Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

[scooper77515]

Found one for sale, don't have many details yet, just getting in with the owner.

Are there any issues to look out for? (actually not for me, but for a buddy who is looking for a boat to hang out on the lake with us).

Supposedly, engine freshly rebuilt. Have not done a compression check. Guy says 6 cyl, I assume 5.0. haven't seen in person. Has duo-prop.

What would be a decent price for it, needs new carpet, really good clean job, etc. Been sitting for a while.

 

[Alpheus]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

Guy says 6 cyl, I assume 5.0. haven't seen in person. Has duo-prop.

V-6 = 4.3 liter...

 

[scooper77515]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

Yup. Talked with owner, 4.3, but still has duo-prop. Apparently Volvo.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

Odd combo, for sure. A 20' boat with a 4.3 V6 and a DuoProp? I'm not saying it doesn't happen, it's just not common. A DuoProp in a 20' boat would have been a VERY expensive (in relation to the price of the boat) option. However, since Chaparral is not normally on the "cheap" end of boats, I suppose it's more likely that it would have that option. More likely than say a Bayliner, Glastron, or a Maxum.

If it needs carpet, does it also have soft spots in the floor? And if it's been sitting awhile, how good is/was the engine rebuild? I am thinking really cheap is a good price. Like $2500 or less, provided the floor/stringers are solid, the motor is good, and the trailer isn't garbage.

 

[scooper77515]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

A couple things my buddy needs to look at, for sure. He "thinks" the floor was wooden, shouldn't it be fiberglass? If so, there may be some serious damage underneat that was covered up with wood.

But trailer is in good shape, engine lit up and ran, and revved well for the 10 seconds or so he started it for him. Supposedly fresh rebuild with .040 over. Says engine hatch left off and rain got into intake, so he rebuilt it. "Says"...you never know what really happened. Pics he sent me DO show the carb on without a flame arrestor.

I told my buddy to start engine again and put it in gear make sure prop spins freely, no odd noises, etc.

Currently got him down to $1500 on price. Pictures of outside look decent, still decent gelcoat and color. not too sun faded or anything.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

Floor is wood on Chaparrals of that vintage. They didn't change to fiberglass inner liners until about 1999. (My 1997 had a wood floor) That interior will not clean up. It'll get better, but you'll never get all that mold/mildew to come off and stay off. It needs an interior reupholstery.
I am calling BS on the why the engine was rebuilt. The boat was sunk or filled up with water, or the exhaust manifolds are bad. .040 over is .010 more than I would accept an engine to bored out.
$1500 isn't a terrible price if the boat is truly useable. If the floor is rotten, it's $1000 too much.

 

[sethjon]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

Floor is wood on Chaparrals of that vintage. They didn't change to fiberglass inner liners until about 1999. (My 1997 had a wood floor) That interior will not clean up. It'll get better, but you'll never get all that mold/mildew to come off and stay off. It needs an interior reupholstery.
I am calling BS on the why the engine was rebuilt. The boat was sunk or filled up with water, or the exhaust manifolds are bad. .040 over is .010 more than I would accept an engine to bored out.
$1500 isn't a terrible price if the boat is truly useable. If the floor is rotten, it's $1000 too much.

You mean 1500 too much.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

You mean 1500 too much.

Yeah, good one!

 

[dubs283]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

chapparals of that vintage are wood floor/stringers that are covered with roven woving fiberglass matting and resin - they were built very cheaply

i know because i had an 89 2550 sport that i had to put a new floor in and repair some of the stringers due to severe rot - a quick repair that turned into losing out on a season of boating

tell your buddy to keep looking - this one is a can of worms

 

[scooper77515]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

Thanks. He is reading this thread...so you told him yourself.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

I'll disagree that a wooden floor with fiberglas over it is "cheaply built." It simply was the WAY to build boats before moulded-in liners. If cared for properly, a wooden floor will last a LONG time. My 1997 didn't have anything resembling a soft spot, and it was kept outside EVERY day of its life, until I sold it in 2007. Covered of course, but outside, in a slip or on the trailer. It's all about how they are cared for.
In this boat's case, from the photos, you can tell it's not been well cared for, though.

 

[dubs283]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

I'll disagree that a wooden floor with fiberglas over it is "cheaply built."

if you had seen how this chapparal was built you would agree that it was "cheaply built"

air voids in the stringer coverings and very sparse resin/matting throughout the floor - there were even spots where there was no coverage on the edge of the flooring where it meets with the hull

i would never buy another chaparral of that vintage again - no matter the condition

 

[QC]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

Moved to Boat topics, more of a general boat question than an I/O repair issue . . .

 

[scooper77515]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

Yeah, I figured it would get moved. I put it here then later saw the Repair label on the forum, and guessed it should be somewhere else.

Thanks for moving to correct location.

 

[Lou C]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

Fiberglass over wood construction is not cheap by nature but can be if not built by skilled workers and by a company that values quality. You can find well made wood and glass boats and poorly made ones, same goes for glass and foam which is becoming more and more popular. That boat in the pix, judging by how much mold was on the seats, was not at all cared for properly, the moisture that caused that mold also probably rotted the wood structure. Wood does not have to be constantly wet to rot, just in a damp enough environment at the right temp long enough.

having repaired one boat with a rotted deck, I'd say for lower priced boats go with the newest one you can find that was well cared for. A higher quality boat built to higher standard, you can go older but if the owner added things like transducers and seats and then did not seal the holes in the deck or transom, you can wind up with problems.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

There's certainly $1500 worth of stuff there. However I'm sure there's going to be some rot in that hull. Comes down to whether you want a project or not.

 

[cr2k]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

You guys should know that boats don't have floors. What you stand on is the sole or deck.

Now start this string again the right way.

 

[scooper77515]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

If you are going to get picky about semantics...then this is a THREAD not a STRING.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

If you are going to get picky about semantics...then this is a THREAD not a STRING.

Good one!

 

[scooper77515]

Re: Early 90s Chapparal duo-prop, 2050sl. Any good? Issues to watch out for?

He bought it...cant wait to see how good a shape its in.

Knowing him he will have it showroom quality in 6 months and ready for water!