Jay Bee Boats???

nhungthientai

Recruit
Joined
Mar 17, 2019
Messages
1
So I've been looking at a few boats now.. I like the one I have, but I want something a little bigger now.. An upgrade so to speak. LOL

One has peaked my interest and will be looking at it Monday or Tuesday.

​It's a 1989 17' Jay Bee bow rider.

​From the little I can find on them, it looks like (if the year is correct) it's a Bass Skier 17 model. It has an outboard on it, so it isn't the I/O models I've seen some of..

​I've found that Jay Bee boats was founded by Jim Bryant, and it's changed names or gone out of business and he created new companies..
​For instance, the lineage I've found so far is as follows:
1) Jay Bee Boats
2) Bass Master Boats
​3) Crappie Masters Boats
​4) Herrington Boats

​And most recently Bryant Boats which former Master Craft CEO John Dorton bought majority stake in, and looks like Jan of 2017 was sold to Correct Craft. Makers of brands such as Nautique, Centurion, Supreme, Bass Cat, Yar-Craft, SeaArk and of course now Bryant as well...

​That's a great piece of lineage to see where they've come from since Jay Bee boats, but What about Jay Bee Boats?

​I can't seem to find ANY information on them.. Not even spec sheets.. lol...
​Also, if Bryant boats was started in about 1990, and other company names were in between, then is the "Jay Bee" hull I'm looking at really an 89? lol
​I can't say, and won't really know till I'm there looking at it, so I guess that was a rhetorical question, but if anyone knows.. lol

​I know the current Bryant Boats are wood free, but did he try that oh so many years ago too? Do the Jay Bees have typical wood stringers and transom?
I'm going to guess yes.. It'll have wood in it, so I'm going to check it over best I can anyway with that in mind.. I doubt he'll let me drill for core samples, but I'll look for any other signs as I've learned here..

​He's not asking a ton of money for it, so I'm not expecting "Pristine", but I'd like to be as armed as possible when looking at this brand of boat on Monday or Tuesday, but it seems what I've found, (and not found) has raised more questions than has provided answers..

​Anyone have direct knowledge of them from working on them or owning one? Any specific areas prone to failure or soft spots (other than what any other boat would have.. )

​Thanks in advance!
 

jbcurt00

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 25, 2011
Messages
24,829
Its a 30yr old boat, it only matters what condition its in now.

its likely to need plenty of interior and below decks work.... 99.9% likely to have wooden transom, deck and stringers...

Jay Bee boat questions come up every month/year or 2, and usually the same questions go unanswered.....
 
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