new to boating

[my03ranger]

my name is David and me and a buddy are looking into buy a boat to start messing with we found a 1978 glastron 165 with a 135hp 2 stroke evinrude hull seems to be in pretty good shape just needs cleaned up motor runs really good but it needs some floor work and seats need recovered its forsale for 600 seems like a ok deal to me but this will be my first boat do you guys have any suggestions?

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[Joshua Nichols]

Re: new to boating

Bad floors mean other stuff is bad too..
A 2 stroke engine can run great on a water-hose and be a complete dog on the water..
If the transom isn't rotting out of it so bad the engine is going to fall off and you can take it for a quick ride to be sure the engine is okay.. $600 is cheap fun.. I bought a unrunning boat once for $400.. Got her going and had summer worth of fun out of it and sold it for $600..
If ya don't have the cash to buy nicer and newer(trust me I understand that).. I say why not.. Gotta start learning somewhere

 

[wifisher]

Re: new to boating

make sure that you check the transom for rot. If it is weak, it can be dangerous to run the boat.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: new to boating

You may want to take into consideration that that's an electric shift motor (pre-1973). Most parts for the powerhead should be available but not for the lower unit or shifting electricals. Just make sure it shifts fine currently into forward/neutral/reverse and be away you may be reliant on ebay in the future for parts if something goes wrong with that. On the plus side, I see it's equipped with power tilt and trim. That was a rare option back then and working trim units of that vintage go for $400 on ebay.

"Floor work" on an old Glastron typically means you're in for a complete rebuild.

Overall it's all well worth the $600 but will be a project for sure.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: new to boating

The real question is do you AND your buddy want a project or just to cruise. If you want a project, I think that's a good deal on a sweet looking boat. But make not mistake about it - if it needs floor work, it needs more work (stringers, transom, etc). Still, would be a great ride once rehabbed. Just make sure since you are going in on it that you both understand the work involved. Take a look at the restoration forum to get some ideas of what may or may not be needed. Have fun with it.

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: new to boating

Yeah it has what looks to be a electric shift remote control? Kinda weird.... See if you can get the serial number off the mount for the engine... One picture looks like yall pulled it out of the woods:facepalm:... Not too good

 

[Flysfloatsor]

Re: new to boating

I say go for it. Like anything else, you learn by doing. The investment is minimal in this case. If you find you love boating, as most of us here do... Youll be taking out the checkbook soon enough. Stage 1 of the addiction is always speed. Some of us never really move out of stage 1...

 

[ziggy]

Re: new to boating

imho,

wood rot will be the number 1 enemy. many older boats have it. it's bad enough fixing the mechanicals on a boat, but if ya got nothing to bolt the mechanicals to, you'll really have a project on your hands. being your first boat, this many sour you on boating too.

if ya wanna work on a boat. a $600 boat will likely be the ticket.

if ya wanna go boating, ya might have to bump the price up some.

ya might wanna hook up with some boating safety classes too. us power squadron or uscg aux. have classes all the time. check them out. many boaters in these organizations with many good recommendations. let alone the safety aspect of boating. which there are many. boating isn't much like driving a car. many more bad things can happen.

that said. that is a good looking boat. but then again, all boats 'look' good imho. shiny and speedy looking. but it's what's underneath that really counts.

good luck with your adventure..

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: new to boating

as duckhunter said, it's more important for you and your friend to have a firm agreement on expenses. $600 is just a down payment. Have you priced your insurance, tax/title and storage yet? Don't forget to include the trailer. You should start with a water pump replacement and "season opener" tune-up from a boat mechanic. he will quote a low price and find more that needs to be done--legitimate.

If the transom is solid I would just enjoy it for the summer as is, be ready to dump it if (when) the engine has $$ problems, and decide in the fall if you want to mess with restoration, whether just the seats or more.

When you say "floor work" most of the people hear assume it means you have soft spots or holes in the floor, because so many of them deal with boats that rot out from under the deck. Many of them want it fixed perfect. OTOH there are lots of boaters who run old boats with soft spots and just live with it. So don't jump right in to tearing it all apart. BUT transom strength is crucial.

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: new to boating

Stage 1 of the addiction is always speed. Some of us never really move out of stage 1...

Nope.. Need more power... Needless to say.. If that outboard runs good and is the said HP.. It should move pretty quick...

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: new to boating

A 135 (1973-1976) is a hydro-mechanical shift.

 

[floatfan]

Re: new to boating

Picture 2...haunted boat for $600.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: new to boating

A 135 (1973-1976) is a hydro-mechanical shift.

Correct. However that control box don't lie It's probably a 125.

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: new to boating

Correct. However that control box don't lie It's probably a 125.

Unless it's rigged up some weird way. You are correct. Who knows for sure what it is without a number.. Anyway if it shifts good and doesn't fill with water.. Electric shift is still pretty hardy if some tard didn't fill it with the wrong oil or something... I liked mine once I got the solenoids adjusted right..

 

[my03ranger]

Re: new to boating

i really want to take this boat out in the water but i am not sure if the guy will let me cause he lives about 30 mins away from a ramp but i am going too call him monday when he gets back into town and see what i can work out

 

[my03ranger]

Re: new to boating

is there things i can look for around the transom to make sure it is in good shape i looked for what i would consider bad spots and there wasnt any cracking around where the motor is secured to

 

[Brewman61]

Re: new to boating

I'd be more concerned about co-ownership than anything else. Nothing has the potential to sour a friendship faster than going in on something like this, and having to deal with the inevitable- " The motor conked out and wont' start. It's gonna cost $1500 to fix".

Each ready to pony up half? OR will one argue that the other was behind the wheel and therefore responsible?

I've seen this happen quite a bit. Not always with boats, but same concepts apply.

 

[my03ranger]

Re: new to boating

we talked about this before we ever thought about buying a boat if something big like that would happen no matter who was driving it we both paid as long as the person wasnt doing something stupid oh yeah it comes with a trialor i just talked to the guy he told me thats not the origianl motor the other one was locked up and he put this motor on it the origianl was a 125 or 115 but he couldnt rememeber he said that was about 3-4 years ago

 

[444]

Re: new to boating

You will be able to see the area where the bolts go through the transom. If the wood doesn't look right, as in where the bolts are everything is squished tightly together like torking a bolt down on a loaf of bread, you have potential problems.

 

[evin/skeet]

Re: new to boating

trim the motor up and stand on the lower unit if it will hold you you should be ok