need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

[sjohnson44]

I have been trolling the forums for the past several hours and this will be my first post with an inquiry about a boat I am planning on purchasing. Its definitely a fixer-upper, but comes with original trailer which is in very good condition and the exterior looks pretty decent, some light fading and such which I plan on repairing. The man said it has two new batteries and it has a rebuilt 3.0 4cyl Mercruiser with Alpha1 L Drive. The interior however is in need of a major overhaul. Pretty much every piece will need to be recovered. When I asked if the floors were soft he said it didnt have any and the floors were solid but all questions will be answered this friday when I go get it.

I was hoping some of the good people of iboat could guide me to a fair price that I should pay for the boat. I will have all winter to work on her and I want to restore as close to OEM as possible with maybe some changes for the better along the way. I have been running through my head of different interior schemes to use and would just like to make her look nice while having some fun! Im glad to be here and I hope to start posting some project pictures soon before winter.
Heres some pics of her

 

[John_S]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

Welcome to iBoats.

Given the condition of seats, etc, it looks like it has been exposed to the elements for some time. I'd spend allot of time checking floor/stringers for rot and foam for waterlogging. If you find either, I'd walk. At that point, even if the boat is "free" the amount of work ahead of you is not. A 3.0L in 21' boat is an underpowered boat. After all the work, I doubt you will be happy with performance.

 

[Cincyrunner]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

I wouldn't give a dollar for this piece of garbage. You said it has a rebuilt motor? When was it rebuilt? In 1991? I agree with John_S, seems way underpowered for a 21' boat. New batteries? Yeah, right! Keep looking in Craigslist for something else worth fixing up.

 

[sjohnson44]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

Thanks for yalls input, I am not too familiar with inboard motors and their power but I hope to learn as much I can here. I really hate that I don't know of anyone personally that can help with a purchase of a boat. This seemed to be a good deal and being in my price range for a fixer upper and my first boat, I figured this was as close as I was going to get. People in my area just don't care for their boats really, all the ones I have passed on were in as good or little better condition as this one. My budget is $2000 for a boat and the work will be done over the winter, and considering the market at this point in the season and with the recent shutdown of a huge factory in my town, people seem to be wanting to get all they can out of their stuff. Not to mention I was going to drive 10 hours round trip to go get the boat, or should I have kept that to myself? lol

 

[John_S]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

Not sure where you are at, but the boating season is coming to an end for many of us. Some deals should show up. Be patient, a better deal will probably be found. Replacing vynel and foam seats is one thing, but dealing with rotted floors/stringers is another whole level. Read about some of the projects in the 'rebuilding" forum.

 

[sjohnson44]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

Yes, the water is still slightly warm here in Tennessee but is cooler compared to summer pool. We will have nice weather all the way into october mid september. I wouldnt plan on boating that long into the season, but you could still enjoy yourself. The rotted floors/stringers is not something I'm prepared to deal with. I will keep looking and eventually something will come up. Hardest thing for me is committing, I will find a boat and find something wrong with it and pass on it thinking if I bought it, something better would come my way the next day.
I will read through the resto forum some more and try to learn a thing or two.

 

[HCMQA]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

A 21' boat with a 3.0 is a lot of boat and little power. The 3.0 is a 4 cylinder.

I too had a small budget and it was hard finding a boat that fit.

What I did was look for a boat with at least a v-6 (Which I think is best over all for power and fuel economy in the 18-21' size range) And that it was usable as is. I figured if I could get 2-3 seasons out of it with mainly just maintenance I would be a head of the game because all of the lakes I go to around here rent boats and in 2-3 seasons I would have more than paid for my boat.

Does my boat need a floor? Yes. But it isn't really that bad and I have almost two seasons done without doing the project yet. (This winter I will tackle it)
Did I get a cobra drive? Yes. But I have records for it and it is/was well cared for and works fantastic.

I found a boat with a 4.3 v6 which is pretty common. It is great runs smooth and is quiet and gets good fuel economy while dragging a ton of kids around on various pull toys.

I also got a killer roller trailer in brand new condition even though it came with my 87' when it was originally bought.

All of the above for less than $3k

My wife and I did the Craigs list thing as well as all the local papers and want ads etc. We ended up finding this one by driving to a soccer game and we saw it in a driveway for sale!


My point is keep looking you will find something that fits.

And by all means come on here and ask as many questions as you want and someone will help.

 

[hostage]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

Run, don't walk!

As others said, when I saw 21 w/ a 3L, I was suprised. I bet the guy didn't winterize his boat and replaced the power plant with the cheapest thing he could find. I am very doubtful that a 21 came stock with a 3L. I have a 19ft Maxum (Y2K) w/ a 4.3L a 21 should come with a 5L at least. From what I can see this guy didn't take care of his boat what so ever!

TBH if your budget is $2k and you can't afford anything more, then I would reconsider the hobby. Boats aren't cheap and chances if you do get a cheap one, you are buying someone else's headache. When I first started looking, I was thinking, wow I can buy a boat for $2k on craigslist. Then as I always do, I started to do some research, which is smart and you are doing the right thing BTW. I then started to look at ~$4k boats and saw I can get a lot more for only $2k more then turn around and sell if it needed. Then I bought a boat for $7.5k. It was in great condition and over the past year and a half, I have put some money into it. Most of which was not critical, but I have certain standards. I had the seats reseemed, changed ALL of the bellows, installed a bimini, new depth finder, etc. So pay a little more and get much more of a boat. I honestly think I can now sell that boat for about $10k. It works great and some people would pay more for less headaches.

 

[tschmidty]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

Yeah, I have a very similar boat that was in roughly the same shape. It's in a lot better shape now, but if I were you, I'd keep looking. You will find some decent deals coming up over the next month or two as people decide they don't want to store it for the winter.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

To get on the water cheaply with the least chance of financial ruin, I recommend an aluminum boat with an outboard motor.

Older cheap fiberglass boat usually rotted in the deck/stringers/transom. These things are fixable but it's a lot of work and the materials are expensive. Older cheap I/O's usually are a behind on maintenance and unless you plan to do the work yourself, that maintenance can be expensive.

It is certainly possible to boat on the cheap, you just gotta pick the right boat. The only thing that could make that Maxum worse would be if had an obsolete (OMC) powerplant.

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

also add into the mix a single axle trailer on a 21 footer seems like its pushing it. How much does the seller want (just curious)

 

[sjohnson44]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

He was asking $1750. I had found a 91 bayliner capri and just called about it, and it just now sold. Was in a lot better shape too, and it had a tandem axle trailer and a v6 in my budget range. Another thing that kills me is me working 3rd shift and having to sleep all day. Ive always seemed to be on the tail end of all the good deals. lol

 

[Thadeous85]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

I agree with the previous advice a 3.0 in that boat is way under powered. I have a 1995 maxum bow rider with a 4.3 Merc that I picked up a few months ago for $2100 that was in mint shape but had a cracked block. I replaced the block for about $1700 and she is an awesome machine. Keep looking on craigslist and something will come up. Restorations always cost way more to do than you think and normally you would be best off getting something that need minimal work. You can get deals if you look long enough especially this time of year...

 

[seaboo]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

"Restorations always cost way more to do than you think and normally you would be best off getting something that need minimal work. You can get deals if you look long enough especially this time of year.."

+1 And restorations almost always take more time than thought too. As stated earlier, the season's almost over, you are looking for next season, so don't be in a rush, there is no need to jump (even on a small budget) at one that is rough.

 

[sprobst]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

Just be really careful. There's a lot more to a boat than meets the eye. I've learned a lot from these forums. The seats of this boat are a tell tale sign that this boat wasn't taken care of. If the interior wasn't taken care of, chances are the rest of the boat wasn't either. An old boat can quickly become the mother of all money pits (thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of time....even if you do all the work). Keep looking and be careful. There's a lot of junk out there. Keep posting here for advice.

 

[mpdive]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

Have to agree with everyone here on this one. You will be underpowered. Even with a rebuilt engine I would wonder how long it's been inactive. Dry rot issues would concern me. Keep your eyes open and stay vigilant on craigslist. There are a ton of boats out there.

 

[mrchev]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

had a 21 foot cuddy with a volvo 4cylinder. way under power. bought a 24 foot with a 4.3lx merc, does just fine and good on gas.

 

[southkogs]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

Hey sjohnson! Welcome to iBoats. I'm in TN as well, and can guarantee you that for $2K you can do better than that one. It's been sun beaten, and looks like it's been sitting outside a barn somewhere collecting all manner of dust and debris. I'd personally be iffy with that as a free boat, but wouldn't pay for it at all.

Someone above mentioned that the season is coming to an end, and their right - in the next few months we'll see some deals start to show up. Keep watch on Craigslist (Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Atlanta) and keep an eye on these guys: http://www.laniermarine.com/ I've bought some parts from them (never a boat), and they seem to have some good deals from time to time.

If you can bump your budget up to $3K, you'd be amazed at how much boat you can get for that. But $2K will get you better than what was pictured up above.

Where are you located in TN?

 

[produceguy]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

Yup, I agree with everyone else. Pass on that one.

 

[sjohnson44]

Re: need advice, first boat purchase '90 Maxum 21'

Wow I appreciate the response I got here. Thanks guys, Im still on the prowl on craigslist and other sites. I live in West TN, about 60 miles from Paris, TN (Kentucky Lake). It would make things a lot easier if I knew where to draw the line at. Im getting better as I shop and research but hopefully some more will come.

If my only concern was a rotten floor and wet foam, would it be wise to buy a boat that someone was in the process already of restoring and replaced that stuff, but doesnt have time for it anymore? I see a lot of those, even a nice 97 model boat but I think it was a cuddy cabin.