Fort Myers area 20ft Seafari

[cdavisdb]

The owner is all but giving it to you. Assume a new transom, and check the floors. Also a few seafaris have been used very hard, serious divers or fishermen, and the cap gets very wiggly and sloppy. Check the corners of the doors for a substantial crack, signs of lots of leaks in the hull deck joint. Fixing this probably requires pulling the cap.

Good luck with it.

[Max_Florida]

I think I'm going to go look at it later today.

What is the best way to check the deck?

As far as leaks in the hull deck joint... what would those look like? Sorry, I'm very new to boats and I'm trying really hard to not get myself in over my head, haha.(I know I probably will anyways, but I'm trying to mitigate as much as possible)

I really appreciate your guys help.

Also, if anyone is in the North Fort Myers area and would be willing to take a look at the boat with me, I'd be more than happy to buy you a few drinks and/or lunch/dinner.

[Ryank]

I saw the ad, looks a little well used, there is an aluminum plate on the transom, that is a sign of the transom will need replacing, though I used one for several years with a weak transom, and a plate and it never cracked or anything over 3 years of rough use.
The motor may or may not be worth a crud, never a fan of the older Force. Not a bad deal if the floors solid, if the floor is soft, could be a very pricy or time consuming resto job. Materials, supplies, new electronics, and a possible motor, think of what it would cost to do and double it, or just use it as she is and enjoy
Ask if you could run a compression check on the motor and do so they should be within 10% of eachother. Check for any big cracks in the transom and or bounce on the lower unit and look for excessive flex. Will they let you rtun it?

[cdavisdb]

Agree with Ryan.

Recognize that the hull will probably be the least of your costs, new transom, new engine, etc will get pricy and there is bound to be more, even if these things are ok.

I'm not the best guy to ask about the cap, but here are my thoughts. Look for substantial cracks, not just hair line in the top corners of the doors. Is the doorway still squared up? look at all the hull/deck bolts/rivets in the cabin for rust, water trails, looseness. Get a hose and shoot some water up underneath the rubrail. Any leaks in the cabin? Expect some small ones. Lots of big ones are trouble. Look at everything else around the edges of the cap and cabin, rot near the floor of the bulkheads, signs of movement.

Another sign of hard use: look at the floor forward of the divers seat, right at the edge of the nonskid. Substantial cracks there indicate a driver standing up, pushing the boat hard and can lead to deck failure. If damage is present but not too bad (no rot), you can reinforce under the deck through the stb cabin deck hatch(personal experience).

Floors: Jump and down all over the deck. If it is not rock solid,no softness, no flex, deck replacement is on the way. You may be able to get some more years out of it if the damage is small.

[Max_Florida]

I called the guy and he said that the boat and the trailer are both "rough" but "okay". He said that he bought the boat, put some money into it, went to put it into the water and it wouldn't start. Now he wants to sell it.

One of the leaf springs on the trailer is broken and is being supported by a wooden block(not drivable).

Right now I'm assuming I would need to replace the transom, the engine and obviously fix the leaf spring on the trailer before I could even drive it home.

I'm thinking it would probably be a bad idea to buy this boat. However, I think I may still go look at it and see what kind of shape the rest of the hull is in.

Just FYI, I've never owned a boat before, nor have I worked on one. I am very proficient with automotive repairs(something I taught myself) so I figure I can learn boats as well(I realize there is going to be a huge gap between the two).

My assumptions about getting this boat running are: I can buy an engine for $1000. I can get this engine mounted and running for another $200. I can replace the transom for $500. I will need to fix a bunch of other random crap that will probably total another $500. Assuming I do all the work myself...

What do you guys think?

[eggsuckindog]

I wouldn\t worry so much on the cap joint - pulling the rub rail off and filling and re-drilling the holes wouldn't be bad. The motor is worthless - maybe you could sell it as a parts motor to someone that has one, but not worth the time or any expense. The plates were used alot by the "older" generation, so may not be a good indicator - I actually put one on a perfectly good transom when I hung the V8 on my Sceptre - frankly if the trailer is pretty worthless - the motor is and the boat needs a transom - 1000 may be a little high IMHO

[Ryank]

Again best advice I can give is take what you think you will spend, in this case I think you are thinking around 2200. Then Double it, so you will have $4400, plus the cost of the boat, (I would offer 600 unless it seems really sturdy with no floor issues and a transom that would go another 3-5 years. Then I might offer 700.
For 5k you can find a nicer seacraft with a good engine and better trailer and probably electronics.

[Blue_Heron]

My assumptions about getting this boat running are: I can buy an engine for $1000. I can get this engine mounted and running for another $200. I can replace the transom for $500. I will need to fix a bunch of other random crap that will probably total another $500. Assuming I do all the work myself...

What do you guys think?

I don't think you'll find an engine worth having for less than $2K. Unless you can do the transom yourself, it's gonna be a lot more than $500. Just from your basic description, I think you should budget at least $4,000 - $5000 above the purchase price. If one spring on the trailer is busted, both will need to be replaced. Possibly the axle as well. Springs and axle = $275 if you install them yourself. I'm not trying to burst your bubble, just don't want you to go into it blind. There's a reason they say B-O-A-T stands for "break out another thousand". Ryan is right on. You can find a better boat in today's market for what you'll have in this one when you're done.

On the other hand, if you're insane with boat fever, and can't resist the idea of restoring a classic, and money's no object...

Like some of the rest of us around here...

Good luck,
Dave

[Ryank]

We were seriously considering selling our savage, and buying a smaller 20 Seafari, then realized, we'd just end up putting just as much money into as we already have in the savage, we may as well just keep it lol.

[Max_Florida]

Well, I drove out and took a look at the boat. What a mess. The interior was in okay shape at first glance... then I started feeling the cushions for moisture, sure enough they were damp. Mud-Dobbers had also made a home between the cushions. About an inch of water was standing on the floor of the cabin. The deck seemed fairly solid except for over the fuel tank where it bowed in about 4 inches when I put my weight on it. The transom... I knocked on it and pushed on it and it felt softish and just had that kind of wet hollow sound I would expect a rotted out piece of wood to have... Not to mention the wiring was a mess(screw-driver for an ignition). Also both leaf springs on the trailer were broken. I also noticed small cracks on the corners of the cap.


With my amateur eyes it appeared the boat needed to be completely tore down and rebuilt, so I passed. The guy seemed to be willing to go down on his price(I'm pretty sure I could have gotten it for $500... probably less even.) I guess if anyone's looking for a boat to completely rebuild I know where one is... haha.

I appreciate all of your guys help and input.

I do plan on doing the transom myself. I'm handy with tools and I've taught myself how to fix a lot of things in the past, so I figure I can manage.

Some folks on here said I could get an Evinrude/Merc for around $1k and I should be good to go. Is $2k more realistic for a solid engine?