Need opinions on a 1988 blue fin 17' rivited boat

Hull is in good shape, the boat has a 115 johnson on it that knocks. The interior needs to be completely re-done other than the cushons are in okay shape. All the wood in the bow portion of the boat is rotten including the dash on both sides and floor. The guy getting rid of it is a friend of a friend and wants $500 for the boat and trailer. I'm not affraid of doing the work but just curios if its even worth the hassle. I live in Washington and plan on taking it out in the sound. Would this be a good boat for rough water conditions? Any input you guys have would be great, thanks in advance.

Re: Need opinions on a 1988 blue fin 17' rivited boat

IMO, don't bother. Your gonna be into it for way more than you could buy a similar functioning boat.

Unless you are just in it for the satisfaction of finishing a project, then that is 100 percent personal choice.

That's just my two cents though

Re: Need opinions on a 1988 blue fin 17' rivited boat

The old riveted Blue Fins were pretty decent hulls. They actually bought some of them from Starcraft.

What's that hull rated for ? 140 or 150 hp?

If you want a project, then offer him 300 for the works, then part out the motor on ebay or craigslist.

If the actual transom is good, then the rebuild will be pretty easy.

The upside is that you can make it the way you want it.

Re: Need opinions on a 1988 blue fin 17' rivited boat

Are you sure that hull is rated for 115? I have a 17' Blue Fin Sportsman, and I think the rating is 90 hp. Maybe 85... Definitely not over 90!

Re: Need opinions on a 1988 blue fin 17' rivited boat

Welcome to iboats.

You are buying a hull and trailer here, you know the engine is bad and if the deck you can see is bad you have to assume all of it is so you will need to gut and rebuild the entire boat which si quite an undertaking and can get pretty pricey.

I have rebuilt my boat twice from the keel up, the first time was in weekend projects, the second was from the keel up in one shot, it took 14 days average 6-8 hours a day over Chrismas break the a few weekends after I went back to work so you are looking at well over 100 hours and probably between $500-$1000 depanding on how far you want to take it.

So now you are in a grand and have to come up with an engine yet so skyaggie is right you will have as much into this as you could get a ready to float boat but I can tell you having a boat you built yourself is pretty satifiying, no matter where you look you can say I did that.

So economically it isn't worth it but if you want a project and plan to keep the boat for awhile it sould be well worth it.

Re: Need opinions on a 1988 blue fin 17' rivited boat

I think it's more a question of time. If you have the time and know how it's not that hard to rebuild an aluminum boat. Keep the old pieces for a template. The transom should come out relatively easy too, just be careful with the top cap. I bought a similar boat in that price range, and probably had $1500 in it total plus a new outboard. Before I started the project I looked around a lot and saw a lot of stuff from the mid 90's in the $3-5K range that looked pretty but were on the verge of needing a total rebuild within a couple years. Anything priced less than that was already junk in need of rebuilding.

5150 is right, if you don't plan to keep it for awhile it wouldn't be worth it, you'll never make money on it down the road. The other big thing is that outboard. If it's something you can fix, or if you can buy a new or different outboard.

Re: Need opinions on a 1988 blue fin 17' rivited boat

First of all thanks for all the replies,

The hull is rated for an 85hp the motor has 85hp stickers on the cover but is really a 115hp. The hull seems to be in good shape and it does have a decent top on it. I don't mind doing the work, I'm more concerned about if the boat will work for what I plan on using it for. It's going to be just a fishing boat and I will be able to make it the way I want, but how will it perform in semi rough salt water conditions compared to my 1977 17' glastron. Which brings up my next question. The glastron has a '78 115hp evenrude on it that runs good that I can put on the blue fin or is a 115hp to much being its rated for a 85hp

Thanks again for all the oppinions thats what I'm looking for.

Re: Need opinions on a 1988 blue fin 17' rivited boat

Can you put it on? Yes.
Will it be safe? Maybe.
Will it be legal? No.

Re: Need opinions on a 1988 blue fin 17' rivited boat

roscoe said:

The old riveted Blue Fins were pretty decent hulls. They actually bought some of them from Starcraft.

Click to expand...

I do not think an '88 is that "good 'ol" vintage. I think an '88 is a Spectrum Blue Fin and is fairly crappy. Wouldn't be my first choice for sure.