Aloha from Hawaii, seeking advice on a '89 20'

[jimbobway]

Aloha every one,

First I'd like to say that you have a great community going here, and a wealth of knowledge, I'm glad I was directed in this way.

Like I said, I'm out here in Hawaii, which is great in most aspects, but horrible regarding boating resources. Our pool of used boats to choose from is about as deep as a mud puddle, and shipping in gets so expensive its not even worth it, especially for John Q. Public like myself with resource to afford a decent boat, but not an abundance to go overboard with.

I'm looking for a solid boat that I can put time into, although not the complete reconstruction that you guys do, but to get a nice boat that I can slay fish from, and also bring my family aboard.

I've come across this posting today, http://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/boa/1536659790.html , and immediately starting looking deeper into your knowledge bank. I realize its not the highly sought after Potter hull, but do you guys think she's worth a try. I'd probably repower her immediately, and already with a cursory search come across a Suzuki 140 for sale on an outer island, spend some time on the hull, and go from there. I also know that Seacraft hulls are coveted throughout the mainland, east coast especially (my brother is an avid fisherman out of Newport RI, so he guides me quite often)

What do you guys think of that year, the owner said the hull model was actually named "Classic" and they only built them in '89 (this one) and '99.

Any info or advice that you guys could give me would be greatly apprecaited.

Aloha,
Jimmie.

[fishhuntNC]

Aloha back Ive got a 88 20 footer that looked just like that when I bought it only it had a yamaha on it.Ive had for around 10 years and love it.I would try to get the boat a little cheaper than what they have it listed for. gook luck.

[McGillicuddy]

Shipping that boat from San Diego to Hono or Hilo will run right about 3.5 to 4K. And good luck finding one in CA...

Try to work the guy a bit, but like you said - boats in HI are worth their weight in gold, especially running. That's only the third Seacraft I've seen listed on the islands in the past year...the last i saw was a 30 y.o. seafari 20 for 11K

Price is probably high by mainland standards but you guys live better... If you have the money, go for it -- maintain it, and if you have to sell it, you'll almost certainly get your money back on the sale. Not many boaters can say that.

[jimbobway]

Boy oh boy are you guys telling me what I like to hear.

Situation update. I'm going to go to the guys house tomorrow afternoon, brink 55 $100 bills and see where I can go from there. He said its in solid condition, no problems with the floor, and the engine runs.

Heres the kicker here boys. As of this morning, I was himming and hawing and trying to decide whether or not to buy a 24 foot Striper walkaround, which would have been ok, except for the twin 90's pushing it. Close to perfect (maybe with 115s and for the same price) but no cigar. Either way, you are apparently somewhat savy with the market I'm looking at out here, and the Striper was at my budget, litterally, at my budget.

Along comes a Seacraft. I lose the family orientedness, but if I figure correctly I could have a top of the line boat for 10k less then I was about to drop.

So after doing some more searching I actually came across a 2006 140 Zuke that a certified dealer on Kauai rebuild and is selling. She was misfiring when the guy got his hands on her, and after digging, she had a bad valve. He corrected the valve problem and put her back together what sounds like the right way. Out here, if you are the only shop on an island, and you dont do good work, you can't survive, especially where the boat to person ratio on Kauai is about 1-3. So the compression is as strong on her as a new engine, she's got about 1000 hours on her, and hes running the computer to get the breakdown of hours@rpm's and by tomorrow night, I should be wheeled and dealed enough to get a 20 footer with a 140 4 stroke on the way to coming together.

Hows that for a mouthfull.

Does this sound like a ball of flame plan to any one, or have the celestial gods smiled down upon me, and possibly aligned their stars?