Age of a boat a concern?

[Cheechako]

Age is definitely a factor, especially with powerboats. But frankly, all boats after 10+ years need a lot usually. So if it's 30 years old, it may be no different than 12 years old. in some boats. The old Hatteras were tanks, heavy built with pride etc. Another amazing brand is Tollycraft. You often find old Tolly's in great shape as they are worth keeping that way.
Probably the most important question is if it's been very well maintained.
Some expensive things in old powerboats :
-Engines of course
-tanks, both fuel and water, that are leaking or about to be and buried under deck.
-Stringers, core or sterns that are rotted inside.
-outdrives almost always need work. But most large powerboats dont use them. I assume we are talking larger boats here.

BTW, some older Bayliners are built hell for stout. I had an 80's 24 footer. The fiberglass layup on the dashboard alone was 3/8" thick!
Also, keep in mind if buying one, many sellers will say the engine (s) were rebuilt. Consider this a lie unless they have receipts. I was amazed at how many said this but when I pinned one down he said "well the guy I bought it from said the previous owner had it rebuilt" Hilarious. Supposedly it was rebuilt two owners ago.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Which models are you talking about and what structural issues ?

I'm not an expert, so you'll have to do your own research. Googling "Bayliner problem years" gives you a few million hits and probably a lot of useful information.

One opinion:

"-Early 80's, Bayliners were pretty tough boats. Nice hulls, big deep V's & fairly solid construction.
-Late 80's thru the late 90's, Bayliners were 100% crap. 100%. The hulls were chopper gun crap, the cushions & accessories were crap, lotta plywood from Home Depot in the hulls/decks, the super structure was rivited to the hull with no glass bond or bolts, windows leaked, hatches leaked, colors faded fast, the hull designs sucked/poor ride quality...............
-Late 90's till now, Bayliners stepped up in quality & now builds a good bay boat"

https://www.thehulltruth.com/boating...id-happen.html

Take it with a grain of salt but read up on it.


They were notorious for poor coring some time ago -- I guess '80's and '90's, and some of them were structurally weak. That's all I know. If you get seriously interested in some Bayliner, I would just carefully research the reputation of that particular year and model, and be sure to get a really good survey before actually buying one.

[boatman61]

In the UK Bayliners were notorious for crap deck fitting.. the amount of salvages because of deck cleats breaking at moorings in a bit of a blow was ridiculous.. part of the reason for the low opinion of American built boats in Europe.
Cheap tat..

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I'm not an expert, so you'll have to do your own research. Googling "Bayliner problem years" gives you a few million hits and probably a lot of useful information.

One opinion:

"-Early 80's, Bayliners were pretty tough boats. Nice hulls, big deep V's & fairly solid construction.
-Late 80's thru the late 90's, Bayliners were 100% crap. 100%. The hulls were chopper gun crap, the cushions & accessories were crap, lotta plywood from Home Depot in the hulls/decks, the super structure was rivited to the hull with no glass bond or bolts, windows leaked, hatches leaked, colors faded fast, the hull designs sucked/poor ride quality...............
-Late 90's till now, Bayliners stepped up in quality & now builds a good bay boat"

https://www.thehulltruth.com/boating...id-happen.html

Take it with a grain of salt but read up on it.


They were notorious for poor coring some time ago -- I guess '80's and '90's, and some of them were structurally weak. That's all I know. If you get seriously interested in some Bayliner, I would just carefully research the reputation of that particular year and model, and be sure to get a really good survey before actually buying one.

So you don't know, ok.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

So you don't know, ok.

Correct. The point of my post was to encourage the OP to do his own research, and to be careful.

[boatpoker]

4,586 surveys has taught me a thing or two. Small Bayliners and all of their express cruiser types are pretty poor quality boats. I don't however, see much difference between their large cruisers and any other brand.

[Cheechako]

Another thing. Rotten cores are common regardless of maker, if they are wood cored that is. Especially sterns, Sea Rays too. People attach depth sounder brackets and levelers with screws and not proper sealant. Over time water seeps into the core. Especially bad if the boat has outdrives. Makers build the hull, cut a hole in the transom to mount the outdrive and dont seal it properly. Some builders started making the outdrive hole properly at some point. Tollycraft aluminum cored the stern IIRC.

[rsn48]

I just finished purchasing a 1969 cabin cruiser after owning a 1974 Catalina 27. The Catalina was a mitigated disaster. I had is surveyed in the summer during a beautiful afternoon, it passed. What the survey did not spot was the problems once our bountiful Pacific North West (really coastal BC) rains began. I won't go into the problems, but I spent thousands trying to fix it with three bilge pumps added, new scuppers installed, and yet I liked to call it - The leaky Cauldron.

I did experience one positive however, which of course I totally ignored in my most recent boat purchase less than one week ago. If going used, try to purchase a brand that is popular. With my 1974 Catalina 27, I could go into a Catalina forum and say I had "such and such" a problem and a folks would have experienced the same thing and provide a decent fix.

First I'll say I agree with those who said the condition of the boat is upmost, if the bones are good, then proceed onto the following.

First look at your budget, lets say $10,000 "cash." And let's talk about that 24 C&C, it meets the first criteria, lots of them out there, lots of help in the C&C forums, which I'm sure exist.

Next, before you buy, skip the survey but ask around for the name of some old guy who has owned lots of sailboats, preferably 75 years old or older and have owned at least 10 boats, preferably more. Contact him and ask if he'd mind taking a look at your hull, keel, and rigging. Of the three, the rigging isn't as important, some of it, all of it, can be replaced as long as the mast is sound and the area where it enters the boat is good shape. If all goes well, move on to the next step.

If memory serves me, and it may not, I think the asking was $1300, offer $1000, hold your breath, wait a few weeks and my guess is the guy will bite. Now you have $9,000 left over and probably paid no tax.

Next, sell the engine and purchase a used Merc 9.9. Even Jesus as a teen learned with a Merc engine, they have been reliable and well built, parts abound, knowledge abounds, known problems and solutions abound. If you end up in some obscure port because of engine problems, the repair guy will know Merc engines. Yes there are other excellent brands out there, the guys here will extol their virtues and they are right - get a Merc.

I have looked up one local engine for sale to illustrate, this link will disappear quickly. I would have no hesitations of getting this motor, it looks clean and if it runs well can be brought up to snuff. I would purchase this engine, even though it appears to run great, and tell the repair guy to look it over, replace plugs, filters, etc. And look for known problems (you can find these on the net) and fix them, even if they aren't broke. Same philosophy, buy something sound, fix it and you'll have good gear.

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-powerboat-mo...ationFlag=true

Next, make sure the rigging is sound, find a local chandlery who will send a guy out to look at your rigging. Where I lived in North Vancouver, close buy was a shop that only dealt with rigging and the such. Get it fixed.

Sails, look for used sails and if one looks good, purchase it.

Spend another bit of money on used electronic stuff, roughly 5 years old, it will be out there, good stuff replaced because the guy had to have the latest and greatest. What you get will be fine.

Work the outside hull with pastes etc to remove oxidized chalking so your hull will sparkle again, ditto the top.

With the cushions look for your best deal. With my Catalina, I phoned the HQ for the boat in California and they were willing to make and ship to me new cushions for only $450 - a bargain. To save me on shipping, they will willing to put them in new boats shipped up to Vancouver BC.

What I have said goes for any price point. If you've got $30,000 cash or credit line, purchase a used boat in the $8,000 to $10,000 range and the rest on refurbishing, replacement, modernizing.

So I'll find an boat for $10,00 locally (the link will disappear quickly) that I would consider buying and dropping another $20,000 into.

This 27 Catalina looks pretty clean (of course, I don't know the shape the hull and keel are in) but this looks like a boat with good bones, so sinking money into it would appeal to me. The major cost for me would be moving this boat from its location to Vancouver BC.

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-sailboat/pen...ationFlag=true