Looking for a new boat, What to do????

[kx250frider617]

Okay so the family started off with a 97' centurion direct drive, added a tower and all that. A few years ago we sold it. In the mean time, my uncle has a 2001 tige 2100v that we have been using since. He is very wealthy, does't use the boat, and registered it under my name. Basically it's my boat according to DMV. Now heres the thing, he wants to sell it.

We have been looking for a newer boat recently. We have $12k from the old centurion for a down payment. The tige is worth around $20k in pristine condition, however it is far from it. We used the tige in salt water the past 200 hours, the trailer is starting to rust pretty good, the engine needs to be gone through, and needs some seat bases re-done. Basically, the boat has seen better days. I would flush it out every use etc. The boat probably could use $8-$10k worth of work including a galvanized trailer.

Heres the kicker, he was offered $12k as a trade in for a new duffy boat. He wants 18-20k for it, but in the condition it's in, thats not going to happen. Now if I could get it for $12k and put another $8k in to fix it up, would that be a good investment. My family isn't made of money, and a $50k boat is out of the question since we use it in salt. The re-sale value would be nothing.

Here is a list I quickly came up with for the tige:
1. interior: seat bases and some other pieces. The whole interior could be replaced though. new carpet
2. engine: rebuilt; the tranny, engine block, v-drive need some cosmetic attention. new water pump, water dist. manifold, closed cooling!!!!
3. trailer: galvanized, maybe sell or trade in the old one.
4. add ballast or perfect pass
5. Small items: steering cable, throttle assy, fix TAPS, etc.

Basically, If I could buy the boat for $12k or less: keeping it in the family, then pay to re-furbish it, would it be a good choice? OR just find a newer boat for around $30k?
The plan would be to do the work myself, minus the engine rebuild and interior. I have the money to buy the boat for $12k and would need a small loan for the new stuff. The loan does't bother me since I need to build my credit.

For technical questions.
How hard it it to pull the engine and v-drive? I don't want to pay labor that kind of work HAHA. I would send it out to be rebuilt though.
Is there any way to install a top mount Alternator, starter?

The major problem I have with this tige and salt water, is the space between the engine hatch and the rear of the transom. Anytime someone stands on the sun pad wet, the water drips down right on the the engine belt, pulleys, and ALT.

What are your guys opinions? Im open to any criticism also. I want to hear the good, bad, ugly HAHA.

[kx250frider617]

Here are some Photos. BTW, it may not seem in bad condition, but I am kind of a perfectionist when it come to spending money on things. If I get a loan to fix it up, I want it to be perfect haha. But isn't that how all inboard boat owners are?!!










Here is back in the day before the SALT haha


Here is the wake we get with: 250lb in each rear locker, 400 in bow (acting as bow filler cushion), another 750lbs in bow (across seats). This boat NEEDS as much weight up front as possible!!! haha.

[IDBoating]

My $0.02: Walk away from that boat and get a good used one elsewhere.

1) You're buying a boat to have fun, not because you need a refurb project to eat up your weekends for weeks/months to come.

2) Sales within families can get ugly. This one already has some baggage - it's registered in your name, your relative knows you use it, but now he wants to sell "his"/"your" boat. Just the discussion of price is likely to engender some hard feelings. "You want too much." "But you've gotten all that free use of it." "It needs a lot of work." "Well, that happened while YOU were using it." And so on.

He has someone willing to give him trade-in value. Let them. If he feels ill-used, it becomes THEIR problem, not yours. And you avoid having this situation hanging over your family in the future. Sounds like you lucked out on the free use of a great boat for a while... be happy with that and make a clean break of it.

Again, just my opinion.

[Tomp]

I totally agree with the last post!

It is not worth fixing up, unload it cheep rather than fix it up and expecting much more, not likely to ever be comparable in value to a well kept fresh water boat.

[gwhite94]

I agree with WA, on this sometimes the family deal is not such a deal. I would recommend searching only inboards and others there are some pretty clean boats in your price range... Good luck man

[ChrisBarnes05-12-84]

How much further is it for you to drive to a lake? Buy you a different boat and quit taking it to the ocean.

[kx250frider617]

Yea i agree with walking away if possible. Just wondering if $12k or lower is too good to pass up, for its condition. I guess its depends on how cheap I could get it for. I've searched onlyinboards every single day haha, but salt series are very rare and usually are brand new. If we did find a cleaner boat, closed cooling and a galvanized trailer would have to be included in the budget.

Either way, I will lose any re-sale potential just because of salt use. so it depends on how much I'm willing to lose I guess. Im pretty sure the issues with the boat are all cosmetic rust, if that makes a difference.

BTW, the boat is stored at our house too haha.

The closest lake to me would be Lake elsinore, which is about an hour and a half away. The harbor were we board is, 20min away. Thats kind of hard to justify.

Keep the opinions coming ha, I like doing my research before hand. Thank you

[kx250frider617]

As far as family issues, My uncle is known to just waste money on toys he never uses. He'll let them sit a rot and just sells them to get whatever money he can for them. A luxury for the wealthy I guess. Heck he even pays me to maintain half the crap he owns. Hard feeling would't be an issue really.

[IDBoating]

I suppose you could ask for the opportunity to match whatever trade-in allowance he finds. That lets a third party set the dollar amount, takes the emotion out of it, and it becomes a cash-neutral transaction for him either way.

That just leaves you with the other problem: A salted-out boat that needs a lot of dollars and weekends that you could otherwise be spending enjoying a boat instead of working on one. That decision, I'm afraid, is a purely personal one.

[kx250frider617]

What are your opinions on finding a different boat thats clean, then installing closed cooling and galvanized trailer? I estimate that option to be around $10-20K more than fixing up the older one. I figure I could fix up this one and have it dialed and be in the hole around $20k at best. A different boat would probably be in the $25-$30k range, plus a grand for closed cooling and 5-6 for a basic galvanized trailer. Obviously, the nicer boat would be better, but is the huge $$$ difference worth it?

From what I see, people are asking outrageous amounts for older boats.

[Stingreye]

Regarding interior I replaced all the seat bottoms of my 24v cabin interior for $530 ish.

[kx250frider617]

Im starting to lean against the boat. Replacing ripped seats and re-doing carpet is one thing, but engine work, trailer, and inter is a whole other ball game. I honestly feel it would be a steal for a shop owner that has all the know-how and can get parts for wholesale.

Not to mention, I have no clue on how the cooling jackets look inside the engine. It would be a shame to install closed cooling, only to have the heat exchanger clog up front rust debris. Hopefully, he can't get rid of it and ends up just take a hit and giving it to me BAHAHA

[TeamAllen]

There are only three places I know of that guys ride in the salt water in SoCal. Marine Stadium, Mission Bay and that lagoon in Carlsbad area.
I'm in San Clemente. There has to be something around here. Does it have to be a V drive?

[kx250frider617]

Yep marine stadium. No one understands the amount of glass you get there during a weekday. Literally all day long. Not to mention is less than 20 miles away. That's why we run in salt.

Yes. A v-drive is a must. We had a direct drive and it just doesn't work for us. Nothing beats the interior space of a vdrive. Sometimes we have a group of 8 or more and that would be impossible with a direct drive.

[EricU]

That thing is going to be one big "Zipper Effect", if you like restoring boats and don't mind spending all your time and way too much money working in the garage (in college I did it every year! including the same boat twice) then go for it.

If you plan on paying someone else to work on it, and in SoCal, walk away now. But I don't think anyone on these boards buys a boat for "...the right reason", we buy them because we want, need them!!

Oh, and if your uncle is that loaded, tell him I am up for adoption and he can ride on my boat!