Cruisers Inc Holiday 20 any good?

[Imadodgeguy]

Seriously considering this boat, it's '83 5.7 Mercruiser. In pretty good shape low hours. Hasn't been on the water in a few years. This guy is the original owner. Thanks ahead of time.

 

[Imadodgeguy]

Price is $1k. Going to see if it runs now. It needs some new upholstery but it's not all roached out and engine looks almost new.

 

[Imadodgeguy]

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[Imadodgeguy]

It ran a few times on the gas poured into the carb, so I'm ok with that. The bilge (or whatever the area under the engine is called) is clean as a whistle.

 

[Imadodgeguy]

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[Imadodgeguy]

I'm probably not doing these pictures right but you can see this thing is not too bad. It could be out on the water for a test drive with not too much work. If I can convince the admiral...

 

[Scott Danforth]

Its a 37 year oldboat that originally had a 20 design life

The hull has balsa core in many areas

I recommend a survey to check moisture content in the transom, stringers, bulkheads and foam

 

[Imadodgeguy]

I assume I need the owners permission for a survey? How do I find a surveyor?

 

[Imadodgeguy]

I'm in Utah just north of SLC.

 

[H20Rat]

It is a $1000 boat, a survey is going to cost you $1000! I wouldn't spend money on a surveyor, assuming you could even find one near you. (very likely you can't in your location)

Is the floor soft? Does it run well? If you stand on the outdrive does the transom flex? Assuming floor and transom are solid, it looks like a pretty good deal for $1000. If the floor, especially near the back, is soft, consider $1,000 a down payment on a $6000-$8000 boat. Worst case, you could probably part out the engine, drive, and trailer for more than that.

 

[Scott Danforth]

floor will not go soft in the boat like typical runabouts as its suspended well above the bulkheads and stringers well over the fuel tank. thats part of the cruisers construction.

however the transom will most likely be wet and the motor mount blocks and associated stringers will most likely be wet or rotten as well as the bulkhead between the engine and fuel tank which is common. the flotation foam will most likely be saturated as well. point of ingress is typically the screws for the trim tabs and the transom hold downs.

the center of the transom will be structural. the transom sections outboard of the two main stringers will be and foam flotation boxes in the bilge will be 1/2" plywood.

the good news is the hull will be between 3/8" thick and 1/2" thick

the OP may get lucky, however most late 70's to early 90's cruisers suffer similar issues as the construction method was the same and the sealing on the transom penetrations was marginal.

 

[Imadodgeguy]

I bought it last night! and began crawling all over it. I even got the "Skipper's Kit" and a whole mess of manuals on everything from the 55 channel weather radio to a Mercruiser service manual which I'm thrilled to get.

The manual said don't use a double oil filter (filter within a filter) like automotive type, so do I need a special oil filter? There's a Fram PH5 on the 5.7 now, I was going to run Wix. Any thoughts?

Also, I plan on getting the old gas out somehow, then what octane should I run? The manual should tell me but I haven't found that yet.

 

[Carl1783]

90 or 91 non ethanol on boats and PWCs has always been my rule of thumb.

 

[Imadodgeguy]

Ok manual says 88 or better thanks for your input Carl!

This boat has 320 hours on it, I don't know but that seems low to me for an '83??

I found the 50 gal. fuel tank under the front cuddy bed, and going to pull it out tomorrow to empty it out.

Thanks for the input Scott, not ignoring your advice it is good. This thing is so nice looking especially under the skin that I felt I had to pull the trigger.