gimbal bearing) all the way up to expensive. Probably a gimbal I would guess. But that will bring up why that is bad, which probably means replacing bellows and such as well. All in all, it sounds like a good deal really, but you are at that 10 year point where a lot of things need to be looked at and/or replaced which can add up. But then again the price looks good so you can afford to add a thousand or two in maintenance and still be OK. Plus you will know all of it is done, in good shape and ready to go for a good number of years after this.

Prop is a longer question, but something like a 21P 3 or 4 blade will be fine for you, $100-$120 for an aluminum one (from Iboats here of course!). Bimini probably $175-$250 for a good quality one, plus installation if you can't do it.

Lastly, do lots of reading here on these forums, there is a lot of great information and you'll feel a lot better the more knowledge you have going into this. Good Luck.

Re: 2001 Regal 1900 lsr fastrac 6000$ good idea for first boat?

1boats said:

Hello everyone! I,m a boating world virgin looking to buy my first boat so any advice is greatly appreciated. I've found a 2001 1900 Regal fastrac. This boat was meticulously cared for until 09 when the son inherited. I'm of the opinion it can be saved. the hull and body are immaculate. minor damage to the prop only on the sterndrive, and it seems to have gone uncovered for a short period of time. I have three questions. 1.The engine runs hot according to the seller. Also he mentioned a bearing repair. How much trouble am i in for there? 2. what is the proper prop for the 4.3L mercruiser engine and how much for that and a great bimini top. 3. the asking price on this boat after new tags and repairs is 6,000$. Does this sound like a decent deal? I would really love to resurrect this beautiful boat, but i really want my first foray into boating to be a good one. Any advice, information, and your opinions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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Be very careful with this one.

The overheat may be as simple as an impeller, or thermostat, or more like manifolds and risers ect. Also as was stated above if it has overheated be sure that there is no engine damage as a result.
The bearing repairs are prob just the gimbal but that can get expensive as well.
Prop can vary depending on what the boat will be used for. Lower pitch/higher torque. Higher pitch/higher top speed. They are all compromises.

As to the price where are you located? That makes a difference. Do some research on NADA just as a general guidline. Those NADA are NOT a for sure pricing but can give you at least a frame of reference.
Get a marine surveyor to look it over if you are not familiar with all of the systems. I did when we bought the RInker in my signature and the peace of mind that it brought me was worth alot.

Re: 2001 Regal 1900 lsr fastrac 6000$ good idea for first boat?

Since you're new at this and apparently not much of a marine mechanic, maybe you should do some more shopping to find a boat that's at least in good running condition. This sounds like an expensive nightmare to me! Plenty of boats for sale, keep looking! Good Luck!

Re: 2001 Regal 1900 lsr fastrac 6000$ good idea for first boat?

I think it sounds over priced to be honest

Re: 2001 Regal 1900 lsr fastrac 6000$ good idea for first boat?

thanks for the quick responses. the research i've done points towards a good price baring major repairs. where might i find a survey and do you think they would be willing to do a ride along at the time of negotiation?

Re: 2001 Regal 1900 lsr fastrac 6000$ good idea for first boat?

also, i have seen advertising for background searches akin to carmax. Does the information provided in these hold water?

Re: 2001 Regal 1900 lsr fastrac 6000$ good idea for first boat?

Have a marine mechanic check it out for you. An overheat issue can be as cheap as a $25 impeller or could run thousands for a blown head gasket to a cracked engine block.

Rarely is someone's initial foray into boating a pleasant one. The good times usually happen after you learn some hard lessons from your original purchase.