Looking for more info on a seaswirl I found on CL.

[Mpizzle]

Hey all, sorry to plague you with yet another "what is this boat worth thread, but I have been shopping for a first boat that I plan to use mainly for fishing in lakes and the bay. I am not entirely new to boating, although most boats I have been on have been other peoples "expensive" boats, and my budget is fairly limited.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/boa/1047777080.html

First off, this listing is very vague. The boat is being sold by an auto dealership who ordinarily does not sell boats (it was a trade) and has little information listed about the actual boat in their ad. I was wondering if anyone could tell me what model/year this boat is.

Second, what price should one expect to pay for this model of boat? I have been looking around and found similar tri-hull seaswirls (I'm assuming this is circa 1980 sumthin) and they seem to be rather cheap, although this one appears to be well equipped.

I understand the advantages/disadvantages of tri-hulls, and also understand I should be concerned about the condition of the floor/under the floor.

Mainly wondering on model/year, and price sinse these guys obviously aren't going to know the proper price to sell this at.

Thanks
Mpizzle

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Looking for more info on a seaswirl I found on CL.

Welcome to iboats.

Not enough information to come to any solid conclusion. There are hundreds of factors involved.......

Buyer beware

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Looking for more info on a seaswirl I found on CL.

The 70 Johnson is a fantastic motor. Should be a good size for that boat. Also a plus that it comes with a kicker motor. If it's running that's at least $500 worth right there. However, the price is, at a minimum, a $1000 too high. As you mentioned, rot is your biggest concern. Good compression and a running motor also. Looks like a decent rig though but the price is just too high.

 

[Mpizzle]

Re: Looking for more info on a seaswirl I found on CL.

Welcome to iboats.

Not enough information to come to any solid conclusion. There are hundreds of factors involved.......

Buyer beware

Not very helpful. Thanks for the welcome.

Ezmo, thanks for the input on price. Does anyone know the model/relative year of this hull?

 

[eaglejim]

Re: Looking for more info on a seaswirl I found on CL.

I think you can do a whole lot better than that price remember they are used car salesmen and this is a great time to get a steal on a boat,it looks nice but you need to do a visual inspection.Welcome to Iboats and good luck

 

[Mpizzle]

Re: Looking for more info on a seaswirl I found on CL.

Thanks again for the welcome!

Yah, I am aware that this time of year can be good for finding fair priced vessels (I've been shopping since January) and also aware that they are used car salesmen. From the ad stating "come in and make an offer" and from what he told me over the phone it sounds like they are very flexible on the price and just trying to get it off the lot. I am going to go take a look at the boat in a little while here but don't plan on making any serious offer until I have a better feel for the condition of the vessel. Also, I intend to lowball the crud out of them at first just to try and see what they actually know about pricing a boat.

Mpizzle

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Looking for more info on a seaswirl I found on CL.

Does anyone know the model/relative year of this hull?

My guess based on what the motor and control box look like would be 1985 +/-. If you go look at it, find the model # of the motor and we can tell you for sure.

 

[Provo5]

Re: Looking for more info on a seaswirl I found on CL.

Another place you can look is storage yards. A lot of people just fall out of love with their boats.

 

[Mpizzle]

Re: Looking for more info on a seaswirl I found on CL.

So I went and took a look at this boat today and discovered a few things. It is a 1981 (stamped on the inside of the hull near the drivers seat), and it looks like a 1981. The carpet inside is in pretty good overall condition and the floor seems to be solid throughout, failed to locate any obvious soft spots. The Bimini is worn, but that is to be expected for a boat of this age, and the bow cover is also worn, again same thing. There are 4 seat brackets inside the boat and 3 seats, the seats are all in good condition and the brackets show signs of salt-air corrosion from salt water use.

The motor has power tilt/trim although I was unable to test this feature (sales people were to busy to assist me, and I didn't really want them to hassle me anyway I was just there to inspect). There is a nav light and plug for an anchor light but I could not find anyway to operate these features (no switches). Also, I found no evidence of a bilge pump, although this size/type of boat probably should have come with one factory??

There was some moisture accumulation inside of the boat which worried me, although like I said the floor seemed firm throughout. All areas of the floor/carpeting were dry except for the center foot or foot and a half running essentially from the bow to the stern.

Another concern is that there appears to be some bondo work on the center hull (Lower, up front, outside), possible indication of a leak/damage.

They seem very anxious to get rid of this thing, the price sitcker reads 2995$ but the 5 is half way peeled off with mildew around it indicating it has been on the lot for quite some time. I would wager that a guy could offer in the margin of 1000$ and walk off with this boat.

I am mainly interested in finding out if there is any way to further examine the flooring/under the flooring for rot and saturation? There are no storage compartments or anything in the floor so I was unable to lift anything to see the condition of the plywood.

Probably going to keep looking around but may go back for another look at this one if I decide it is a project I am willing to undertake (assuming there is not a massive reflooring to be done).

 

[superpop]

Re: Looking for more info on a seaswirl I found on CL.

Check your PM page.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Looking for more info on a seaswirl I found on CL.

If the motor runs...that + the trailer is probably worth a grand. It sounds to be at least usable in it's current condition since you didn't find any obvious rot. Check the transom by standing on the outboard or tilting it up and yanking on it to look for flexing. Don't worry about the lights and bilge pump. That can all be taken care of in a $100 trip to Wal-Mart/BassPro.

 

[mphy98]

Re: Looking for more info on a seaswirl I found on CL.

you can bet they have no more than 500 in that boat, I work for a dealer and I do not know any dealer that would put any more than that in a older boat. This is 30+ years of experience talking here so I am confident that they would either zero appraise the boat or at the most 500. we would get rid of it for any profit at all. so go with your 1000.00 offer to the used car manager directly because as you have seen the salesmen won't give you the time of day(not enough commission for them) Sad to say but even our salespeople would not give you the time you would deserve.

 

[Mpizzle]

Re: Looking for more info on a seaswirl I found on CL.

Check your PM page.

Pmd you back.

Thanks for the input guys. My budget is around 5k so if I was to pic up a boat such as this one for a cheap price I would have a good deal of play in the amount of work I could put into it. I am not very worried about looks, its going to be a fishing only boat (blood and guts guaranteed to stain all surfaces haha), but I want it to perform to my liking. It has no fish finder, gps, radio, etc so that is easily 1500$ or so in electronics depending on how far I want to go with it. The dealership said both motors run and will be tested on site before any sale is made. I didn't think to check the transom, but I will remember that if/when I go back over there.

thanks for the input, should the bondo up front be a concern? I don't want the piece to shrink and fall out when I hit a bump and sink me to the briny deep.