Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

[Sloopy25]

I am buying this boat from someone off of craigslist. As I look at the boat I don't see a prop! Is this normal for this type of boat? I am new at boating and am seeking advice from people more experienced.

It's supposed to be a 1973 MFG Gypsy.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

Looks like it WAS an OMC Stringer drive. OMC has been out of business for years and those are not supported with parts. DO NOT buy this boat. I wouldn't even take it for free. Seriously.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

and when you continue your search: most boats are sold with props but not necessarily. Lots of people buy a motor with an aluminum, switch to stainless and keep the alum as a spare, and might put it back on when they sell it. Or the prop may have been stolen.

Anyway, you will need to match the right prop with your motor and boat if you buy one without, both by brand as well as size (diameter) and pitch (angle of blades); they are not standard once you get above 25 hp. The missing prop is a problem for your "sea trial" of the boat; see if the seller will at least let you use the prop he is keeping for the test. See what he used--but beware he might not know or might have had the wrong prop.

Knowing what prop was used can also help you (or your mechanic who you hire to advise you hint hint) determine if the motor was possibly damaged by the wrong size prop--even a careful boater can kill a motor and not know it. We had an underpropped motor at our hunt club that was worn out like a commercial motor after 2 years.

If you bought a 1970's vintage boat and motor you should plan to have to repower it anyway, and budget accordingly, unless it was exceptionally maintained. On old boats, the purchase price is really just a down payment toward the real cost.

 

[Tig]

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

Trailer and trolling motor bracket look decent for that price, if that is what one was looking for. IMO the boat looks like a liability/money pit. It's day is done.

 

[paulspaddle]

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

Some sound advice there. Of course...its from ezmobee....look how many posts he's written....that equates to someone who has seen a lot boats and listened to a lot of stories. (qualifying the advice)

Welcome to iboats. A free membership and it saves you $250 right off the hop.

I would recommend using your 'search' tab and doing some reading. Put in phrases like, "First boat", "should I buy it?", "is this a good deal?", "what do you think?".

You will find that your query is common. First time boater looking for an inexpensive 'in'. More often than not after some more investigating and educating themselves on boats, they realize that initial $250 is a drop in the bucket compared to the repairs needed before getting out on the water.

Lots of great advise here....hang out awhile....and happy reading.

 

[Sloopy25]

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

Thanks everyone for the responses! I really appreciate your advice. It looks like its unanimous....ripoff!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

Thanks everyone for the responses! I really appreciate your advice. It looks like its unanimous....ripoff!

And you do know it's not just missing the prop....it's missing the whole outdrive!
You made a great choice in checking this site prior to making a boat purchase. This place is a wealth of information.

Here's some general advice for purchasing an older boat. For inboard/outboards stick with Mercruiser or Volvo. The one exception there being the Mercruiser 470. It's a 3.7L 4 cyl and has some design flaws and parts support issues. For outboards pretty much all brands are fine except for Chrysler and Force motors as they are discontinued and not fully supported with parts.

Apart from the powerplant, your biggest concern on an old fiberglass boat is rot in the wooden components of the hull. The transom (rear of the boat, supports the motor weight and thrust), stringers (floor joists basically), and deck (floor). You want a solid transom and deck. ANY soft spots is usually indicative of more serious rot below. This is fixable but it's a major project and will most likely kill any good deal you may have gotten on the boat.

My advice to someone looking to get on the water inexpensively with the smallest chance of financial disaster is to look for an outboard-powered aluminum hull. Aluminum hulls have metal stringers and are more simply constructed so even if the deck or transom are rotted, it's not a major ordeal to repair. Good luck with your search.

 

[Yepblaze]

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

I am buying this boat from someone off of craigslist. As I look at the boat I don't see a prop! Is this normal for this type of boat? I am new at boating and am seeking advice from people more experienced.

It's supposed to be a 1973 MFG Gypsy.

It's only $250
if you piece it out you can probably still double your money.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

DON'T, you will never make enough to pay yourself, even if you part it out.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

Agree.....that boat is not worth the gas it would cost you to tow it home.
Someone sold the missing outdrive or it was junk...
Would cost a ton if you did find a used drive on Ebay...

 

[JoLin]

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

One only gets ripped off if one receives less in merchandise than he paid for.

This isn't a rip-off by any means. You need to understand what a $250. boat is. This looks like one.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

One only gets ripped off if one receives less in merchandise than he paid for.

This isn't a rip-off by any means. You need to understand what a $250. boat is. This looks like one.

True! I just hope the original poster realizes it would take a ton of money for that thing to ever hit the water...
The seller probably is not trying to rip off anyone but hopes an uneducated buyer takes the bait.

 

[cwhite6]

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

If the trailer has a title, he could sell that here easily for $250 if the trailer was in any sort of decent condition. A decent trailer here with a title is worth that. You could junk the boat and use the trailer for another one.

 

[rbh]

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

If the trailer has a title, he could sell that here easily for $250 if the trailer was in any sort of decent condition. A decent trailer here with a title is worth that. You could junk the boat and use the trailer for another one.

After the trailers sold and boats been stripped down, how much time and money to get rid of the hull?????
I would rather be boating

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

The last fiberglass hull i hauled to the dump cost about 30 bucks to get rid of and it was a 14 footer. You have to strip all metal off before you go too...
Not worth all the work in my opinion.
It was cool to watch them run over it with the big front end loader....

 

[blairjbyrd]

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

i would run! You will pay alot for an outdrive that is if you could even find one. The guy probably bought he boat for the outdrive. I have done that before

Just keep looking there are alot of boats out there

 

[bob johnson]

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

I will second the fact that you would NOT be getting ripped off...

you will learn in boats $250 and $0 are almost the same thing!!!

but i would also agree , that someone that want to buy a fixer upper, would do much better , passing on this boat..

you can see the tire is sunk to the axel!!!!

this is a tremendous headache and will eat your summer....

if you had a similar boat that you could use parts off this boat and its motor, then it could be a good deal.

there are sooooo many boats out there that are a better foundation for a decent running boat than this one...

it even looks like a tri hull...

from all that i have heard not the best boat to choose.....

I see plenty of decent boats, that are 20-30 years old that have nice hull designs, on better trailers with semi working outboards, going for close to the same price..lets call it $600 and under!!!

good luck


bob

 

[cwhite6]

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

After the trailers sold and boats been stripped down, how much time and money to get rid of the hull?????
I would rather be boating

My point was not to sell the trailer. It was if someone needed a trailer. I could easily dispose of the boat here to a friend with a pond for use in the pond. Then, use the trailer for another boat. A good titled jon boat trailer around here will run you around $300 for used if you can find one and $600 for new. That is the only reason I would acquire something like this. To try to flip the trailer and only make $50 or so after dumping the boat, not worth it.

 

[bob johnson]

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

My point was not to sell the trailer. It was if someone needed a trailer. I could easily dispose of the boat here to a friend with a pond for use in the pond. Then, use the trailer for another boat. A good titled jon boat trailer around here will run you around $300 for used if you can find one and $600 for new. That is the only reason I would acquire something like this. To try to flip the trailer and only make $50 or so after dumping the boat, not worth it.

well after you put $150 in new tires on your purchase, you would make Zero, and still have to get rid of the boat...WHO is gonna want an unmotored tri hull sitting in their pond????

maybe for a permanent duck blind...!!!

bob

 

[cwhite6]

Re: Am I getting Ripped off? Advice Sought

well after you put $150 in new tires on your purchase, you would make Zero, and still have to get rid of the boat...WHO is gonna want an unmotored tri hull sitting in their pond????

maybe for a permanent duck blind...!!!

bob

You joke about the duck blind, but I have seen much worse out here in the swamps used for blinds.