1969 sunliner 46ft houseboat

[oddball]

Greetings gentlmen I am very new to boating so plz bear with my questions.<br /><br />I am looking into buying an 1969 sunliner 46ft houseboat on the ohio river, I just looked at it today and have some questions<br />I looked at the engines and was told they are not running, but what concerned me more was the rust in the engine bay.<br />The boat has just been painted but i can see all kinds of pits under the paint.<br />When i walked thru the boat the floors were uneven.<br />what do I need to look for when buying a steel hull boat, what are the main items that need tobe checked before buying.<br />he is asking $10.000 <br />thanx for any help u can give

 

[flashback]

Re: 1969 sunliner 46ft houseboat

I am very limited in knowledge of steel hulled boats. but i can tell you one thing to watch out for. where I dock my boat, we have a do it your self work yard so folks can repair their boats. I have seen older steel hull house boats in the yard being worked on and have seen many of them with the hull plates rusted so badly that you could poke a screwdriver right through the hull. what even scared me more was the owner repairing the rusted out areas with bondo.. I would think the proper way would be to remove all rusted metal and re-weld new plates in... anyhow, if i were buying any boat that old and that big, I would get a survey on it...good luck

 

[oddball]

Re: 1969 sunliner 46ft houseboat

thnx for your input, I did find an article about steel hull boats today and the main concern was rusting from the inside out .

 

[magster65]

Re: 1969 sunliner 46ft houseboat

True, however, steel is durable, inexpensive and easily repaired. Like Flashback says, make sure you get a survey on it.