Purchasing a 1971 23' Winner, no engine, great shape...

[bethyoung]

This would be my first boat. I'm a 47 year old woman going through a mid-life crisis probs but that's not the point. I will need to get a motor and find a place to dock. I don't care if I sit on it and play chill music on it all summer long and not take it anywhere. I want to slowly make her super pretty and functional. Thoughts on the way that the boat looks? The title comes with the boat. Trailer does too, but she can't find the title to that quite yet. Pics below, please please chime in if this is too much money or an awesome find. Thanks!

 

[DeepCMark58A]

Do yourself a favor....walk away.

 

[bethyoung]

what if it were free?

 

[Scott Danforth]

what if it were free?

you would still loose money.

Free boats cost the most to restore. they are in-fact more expensive than a fully running boat that you must take a loan out for

to expand.

the motor in there is a 470. utter rubbish
the drive was an MC-1
the floor is rotten along with the transom and stringers

you are looking at a minimum of $5000 in materials to restore the hull and about a year's worth of weekends. add more if you want to restore the exterior and the upper station.

add about $5k for a motor and drive
add about $3k for electrical, steering, controls, etc.
add about $4k for interior (assuming you do most of the work yourself)
add about $3k for a good trailer

so for about $20k you would have a 1971 23' boat worth about $5-10k

run away from that boat, find a good boat for $20k and start using it today

 

[racerone]

Some WINNER boats were built with a fiberglass structure under the floor.----The one WINNER I did 18' did have a wood transom.-------Wood transoms on that would be an easy fix with some ambition.------Therefor no wood stringers.----Not sure whether a 1971 model like pictured is built that way.----Need to investigate.----Yes those " free boats " often end up costing a lot of beer tokens.-----Agreed those 470 motors do not have a good reputation.-----But the motor may well be much newer than the boat.-----Also if you are not interested in all out speed a 100 HP outboard will do the trick too.-------Your humor for today.------Do you have a sister ??

 

[briangcc]

Here's my thought process based of your comments of "make her pretty slowly & surely" and "I don't care if I sit at the dock and just chill"...

1. Make sure the bellows are intact so she don't sink.
2. Toss a small kicker on there. Say 9-15 HP outboard on a bracket. You're not winning any races to the boat ramp or dock BUT you're able to move it under your own power if needed.
3. At season end...pull the boat and re-evaluate IF you really, really want to get dirty fixing this boat. If not, I bet you can offload the kicker for what you paid for it and boat can either be sold off as a project OR hauled off for scrap.
4. Provided you actually want to fix it...now's the time to set a plan in place. *Plan for a motor replacement - donor boats are good for this. I'd be shooting for a large Mercruiser V8. Probably Bravo series drive as a 23' is a fairly large/heavy boat. No one ever said...I wish I had less power. It's very hard to add power when you need it most - getting to shore quickly when caught in a pop up T-storm.
*Plan for complete gut and rebuild - transom, stringers (if not composite), floors, etc.
*Plan for seating. Folding chairs on deck work (IF you aren't under power) as a temporary solution but you'll want actual boat seats/benches/etc. Go to local marinas and check out seating in the new boats. Some are U shaped, others have benches, some have jump seats. Take ideas from all/none and make it your own.
*Now address outside. Keep color, paint, re-gelcoat, vinyl wrap??


Depending on your state, trailer may be an issue if you can't get the paperwork. Definitely factor that in as some DMV/BMV/registering authorities can be a royal pain to work with when lacking appropriate paperwork.

 

[roscoe]

Scott is right on the money, almost.
I'd say after dropping $25G into it, It would be worth $4,000.

I can put my hands on a dozen similar but functional boats like that, that have been for sale for 2 years, nobody wants them.

The thing is,
"You don't yet know, what you don't know, and you really don't want to find out."

 

[Scott Danforth]

Here's my thought process based of your comments of "make her pretty slowly & surely" and "I don't care if I sit at the dock and just chill"...

1. Make sure the bellows are intact so she don't sink.

no outdrive....... so no bellows

so no floating it until there is an outdrive

 

[southkogs]

Yeah: bummer for the desire, but that boat is a LOT of work. There are other ways to do what you want that will cost less and happen faster.

 

[Pierce89]

I think I'm in love with that boat. Where is it?! It'd cost alot to restore but not nearly as much as a new boat. Forums and youtube would teach you everything you need to learn how to do it. Convert it to outboards while you're at it.

 

[nola mike]

Either the boat isn't a 71 or that engine isn't original. Looks like a narrow bilge, so not sure that a vee would even fit. I think the estimates given her are likely pretty high, depending on how much work you do yourself and what kind of deals on parts you can score. Agree with needing to assess for rot though... You need to be crazy and retired to do a full resto IMHO. Where are you located?

 

[racerone]

Post #5 indicates that engine might not be original.-------If you are not worried about the hrs and materials that might go into this project than go for it.-----A 40 HP outboard would also move it for cruising.----Many folks cruise 100's of miles every year on sailboats that are in the 6 mile / hr bracket.---New tires / wheel bearings must also be on the list.

 

[bethyoung]

thank you all for weighing in, sounds like a debacle for me to consider. I'm in Maryland and so is that boat

 

[Scott06]

thank you all for weighing in, sounds like a debacle for me to consider. I'm in Maryland and so is that boat

For a first boat I think you'd be better served by find something that doesn't need a complete restoration. Judging by leaves in it , the graffiti inside, this has been sitting out uncovered for a long time, which as pointed out is a sure bet the stringers and transom are rotted. This is why the boat is free, because the current owner wants you to dispose of it for them.

Unless you are really mechanically inclined and love to do fiberglass work for the next couple years before using it.... look elsewhere. Lots of boats in MD

 

[matt167]

It likely originally had a 165 I6. The 470 is a re power. The tilt/ trim switches confirm that the boat is early 70's... It is a cool boat perhaps worth restoring if that is what you want as I don't think that style of boat is available new anymore, and has not been for some time. A C-Dory would have everything but the fly bridge however

 

[3rdtimesthecharm]

For a first boat I think you'd be better served by find something that doesn't need a complete restoration. Judging by leaves in it , the graffiti inside, this has been sitting out uncovered for a long time, which as pointed out is a sure bet the stringers and transom are rotted. This is why the boat is free, because the current owner wants you to dispose of it for them.

Unless you are really mechanically inclined and love to do fiberglass work for the next couple years before using it.... look elsewhere. Lots of boats in MD

Not to mention it’s sitting on the axles.

 

[bethyoung]

Also, no motor/engine is being sold with this boat. It's selling for $1500 OBO.

It likely originally had a 165 I6. The 470 is a re power. The tilt/ trim switches confirm that the boat is early 70's... It is a cool boat perhaps worth restoring if that is what you want as I don't think that style of boat is available new anymore, and has not been for some time. A C-Dory would have everything but the fly bridge however

That's my problem, I think it's so cool. I don't know much about boats at all but I've been learning as I've been helping to build a houseboat that we just got onto a hull and it's parked at a marina.

So, when someone says it's sitting on axles, don't all boats sit like that when not in water or no?

 

[bethyoung]

For a first boat I think you'd be better served by find something that doesn't need a complete restoration. Judging by leaves in it , the graffiti inside, this has been sitting out uncovered for a long time, which as pointed out is a sure bet the stringers and transom are rotted. This is why the boat is free, because the current owner wants you to dispose of it for them.

Unless you are really mechanically inclined and love to do fiberglass work for the next couple years before using it.... look elsewhere. Lots of boats in MD

I am not any of those things but I can hire people, watch vidoes and or give my selfish children something to do with their spare time!

 

[bethyoung]

Either the boat isn't a 71 or that engine isn't original. Looks like a narrow bilge, so not sure that a vee would even fit. I think the estimates given her are likely pretty high, depending on how much work you do yourself and what kind of deals on parts you can score. Agree with needing to assess for rot though... You need to be crazy and retired to do a full resto IMHO. Where are you located?

crazy and retired do not go hand in hand, usually. And I'm far from retirement (47) but super close to crazy as detailed throughout this thread.

 

[racerone]

They might mean.-----Sitting on axles where it is now.----Tires have sunk into the mud and axles are touching the ground !----Sitting for a long time.-----Yes there are many boats that sit in marinas , known as a " cheap cottage " with like minded neighbors.----Boats do not have to roar around.-----There is no such thing as a perfect boat.-----There is one that is ---" perfect for you "---as they say.