Need advice on the purchase of project boat

[Parrot6909]

Hello all. I haven't been on this site in ages.....I miss it!

Hoping to get some opinions on a project boat that I came across. Funds for boating have been tight lately (especially with child number 2) so a project is the best/only way to get me on the water again. Here is what I have found:

18' Manatee/ 90hp Force (1998) and a trailer. This is what I know about the setup. The motor has approximately 60 hours on it, was installed in 98 and not used until 2002. Since that time it has been used sparingly by a two boat owner. I have heard lots of bad but never much good on Force outboards, anyone with a good experience?

Ok, now the boat. Boat was garage kept until 2002. Hull has never spent more then a day in the water at a time (read always on trailer). Exterior the hull looks immaculate...interior needs some help. The flooring is soft in a few places. Looks like there were seats bolted down to the floor and then were removed and the holes were left exposed. Then a carpet was added to cover the flooring trapping moisture. The transom seems "pretty" solid. The interior skin has zero cracks. Exterior has some webbing in the corners of the splashwell. I could swear that the transom moved a little (max of 1/4" each way) but it could be my eyes going as well. What are the chances that the stringers are shot if there are soft spots??? The seller is allowing me to cut holes in the floor and drill holes in the transom....any advice where best to cut and drill to find rot? I don't want to make the boat into swiss cheese and leave it with the guy, just want to eliminate issues.

Bottom line, price is $800. Worth it??? Any and all advice is appreciated.

 

[Solittle]

Re: Need advice on the purchase of project boat

Before you start drilling and cutting take a hammer and start tapping and listen. Good wood will have a solid rap sound. Rotten wood will yield more of a thud. You sometimes can almost take a piece of chalk or crayon and trace the bad areas. If the floor is bad and the transom you can figgure the stringers are shot too.

I'll leave others to comment on the Force.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Need advice on the purchase of project boat

Make sure the motor runs good. That is what you should be concerned with. Fixing the boat is labor intensive, but not a big deal if the motor runs good. Force motors are simple and basic outboards. If they are maintained very well, they will get the job done. You hear a lot of bad things about Force because they are inexpensive motors that were on inexpensive boats that were bought by inexperienced novices. These novices just ran the boats and didn't really take the time to learn to maintain the thing.

$800? yeah, its worth it if the motor runs and the trailer is in decent shape. Fixing the boat is the fun part because you can make changes that better suit your own interpretation of what your boat should be. Good luck....

 

[Parrot6909]

Re: Need advice on the purchase of project boat

Jason - Thanks for the comments. I remember when you first started the Skanky beast....its been a few years. Good to see you are still on here! I am just hoping for an "easy" floor job. The boat is perfect, high sides for my son's (2nd one is exactly 8 days old) and a nice deep V to take on the chop of the bay. I have been debating about this for the last two weeks. The motor literally looks like it just came out of its crate. just the "Force" name scares me. However, after reading your response it makes a ton of sense. Thanks!

Solittle- I have tried the hammer trick before, problem is that if there isn't any solid wood you'd never hear the difference, no? Also, I tried that on my Sea Ox. Transom was rock solid but there were area's of a thud. Turned out that there wasn't any wood above a certain point (transom wood stopped at the motor mount). I don't trust my ears, I do however trust a drill bit. Would it be that bad to drill a few holes on the inside of the skin? The motor mounts have no cracking around them nor are they sinking in....

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Need advice on the purchase of project boat

i personally like ti use a 2" hole saw, for and inspection hole, the i use a piece of 3/4" pvc pipe, with teeth cut into the end, i twist the pvc into the foam and several angles to get a sample, wet foam is bad. if it's all good i give it a good squirt of aerosol foam, and reseal the test hole. check the compression and spark on the engine, this can be accomplished by removing the plugs, turn the key on, throttle wide open, if a battery is not available, use a rope pull the motor thru about 3-4 cycles, do the same on each cylinder. this is a dry test and not totally accurate, but as long and the numbers are within 10% of each other it should be good, check for blue spark. this will give a basis of the engines condition.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Need advice on the purchase of project boat

I'd keep looking for a boat with fewer problems if $$$ are tight. Good used outboards aren't hard to find, at least in my area, and there are plenty of used hulls out there. Also depends on whether you are in a hurry to get back on the water I guess.

 

[Parrot6909]

Re: Need advice on the purchase of project boat

See, thats part of the problem. Good used outboards up here in the 90hp range would run around 2,500+. The 800 alone (if the Force runs well) is worth it. Then find a good hull. I don't know.....still debating!

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Need advice on the purchase of project boat

check it out, may not be bad as you think. try to get it running. a properly cared for engine could be just right. not all forces were bad, most were not maintained.

 

[bassboy1]

Re: Need advice on the purchase of project boat

I would definitely say that is a good deal if the motor runs. And, since it is already mounted on the boat controls are most likely included. That is definately a better deal than I got on my '74, 15' lund and '71, 50 hp johnson. I got them for 1200 and still had to buy throttle and build a trailer. And the boat had to be stripped to the stringers to restore.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Need advice on the purchase of project boat

I dunno...everytime I talked myself into spending some clams on what seemed like the deal of the day, seems like right after the clams left my paw I saw what I really wanted/needed only a few days later. But I agree that if the motor and trailer are sound, jump on it at that price. If the hull is too far gone, I'd trash it and wait for a better one to come along to use with the outboard. After having three Fglass boats and then an aluminum, I'll never go back to glass hulls. Guess I'm just a curmudgeon.

 

[xtraham]

Re: Need advice on the purchase of project boat

go get it, if the trailer is any good it's worth that... if it does'nt work out you can sell the engine for more than you are paying for all of it.........

 

[bassboy1]

Re: Need advice on the purchase of project boat

Wait a minute. Is the hull aluminum or fiberglass? I, for some reason, assumed it was aluminum. If it is fiberglass it might not be a great deal. If it is a hull in good condition it might be OK. One problem with FG is that the stringers are wood instead of aluminum, and UV will kill the hull. Water getting trapped on the inside wont help either.