Mako 258 water in Bow foam

[vogelfish]

I'm looking to buy an old (1983) Mako 258. the price is right but it's not in the greatest condition (for the price I suppose that's expected). One thing has me scratching my head - there is standing water in the bow foam. There is a small hatch in the bottom of what looks like a storage compartment - inside the hatch is a hole dug in the foam and standing water. There is a similar hatch just under the anchor storage locker. The owner says he sucks it out with a wet vac - looks like rainwater. Question is... what kind of damage could that cause? Any way to drain it - any Idea how much water could be in there? Is the weight an issue? Any advice appreciated.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

I'd say that was intentionally cut... either looking for access to something or to mount something... Drain it the same way the current owner does... If the foam is saturated, it's done for.... major... if it's just the holes, empty em and seal em up...... of course weight is an issue, figure out what the rig SHOULD weigh and get it on a scale... if those numbers don't jive you have yourself a big red flag.

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

I already answered your question on classicmako. It looks that the guy who owned the boat , instead of repairing the areas that were leaking, decided to open it up and just use a vacuum. Like most older makos, and most older boats in general, if not maintained properly they deteriorate. The makos are foam filled all the way up the gunnels, so chances are you have alot of soaked foam in there. That being said, that is one of the best offshore boats ever made in that size. And the 258 is a great riding hull. The hulls are tough as nails. Worth a restore at the right price. How much is the seller asking for and do you have pics of the boats over all condition?


Budd

 

[vogelfish]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

He's asking 5K no trailer - it has other "issues" too.. I'll post some more pics of it.

 

[vogelfish]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

 

[vogelfish]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

That's an awfully wet boat... I'd say offer whatever you would be willing to pay for the motor.

 

[oops!]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

i repair boats (hulls) for a living.......that boat is toast...

at 5k.....he is dreaming.

it is worth the price of the trailer and the motor only....

no more than a grand

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

Its in terrable shape. I agree, not worth much, but could still be restored. But I wouldn't be giving him anything over 3K for her. Its just going to take to much money to get her right. Look for a better boat imo. Take a look at my restore thread, to give you an idea of what you can get for 5K and that was when the market was a little better.

 

[etracer68]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

I agree with oops!, and I may add, that if the ower didnt take pride in the boat, what about the motor too. At one time, that was a great boat, to bad it wasnt taken care of.

 

[Philster]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

My two cents: A resto of that boat would include lifting the entire top deck from the hull. I believe the issue with water getting in is water getting in where the top meets the hull (rub rail, etc).

 

[vogelfish]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

Thanks for all the info. Philster - the owner did say that was an issue and he did have the rub rail off to seal it up a few years ago. Is that a common issue?

 

[vogelfish]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

Thanks Chriscraft - impressive thread and a sweet boat you have there. I guess I'm looking in the wrong places because all I'm finding is junkers. I'm looking for a fishing boat suitable for near shore Ocean fishing (5-10 miles out) and I'm very budget constrained - 5K would be my top limit. I have an old Aquasport 22 foot family fisher with a blown motor (early 80's vintage merc 225) - mechanic wants 2K to re-power with same era engine. The transom seems solid but is cracking and was clearly worked on before I got it. I picked it up for $1K four years ago. If I re-power I'd want to do the transom first and don't really have the time or place to do such a job. I guess you can say I'm one of those ghetto boat owners... I do what I can to get out to the fish (and get back home without the help of the coast guard). Any thoughts on where to look for a low budget but seaworthy boat?

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

Thanks Chriscraft - impressive thread and a sweet boat you have there. I guess I'm looking in the wrong places because all I'm finding is junkers. I'm looking for a fishing boat suitable for near shore Ocean fishing (5-10 miles out) and I'm very budget constrained - 5K would be my top limit. I have an old Aquasport 22 foot family fisher with a blown motor (early 80's vintage merc 225) - mechanic wants 2K to re-power with same era engine. The transom seems solid but is cracking and was clearly worked on before I got it. I picked it up for $1K four years ago. If I re-power I'd want to do the transom first and don't really have the time or place to do such a job. I guess you can say I'm one of those ghetto boat owners... I do what I can to get out to the fish (and get back home without the help of the coast guard). Any thoughts on where to look for a low budget but seaworthy boat?

The market is very soft right now. I just got lucky and have spent more on my boat since I got her than what I paid for her. The reason I mentioned it is because atleast after the total investment of time and money, I can say I have a solid platform. The boat you listed here more than likely is going to cost you way more than the 5k that the owner is asking for in the end and probably much more than I have spent on mine.

Look for a boat that is cosmetically a little rough but still clean. Your looking for the right type of boats, but its all going to be about timing if you are looking to get into a boat that big with 5K.

I would keep my eyes peeled on ebay actions. I know one of the guys over at the Mako site just bought one very cheap with twins like the one above. It is actually in really decent shape. The only down thing about ebay auctions are they are buy unseen in most cases and you may have to spend some money to get her home depending on where it is at. Mine came from ebay from a doctor that just got tired of dealing with an older boat. He had a new born and his wife wanted a new boat. So the boat came to its new home. Craigslist is another good place to look for a cheap offshore boat because alot of people that post there don't know what they have. But they also usually don't now how to maintain the boats.

Like I said, the boat you listed is a great hull if you have the money to dump into her to get the rest of the boat right. Chances are , since the boat was neglected pretty bad, the motors were to. Do you have more info from this seller, like service records etc. If you consider this boat, definately have it surveyed and have a certafied outboard mechanic go through the motor. She will clean up with lots of tlc, but it may include, removal and replacement of fuel tanks, decks, transom etc. Good luck in your search and you may want to post what you have to spend over at classic mako on a wanted add.

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

Ok, on closer inspection of your pics on the mako site, I am kinda changing my mind on this. The boat if it can be had for what I said before, 3K. I think it would be a pretty good deal. There is alot of boat there for that kind of money.

Reason I say this is because some things do look prety good. For one, it is blocked properly, the rear deck looks pretty good. The hull looks to be in good shape on the exterior and the bottom has been protected with bottom paint that looks to be sound. So some care was taken on the boat. The helm area doesn't look to bad for that old a boat and could be cleaned up easily. The wiring atleast had some shrink connectors on them in the pics.

The areas to check before buying are definately the transom. some of these makos had a drain line from the anchor locker that basically went no where. This could be the issue with the foam being wet up forward. also looks like the water is very close to the lowest part of the hull. This is probably the case in most boats out there and many people just don't know that it is there. The cap can be a culprit but so can alot of other areas like the anchor locker, rod holders etc etc etc.
Pull some screws in the stern to see if water weeps out. The mess of caulking on the stern can really deter people when buying a boat but atleast it was sealed.

would really like to see the full listing on this boat to give you a better opinion. You can usually tell alot about the boat in the way the owner has listed it.

Get the survey done for sure and have a marine mechanic get you compression numbers on the motor. Good motor by the way, but a gas hog. Just thiinking out loud here. One thing about the water in the bow foam, is it looks to be clean water. This could indicate that it hasn't been in there for a long time.

Just foood for thought. When I purchased my boat, I asked myself what a new replacement would cost for the same set-up in todays market. Though I have invested a total of about 12 to 14K in my boat, the same boat today equipped the way I equipped it and the features the boat has, would be 100k plus. But you want a boat that is worth restoring. Old makos are usually worth it, because they were very well built hulls.

 

[Philster]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

Thanks for all the info. Philster - the owner did say that was an issue and he did have the rub rail off to seal it up a few years ago. Is that a common issue?

Common and often repaired incorrectly.

 

[vogelfish]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

Thanks. I was also thinking a lot of the same... The owner seems to know what he is doing and was very forthcoming about a lot of the issues. The motor ran well but it wasn't in the water so you can't really tell. When he ran it for me he took the cover off - looks very clean - I felt the cylinder heads and they were cold (he didn't warm it up before I got there). After it ran a few minutes I felt the head temp at each cylinder and they "felt" about the same... I did a close inspection of the Hull and it appears solid and no chips cracks or repair jobs. There is a crack along the top of the gunnel on the port side about mid cockpit - owner says he was hit by a boat and that caused the crack - I posted a pic of it on the mako site. And the last concerning thing - it appears like the transom may have been worked on - if you look carefully at the pics of the bilge you can see what looks like a horizontal crack that was filled from the inside (just an opinion - I have no basis for knowing how it was filled). Also on the outside port side there is an area that looks like filler - tried to get a pic of it but it didn't turn out well (i'll post it). Also, when I bounce on the motor, the transom moves very slightly - hard to tell but you can see it - I tried to take a video of it but it's really hard to tell - I'll see if I can post that. Anyway - I'm thinking for my purpose - if I can get it for 3K like you said - and I can get a couple seasons out of it before major repairs - I'm ahead of the game.

 

[vogelfish]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

Re Philster - He did admit that he probably didn't do a good job on it. What is the correct repair procedure?

 

[Philster]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

Honestly, it probably is much more involved than removing the rub rail and caulking. Because there is a tendency here for those who find even a single exception or a bit of anecdotal and/or here-say evidence to counter any instructions offered here, I will defer to someone who is an absolute authority on boat construction/repairs. There is a forum on repair/restoration here on iboats.

Post the question there; otherwise some poster will chime in that his uncle Bob used household caulk and it was fine, and some other clown will chime in to tell you that you can only repair it with a NASA adhesive specialist with 30 years of boat surveying experience.

Sorry, 'bout that.

Anyone?

 

[vogelfish]

Re: Mako 258 water in Bow foam

Here is a vid of the transom flex - not that great but might give an idea...