Project or not to Project

[reflynn]

I want to start off thanking all so far for the steering and water impeller help. I am a first time boat owner, and excited about that, 2 weeks ago I traded my 1997 Seadoo XP for this 1983 19' Searay open bow pleasure boat, has an "85 GM 3.8 V-6 OMC four barrel stern drive. (good trade I think) for starters the boat would not start, guy said he ran 3-4 batteries down trying to start it. engine turned but real draggy, I thought to myself STARTER. So that was first thing I did is rebuild starter $29.00. Bingo boat started right up. no steering???? wow, the steering cable will not budge, so I purchased The teleflex ss14115 steering system to replace it with. I did not want to get on the water with it and start overheating so I decided to replace water impeller needing it or not. (an ounce of prevention????) The gelcoat on the boat is great no cracks no spider webs, all chrome is immaculate, no severe scratches, window all good no cracks or fogging, all teak trim was grayed out and cracked , i have sanded and refinished, and they are gorgeous, Interior is shot about all wood rotten in seats, vinyl is shot, but cushions in good shape, the deck is mostly fiberglass but two wooden centers shot rotted, carpet eh!! (cheap enough to replace). Now here the question the interior is going to cost around $2000.00 to restore, all blue has to go do not like can paint myself, (seeing how I am a body man) is the boat worth restoring, should I throw it on the water and enjoy the rest of the summer? Are there any known issues with boat or stern drive? What do I do next?????? I am starting to second guess myself.what Opinions or advice do you guys have?

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Project or not to Project

The drive is an OMC so parts are not as easy to find any more and make sure that the shift cable and ESA stays adjusted or you'll be eating gears. The interior shouldn't cost $2K - half or less if you DIY. New seats are avaiable at Walmart or any marine place at reasonable prices and recovering the rest just requires vinyl and patients. Carpet is regular non rubber backed indoor outdoor carpet from you local home depot or menards.

For now I'd just use it and enjoy it - save the interior for a winter project.

I redid the inside of my first bayliner which was an abused late 80 something 1950 with a 3.0L OMC/Cobra and it went pretty quick and turned out decent enough for a 2K boat. You'll never get your $$ back out so only do this if you intend to keep it.

Few after pictures - not the fanciest job but it was pretty inexpensive and cleaned it up enough that I wasn't embarased to dock it at a resturaunt.
http://oldjeep.com/images/Bayliner/index.html

 

[Struc]

Re: Project or not to Project

I'm also pretty sure they only put those 3.8l engines in boats for a short time. The 4.3l engine replaced it, and is still the current mid-sized motor in boats today.

I agree with Bubba - you will never goet your money out of a 1983 boat, no matter how nice it is. But if you like it, and want to use it for 10-15 years, then spending money on it might be worth it. I would do the work yourself and save a lot of money, however. There are several upholstery threads in the restoration area of this forum - look into it and see if you could do it yourself.

Also, as was suggested, make sure to do some tests on the wood (stringers, transom, etc). Even if you repair those yourself, you're looking at another $2k - $3k in materials.

Add everything up, and you're in the range of getting a newer, better condition boat.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Project or not to Project

Enjoy it for what it is. No value in putting money into the nice stuff with a bolt that old with that drive and motor.

You got some great experienced advice above!

 

[HopinImFloatin]

Re: Project or not to Project

assuming its solid enough to be safe, you can use this one as a good "practice boat". You wont get your money back but you will gain LOTS of experience and be ready for the next one, and will know what to look for next time.