McKee 2001 14' custom W/ 40 hp 2 stroke..need some help

Joined
Sep 29, 2007
Messages
3
purchasing a 2001 McKee 14' custom....& 40 hp stroke


--any body know anything about the boat?

--it has foam like a whaler, how do i test for water intrusion......boat weight about 695 lbs.....take it to a stop and weight it?

---if foam is wet is it a big job to fix itgenerally generall would water get into the hull?

---will this boat beat me death like a little whaler in chop?

-- any other pro or con comments?


thanks
 

kfa4303

Banned
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Messages
6,094
Re: McKee 2001 14' custom W/ 40 hp 2 stroke..need some help

Hi Capt. Glad you got a new toy. As you stated, the McKee craft boats are essentially Boston Whaler clones. They're generally fiberglass hulls filled with expanding foam and topped with a deck such that they essentially become a giant, fiberglass-encased piece of foam. The ads are famous for showing them cut in half and still floating. Not a bad design, but you are right to worry about water intrusion. When/if water should get trapped below decks (which is inevitable given enough time, use, or neglect), you've got a bit of a problem on your hands. The only way to know for sure, are to thoroughly inspect the vessel for any obvious signs of intrusion and/or drill a few discrete pilot holes to inspect the quality of the foam. If it's nice and dry, then you're probably ok. If it comes up wet, or moist, the only thing you can do is cut out the entire deck, remove all of the old, wet foam, replace is it and reinstall a new deck. It can be a lot of work, especially if you're not and f-glass pro. The foam also plays a structural component in these otherwise rather flimsy hulls. The good news is that the boat is only a 2001 and the weight sounds about right. If it was waterlogged, it would probably weigh a lot more and the performance would suffer greatly. You should be able to look up the factory weight online at the McKee craft site. You can then take it to a landfill, or truckstop and have them weigh it on their scales, of course you'll have to remember to subtract the weight of the trailer and motor). As for how it will handle, you'll never know until you get her on the water under a "typical" load and conditions. Hope that helps. Keep us posted. That 40 hp should push her along nicely. Probably top out in the mid 30 mph and cruise all day in the mid 20's.
 

crabby captain john

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Aug 6, 2011
Messages
1,823
Re: McKee 2001 14' custom W/ 40 hp 2 stroke..need some help

The weight sounds about correct. It was around the time yours was made McKee stopped using wood in the transom too. There has been a lot of discussion on 14' McKees on THT recently, some a lot older than yours! I have on '04 17' with a 90 Yamaha and it will hit about 38 mph so your set up should fly. The McKee brothers worked for Whaler and started building McKees in NC. Whaler sued them for using the process and lost.
 
Top