2018 Crestliner 1650 refurbishment

[Steffen2]

Good morning All,

im new to this forum but have heard that it is great to get advise and tips... I’ve got the opportunity buy a Crestliner 1650 Discovery hull that originally was a warranty return. At $600 for the full hull I don’t think I can do much wrong but wanted to get advise from people that are more experienced. (I’ve done hull repairs and renovations on old still tin boats but never on a more advanced boat)

i checked out the hull yesterday and didn’t see any cracks or structural damage to the hull and now I, trying to figure out where else the dame could be. Keel looks great and there are just some small scratches. Next step is to fill it up with water and test for leaks. Are there any areas I should be particularly concerned about?

the dashboard is still in but The boat has otherwise been stripped. I would need to buy replacement gauges, A new bilge pump, seats, etc... are there any major items that I should be aware of? Does anybody have experience with a crestliner discovery and could send me pictures of the wiring, etc..? It’s impossible to get a schematic or wiring diagram for the boat.

given that it was a warranty return, the HIN was transferred to the replacement hull. Is this a big issue or would it be easy to get a new HIN /the boat licensed?

im sure I will have a ton more questions but right now just hoping for some general advise and watch outs.

thanks!
steffen

 

[Steffen2]

Apologize for the horrible spelling and grammar ... I wrote this half asleep

 

[Doh]

There is something that is wrong with this Hull. A weird Hook on the back edge or something. Has a Motor been Mounted before?

This happened a couple of years back at the Dealership I bought my Hewescraft from. They had a 1950 Fish Hawk, that they could not get to run right on the water. They wound up replacing it with a 1 year newer 1950 FH and all was good (that I am aware of).

But for $600, if you can stand tinkering with Weight distribution, maybe peeling the floor of and Manually tuning the Hook, you would have a Decent Boat. Gauges, Wind Screen, Pumps, Switches, Seats, any Tanks removed, you would be on the water for $2500-3000 (plus motor).

When I bought my 1750 Fish Hawk in 1998, I suspected something was a stray, it was never Rigged though, and the Hull # was still there. Even got some warranty later on, so it wasn't, it just came from a Bankrupt Dealer.

That boat always drove funny, it was designed for a front Trolling Motor and Batteries, which I never used, so it was always Stern Heavy. A High Cupped SS Prop, finally lifted the Stern enough for the way I used it.

 

[Steffen2]

Thanks for your reply! Yes it had a motor on it so not completely new. I almost wish it would have a crack somewhere so that I would know what I’m getting myself into. This being said, I’ve got time On my hands to work on it and could do most of the work myself. ( unless it needs welding) I’ve got a 40hp mercury in the garage so would really be kn the water for under 3k which you can’t complain about. I’ve been trying to find a crestliner repair manual or parts catalog online but without much success. I would probably need to get all the parts through a dealer. (Which is ok)

I just wish they would have a schematic or the boat that points out the major components. Mind you I’ve not picked it up yet so haven’t had the chance to do a deep dive on it.

 

[emoney]

Before I did anything, to include buying it, I would want to have the title issue settled. Reach out to your local DMV and ask them what your steps would be. Seen tons of people spends lots of money only to find out, they could never get a title in the end. Is this coming from a Dealer? If so, I would imagine they could answer that question.

 

[Steffen2]

I am based out of Canada but did some research on it and it looks like it shouldn’t be too hard to get it licensed. This being said, I also sent them an email just now and am waiting to hear back.

 

[Steffen2]

I am based out of Canada but did some research on it and it looks like it shouldn’t be too hard to get it licensed. This being said, I also sent them an email just now and am waiting to hear back.

 

[JimS123]

Years ago I had 2 boating friends that had similar experiences. In both cases the hulls were stripped and the parts were installed on a new hull. Then the defective hulls were destroyed.

I can't help but wonder if the party that was supposed to do the destroying didn't follow the procedure and just wanted to make a fast buck. I would think Crestliner is a reputable company and wouldn't want a bad boat to tarnish their reputation, even if the manufacturer's ID was removed.

What happens if the boat is fitted to run again and it is found to have dangerous squirrely performance?

 

[Steffen2]

That’s exactly what it is Jim. They were somehow able to buy a lot of 15 warranty hulls and then sold them. That’s my main concern and why I would have been much happier to see a big crack so that I know what I’m getting myself into. The fact that he hull appears to be intact worries me more than any damage....

 

[Texasmark]

I have a 2002 Fish Hawk 1750, bought used last year with a 115 Mercury (max rating for this hull)....way more than ample power. The hull is warranted for 20 years. Easy to see how, considering "the general public" as purchaser and operating conditions from A to Z that there could be some returns. The hull may act a little squirrely as it is a 12* dead rise at the stern, adequate keel protrusion, with reverse chines (bottom to side interface) making for a soft and stable, dry ride and a fast, easy planing hull that digs in and holds in turns. At just on plane speeds, only half of hull is in the water. At speeds above 35, spray exits at the transom corners....not much boat in the water...low drag very dry ride, even in a cross wind.

On how it became available and the problem, some interesting answers here, very plausible. The hook can be visually inspected if it has one. Get some equipment or some friends, get it out in the back yard on the grass and flip it over. Run a straight edge of some sort down the hull. While you are at it, run down the keel and "chine", both tongue and groove sheet alum to extruded aluminum welds, and look for cracks or other problems.

Flip it back over and check the welds at both ends of the transom braces and the transom to hull interface welds.....the transom on my boat is overly supported for the HP rating if you ask me. Shouldn't have a problem with that. Check the bow anchor bolt and welds in the area for cracks due possibly to undue force applied during loading on the trailer. Check the rib welds for cracks.

On your filling with water, sitting on the grass would surely support the hull but detecting any leaks would be a question to be answered....supporting the hull while having the hull exposed to detect any water would be the problem. Setting it on a concrete slab would present the question of proper hull support and how that wouldn't interfere with finding a leak if one.

On the title thing, I'd do that first. No title, in Texas, no registering. No registering, no registration numbers on the side of the hull along with the annual boat registration (tax tag here in Tx.) and any water cops see it's missing and you have a mechanical powering device attached and it's an automatic ticket or worse...........I may have missed something herein. My usual 3 AM get up and pee trip, getting myself sleepy, and then back to bed.

 

[Steffen2]

I will have a Bill or sale for the boat which would then allow me to get it licensed. So this shouldn’t be an issue. My thinking was to put it on the trailer and then take out the deck to have a look at the welds, etc.. I would then fill it with water to see if it’s leaking. Do you think the water would be too much for the hull and / or trailer?

if it has a hook, I would be looking to manipulate it from the inside to see if that fixes it, alternatively I could probably use epoxy or weld on a piece of aluminum to straighten it out? I’m ok with the boat not running 100% like a net new one but want to make sure that I’m not putting myself in a position where I’m driving a boat that’s completely unsafe. I’m using it on a smaller lake in calm conditions. (The worst it would see would be 1’ chop)

 

[JimS123]

Filling it with water could do some serious damage to the trailer.

I've seen people fair out a fiberglass hull, but never an aluminum one. I'm sure someone can offer suggestions. Now, if its a rocker then that's another story.

I once had a wooden boat with a hook. I didn't know about it until I repowered with a much bigger motor. The boat ran "OK", but I just couldn't go as fast as I wanted, thus I wasted all that extra HP.

 

[Steffen2]

Haha that’s not an issue for me. I’m only planning to put a 40hp on it so it would certainly be at the bottom end in regards to speed. in regards to checking it for damage, I’m trying to figure out the best way to do this. I could put it in the water but without knowing the exact hull damage I’m hesitant to do that. I would have a boat lift which would be ideal for this but I would need to find a way to get the boat from the launch to our boathouse.

 

[Texasmark]

The reason I didn't suggest the trailer thing was answered by Jim. I wouldn't do it. Course at 7#/gallon 50 or so gallons shouldn't hurt anything and you could move the trailer about so as to tilt the boat so that it would move from place to place in the hull. That way you could see the leak if it occurred.

On the hook, usually caused by sitting on poorly supporting trailer bunks for long periods of time and full of rain water to boot. Agree that with 40 hp, you aren't really going to notice much unless it looks like a banana.

 

[Steffen2]

This is great advise!! Will pick it up tomorrow and have a deeper dive. I’m sure there will be more questions once I get into it

 

[Steffen2]

Ok... took the deck off, checked for a hook, Checked all welds, and nada. The only thing that I came across is in the attached picture. It looks like a hairline crack about 2” above the deck on the port side. Approximately 10” long... but I can’t see it on the outside. My next move would be to get the bulge pump going and put it in the water to see if I can see if there is a leak. Does this look like a crack to you guys?

 

[JimS123]

Cracks in fiberglass are easy to see and are easier to tell if they are cosmetic or structural. Aluminum is harder to tell. Looks more like a scratch to me, but then again the pic isn't too clear.

 

[Texasmark]

That's a scratch. There's a lighter/smaller one just above it. You look closely and you can see pigment in the scratch just like is seen outside. Besides, Aluminum has to have a "mechanism" to crack/split. I don't see any mechanism in the picture. Show me a deformation of the material and then we can talk about a crack....after the aluminum has passed the yield point and 5052 T6 used in a lot of aluminum boats will take a lot of abuse before it yields.

I have a Crestliner 1750 Fish Hawk. Previous Owner ran over a stump, about a foot in front of the transom at a good clip. Made a dent in the hull and as it went along it came to a rib. Looking from under the boat, the outline of the rib is clearly visible, protruding, since it didn't deform as did the sheet material, as is the deformation on both sides of it; dents probably ¼" or so. The material didn't pass it's yield strength and stayed intact. No leak, no shearing, no crack. Had a Starcraft Holiday I/O and the same thing happened but between the last rib and transom. This dent was half an inch deep and right at the riveted transom area. Deformed, but didn't yield; no leak, no shearing, no crack.