Re: Funny "TLC needed" boat ads on Craigslist.
I went to look at an 18' Manatee a few months ago not too far away. The ad said solid floors, solid transom, motor needs work.
When I got there, the first thing I looked at was the motor, it needed work alright, the crank and two rods had exited the cover, half the block was gone.
The drain plug was in the boat, it was raining, when I asked why the guy said the deck was self bailing, it can't fill up with water.
His next remark was priceless, he looked at my 1/2 ton pickup and made the comment, "Your not planning to tow this with that are you? This thing is way too heavy to pull with a small truck like that". "My 1 Ton diesel even struggles with this boat".
I then pulled the plug, it gushed water for 20 minutes, at this point it's pure entertainment, I in no way wanted any part of the boat. I then asked him why the suspension was buried and the tires looked flat? He kept on about how heavy it was. When I first climbed in the boat, the floors felt funny but not soft of like they were falling though, after the water came out, they were mush. The hull was so full of water that it was supporting the deck somehow. The steering was seized up, the motor junk, the hull beyond water logged. He was asking $3200. The trailer was a bunk type with strip rollers, which were missing several rollers, the tires were mismatched car tires, and the coupler on the trailer had a 3/4" hole drilled in it which was the best part. I asked why the hole in the coupler, he said it was easier to tow that way. He said with a ball, you had to line it up just right, with just a bolt though the hole, all you had to do was use a screwdriver to align the trailer and drop the bolt in. He was using just a clevis pin like you would use on a farm implement. The boat had Ohio tags, they had towed it from Ohio to NJ like that, full of water, overloaded, without a trailer ball. There were no safety chains, and no lights, but lots of reflectors, all over it, anything they found and could glue on. Blue, yellow, orange, red and white. The winch was an old power winch with a homemade handle, no power connection or it didn't work, they took a 3/4" wrench, and drilled though it and put a 4" bolt through it for a handle and welded it to the winch shaft.
The right side of the windshield was tinted gray, the left side sort of green, the center was plywood with some counter top Formica still on one side.
The trailer had all sort of angle iron reinforcements, it was a pretty hefty single axle trailer but a lot older than the boat.
They really felt the boat was a real gem, they had no idea how bad off that thing was. Its still sitting where I saw it, I suppose it will be for a long time. The only change is that the motor is now hanging by it's cables in a failed attempt to remove it without any sort of hoist. The plug is still out but the trailer is sunk into the lawn a ways now. The for sale sign is faded but they keep re writing the price on it. They're still looking for $3200. By this time, it's probably really rotted, but on a cold day, the floors would most likely freeze and feel fine. Someone is in for a real surprise. The 200hp Mercury hanging there is a real gem, I suppose it either over revved or ran without oil or both, the crank and two pistons are clearly visible, and hanging at a bad angle atop the power head, the starboard side cover is cracked, barely retaining the parts. The prop could slice meat it was so worn.
He told me he needs to sell the boat to pay for the new one he bought, I've not seen a new boat there yet. It may be a while if he's counting on $3200 from that wreck.
It's off CL, but every so often is in the local free paper.
