Imperial Boats

Does anybody know if Imperial was a quality boat? I can find nothing.
I am contemplating a 1989 Imperial 2700.
Thanks..... Bill

Re: Imperial Boats

Not really a great boat. They were nice but they were owned by a holding company by the name of ASI. I think they were only building boats for about 10 years. My dad had a extremely nice '84 VC230, rode nice in the water, 3.7L 488 Mercruiser would push it to about 40 MPH GPS, great rough water boat.. That said, Imperial liked to use the 3.7L/"470" Mercruisers which are obsolete. My dad took about a 90% loss on the boat when the motor developed a knock and he went back to a starcraft tinny.

Some did use Volvo's, and I know some of them also got V8's and even 3.0L's behind the Mercruiser. That said, the boat is 23 years old,and they do have a lot of wood in them, so it could be a better boat than a higher quality boat of the same era if it was cared for correctly, or it could be a complete rot box. If it's solid and has a non 3.7L Mercruiser or a Volvo drive, there is no reason not to consider it.

Re: Imperial Boats

Good info above from Matt. Basically brand means little on a used boat and next to nothing on a 24 year old one. It's all about how it was maintained. We've had some Imperial restore projects done on this site so I know there's plenty of wood in them. Check very carefully for rot. ANY soft spots on the deck is usually indicative of more serious issues below in the stringers. And as Matt said, don't buy one that has anything other than a Mercruiser or Volvo stern drive with a Chevy based engine. Welcome to the forum.

Re: Imperial Boats

I had an Imperial once and it was a waterlogged piece of crap. Having said that the previous owner did not take good care of it and at the time I did not have this forum to guide me. Any boat no matter the brand is only as good as the upkeep and care the owner gave it. Pitbulls are good dogs if trained and cared for properly but if not they will eat your a**. Boats are no different.

Re: Imperial Boats

... The guys have given you good stuff so far. I've got nuthin' much to add except there was one cool factor about some of the bigger Imperial boats: a couple of their models had a very wide beam (I'm thinking like an extra foot or better). I can't remember specifics, but one of the aft cabin boats I used to sell (if I remember right) was at the limit of what would tow in a standard lane on the road.

Welcome aboard.

Re: Imperial Boats

My brother owned a 1988 24 foot Imperial - he bought it brand new. . . Not at all impressive. A lot of stuff broke during the first few outings. Not all that comfortable out in the ocean waters, we got pounded a lot. He finally let the bank take it . . .

So, no, it was not a 'quality' boat.

Imperial went out of business right around 1989-1990 . . . so a 1989 would be at the bitter end.

Imperial Boats

Thanks. All of your replies were helpful....... Bill

Re: Imperial Boats

spdracr39 said:

I had an Imperial once and it was a waterlogged piece of crap. Having said that the previous owner did not take good care of it and at the time I did not have this forum to guide me. Any boat no matter the brand is only as good as the upkeep and care the owner gave it. Pitbulls are good dogs if trained and cared for properly but if not they will eat your a**. Boats are no different.

Click to expand...

We are looking at many boats but an imperial has popped up.
Being relatively new to boats how do we tell if it waterlogged? is there a specific area that shows it, do we dig into someones boat.....

Re: Imperial Boats

If the floor is soft in any place then you could suspect water logged foam and possible rot below the deck

Re: Imperial Boats

amandanicole said:

We are looking at many boats but an imperial has popped up.
Being relatively new to boats how do we tell if it waterlogged? is there a specific area that shows it, do we dig into someones boat.....

Click to expand...

Well I bought mine before I was educated by iboats forums and it porpoised like crazy and wouldn't pull out of the hole at all with weight in the bow. Of course the water standing up to the starter when I bought would have been a sign to anyone but a young newbie like I was. You are on the right track by coming here first. Take these guys advise they know what they are talking about. Take the boat on a sea trial and see how its runs and drives. Then have someone that has experience with boats look it over real good for soft spots and signs of neglect.