looking at used boat, questions?

[TerryMSU]

Hello:

I am wondering about a boat that is listed on Craigslist. It is a Starcraft with a bad Lark motor on it. What should I be aware of on this specfic boat? The listing is at "http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/boa/603752389.html".

add is quoted (in part, phone number removed per rules) below. Pictures in real add.

"This is for a 16' STRCRAFT FISHING BOAT/ SPORT BOAT. It is not anything like an ordinary row boat. It has 1'platforms in the front and bacjk and a stering colum. The boat is a 1986 Starcraft rivited boat. It is in GREAT shape. It sat in front of my house all last summer in the river and never had water problems. This boat comes with the EZ LOAD ROLLER TRAILER, That has new wires/ lights, and newer bearring buddys for easy lube of the hubs. The boat comes with trolling motor " kinda old but works great. It pushed the boat up river no problem." Also comes with the two riser seats, fish graph, life jackets if wanted, and anchors. The motor is a 1968 Evinrude 35 lark. It ran great all year has great compression at 125-127lbs per cylinder. BUT the crank shaft is stripped at the flywheel. It costs $125.00 for the new crank or about $500.00 to have it rebuilt. Or you can get rid of the motor and get a new/ newer one. The boat is rated for 5 people and also rated for up to a 50HP. MOTOR!!!!. that would push this boat GREAT. the 35 would pull and adult tubing no problem. I LOWERED THE PRICE FROM $1800.00 TO $1400.00 TO HAVE THIS THING MOVE. I AM PICKING UP A NEW LARGER BOAT ON FRIDAY AND THIS ONE NEEDS TO GO. I AM TAKING INTO CONCIDERATION ABOUT THE MOTOR ISSUE. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED AND SERIOUS PLEASE CALL ME!!! NOT e-MAIL!!! PHONE #XXX-XXX-XXXX. IF NO ANSWER LEAVE A MESSAGE!!! i WILL CALL BACK. I WILL BE HOME ALL DAY SO YOU CAN STOP BY TO SEE IT. I look forward to hearing from you."



My potential concerns are that "it sat in the river" probably means it sat un-covered and thus potential rot issues. Also, similar issues on the transom.

Thanks so much for any input.

Terry

 

[OhWellcraft]

Re: looking at used boat, questions?

With a bad motor (usually the thing with most value in older boats) I would check it over VERY carefully. Is it alum or fiberglass. If glass yes the transom,stringers,deck could all be toast. If that is the case (not saying it is) I would move on unless you are looking at getting into a project boat. If however the boat has been well cared for and maintained it might just be worth buying and re-powering. Transom replacement is a big job, not super difficult but time consuming and detail oriented. Is there a trailer with it if so sometimes they alone can have a bit of value if they are nice. But if it doesn't have a trailer it would be more difficult to access the overall cond of the boat. I guess I should have looked at the add but thought I might just throw a few things out there to chew on first. If you go look at it post back with findings, TD is a very knowledgeable person I would heed anything he has to say about this boat.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: looking at used boat, questions?

i looked at the ad, nice boat, check for soft spots in the deck. don't quite understand him saying the crank shaft is stripped at the flywheel, there is a woodruff, key there, that shears, the only way to know is to pull the flywheel. unless he is saying the shaft is broken off. ask for explaination. they are one of the easiest boats to do a deck replacement. 20 year old boat, not running motor, 1400 is too high.

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: looking at used boat, questions?

Thanks to TD and OhWellCraft:

I will let it set then. Eventually, it will either drop enough or else someone else will get the chance. I did e-mail him with a couple of questions. If I get answers I will share them.

Terry

 

[oops!]

Re: looking at used boat, questions?

terry ...

if your close....why not go look?....cant hurt....just check what was mentioned......

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: looking at used boat, questions?

i agree, it's a good boat, i have never paid asking price for a boat. well just one, the $150.00 one i brought home yesterday, with a 50 merc on it.

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: looking at used boat, questions?

Contacted the seller...

Supposedly "no rot" on deck or transom. Motor had no key so the previous owner "cranked down" the flywheel nut. Asked about the key seat. He had not had the flywheel off. It now spins the flywheel with no load on the starter motor. Sounds a little fishy to me. He has had some offers to "have the threads rebuilt" {using brazing or welding?}.

He has an offer of $1200 and is wanting more. He may call the buyer back and accept it yet.

I can't get to see it before tomorrow evening at the earliest, so will wait it out.

Thanks,
Terry

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: looking at used boat, questions?

sure sounds like a shear key. it had a key, they tried to run it without one, which throws the timing off and they won't start, if you know how to pull a flywheel, do it. if the nut is not tight, and no woodruff key, the flywheel would spin on the crank.

 

[cbavier]

Re: looking at used boat, questions?

sure sounds like a shear key. it had a key, they tried to run it without one, which throws the timing off and they won't start, if you know how to pull a flywheel, do it. if the nut is not tight, and no woodruff key, the flywheel would spin on the crank.

Is that Key. Like the Key on the Flywheel of a lawnmower motor? It sure sounds like it and would be an easy fix. Lawnmower keys are only a buck.

 

[redfury]

Re: looking at used boat, questions?

considering he wants more than $1200 for it, I'd let the other guy take it and look for a better boat for a better price. It's easy to find a boat for cheap, it's the motor that's the hard part. Heck, there's a 1975 glastron over here for $500, it's supposedly a 17 footer with an 85hp Merc with a 1990's shorelander trailer. I paid 300 for a 17 foot glastron with no motor or trailer and it's a basket case... You can find deals, they show up all the time, you just have to wait. With spring looming closer and closer, those boats frozen in the back yards are going to start showing up all over craigslist. I watched MN go from a dozen or so listings a day going to a full page and a half to 2 pages a day of listings.

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: looking at used boat, questions?

I saw that boat listed the other day. I have a habit of watching Craigslist like a hawk. I thought is sounded like too much at $1400....at $1200 I still think it is too much.

There have been other boats recently for better deals on the GR craigslist.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: looking at used boat, questions?

That ain't $1,200 worth of impressive.

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: looking at used boat, questions?

Well I went and looked at it. "Very Interesting" for those of you old enough to remember "Laugh-In".

The only immediately obvious issue was that the steering was the old fashioned cable and pulley style. Not ideal, but fixable. The boat itself, and by that I mean the hull and deck, was not in too bad of shape. The deck was sound with one very small spot that was questionable. That spot sounded a little dull but that might have been because of an unknown suport member underneath. Everything else appeared quite sound.

The electrical system, and I use that term very losely, was quite unique. The first thing I noticed was an exterior 110 duplex outlet on the front side of the console. I thought, "Cool, he has added an outlet to plug a charger or something into. I wonder where the extension cord is." I continued to looh around the boat. At the stern he had a traditional electric trolling motor on the stern. I followed the cord down to a standard 110 volt wall plug. Yup! the whole boat was wired with regular 110 outlets and plugs but using a 12 volt system. I figured if everything else was A-OK, I could handle the re-wiring the boat.

Then I decided to check out the motor. 35HP Lark, 1968 vintage. My current motor, a 35HP 1978 Johnson, is about 2/3 the size of that beast.
The Lark is also a long shaft, which is not an ideal match for that hull, especially in the river I would use it on which is known for a shallow rocky bottom. Pulled the cover off and right on top was the offending crank nut. At first glance, it appeared that someone had placed some clear silicone seal around the nut. Nope, it was old fashioned epoxy (5 minute?). The flywheel was indeed, freely spinning on the crankshaft.

The only thing that appeared to be mostly in good condition was the trailer, but by then I did not want anything to do with that whole deal.

I will continue to look. I want an aluminum hull, preferably welded. 14 to 16 foot long, with console steering. decent motor, preference for Johnny-rude or even Mercury, but definately NOT chrysler. As you can see, I don't necessarily need a really new motor as long as it is in good reliabl;e condition.

Thanks for all the good advice. You will likely be called on again.

Terry