Need advice!!! New to boats

[dusper4]

Hello, everyone!! Well I'll start by saying I have never owned a boat before. But I am very mechanically inclined and have experience with fiberglass and woodworking. I'm not afraid of a project and sometimes stupidly so,lol. But anyway...

I have found my self a 1978 16 ft VIP bowrider I think. It has a outboard Mercury 115. Ive been told it will run but hasn't been run in a few years. The interior is completely junk, all the wood panels and vinyl need redone. No, big deal imo. The floor seems solid, all window glass is intact, the hull is faded and dirty but no noticeable cracks. And the trailer is in good shape.

It also seems to have a very shiny new looking aluminum gas tank. Is this standard? And I was digging around looking for a hole for a bilge or something but came up empty. Does it have anything like this? It is super cheap at only 300 obo. The guy said its so cheap cuz his parents gave it to him and he hoped one day to work on it but life happens and he is now tired of storing it.

Well I'm lookin for advice if I should make the purchase and fix it up for myself or if it has some crappy frame structure that I cant see that will cause nothin but probs. I've been pokin around and it seems if the people that don't own a VIP think they say they are junk. Any insight on this? I know its a hell of a first boat but I'd be up to it if its a decent boat.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Need advice!!! New to boats

For $300 w/ a trashed interior, it's sort of a roll of the dice.

Unless you see & hear the motor running, DO NOT take the seller's word for it that it 'runs', that it 'ran the last time it was used' or 'it ran when parked'. It's a large ugly boat anchor if it isn't in running condition. And worth what it'll bring as scrap metal, $20 +/- (which is @ $7/100lbs here). Any claim that the motor will part out for more then the $300 asking is also a stretch. It's might, but could take quite a while & requires a fair amount of work to tear down, clean up & manage the sale of parts.

Read thru some resto threads. A solid 'seeming' deck (floor) isn't always as solid as it seems.

There are boats that weren't built perfect but are substantially in near mint condition because of the diligent maintenance of the past owners.

There are boats that were extremely well built, w/ exceptional attention to detail, but because of a lack of maintenance are utterly & completely thrashed.

Don't make the mistake of looking for a specific brand that has a great reputation. Those are equally susceptible to the ravages of neglect & carelessness. Particularly any boat left uncovered & exposed to the elements.

Where is the 'new & shiny' aluminum tank? Above decks or below deck?

Welcome to iboats, and pending boat purchase, the iboats dry dock.

 

[matt167]

Re: Need advice!!! New to boats

VIP's from the 70's-80's were/ are garbage, just like the bayliner of the day.. You can make a nice boat out of ANY boat with time and money. Bayliner, VIP ( Vivian Industrial Plastics ), Maxum and of course the better brands like Glastron and Cobalt which could still be in bad shape due to being quite old.. If you get the boat at $300, your in a win-win situation because you can make money from the outboard and trailer should the boat not be worth it.

 

[Watermann]

Re: Need advice!!! New to boats

The price is right if you know what your getting into and this is the style of boat you want. I would automatically believe that a full rebuild will be in order before the boat is seaworthy. Field boats such as this one are very rarely good deals if your not into tough restoration projects. Just be sure this is the style of boat you want. As for the motor, it will surely need work and replacement parts even of it does run right now.

 

[dusper4]

Re: Need advice!!! New to boats

What exactly do you mean when you say "full rebuild"? The floor in it is all fiberglass so there is no wood to replace besides the seats and such. Is there something i'm missing here? just curious why they are garbage? Is the hull gonna separate in the water or something?

And the tank is shielded away underneath an area by the motor.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Need advice!!! New to boats

What exactly do you mean when you say "full rebuild"? The floor in it is all fiberglass so there is no wood to replace besides the seats and such. Is there something i'm missing here? just curious why they are garbage? Is the hull gonna separate in the water or something?

And the tank is shielded away underneath an area by the motor.

Full rebuild........ Stringers, decking, interior, paint, fiberglass, seat material, carpet or vinyl, and LABOR oh plus expendables.....sandpaper and personal protection items. TIME lot's of time...... if you do not have an indoor shop then you must work only in the nice weather.....did someone mention disposal of old rotted materials? Does it run? Older mercury motors take special attention.

So if you have the time and MONEY go for it. I would really check the motor over real good. It's a deep pocket project

 

[matt167]

Re: Need advice!!! New to boats

The floor most likely has wooden stringers and a wood deck. Many boats used gelcoat on the deck to make a nice finish and it also gives that all fiberglass appearance.. It's not going to fall apart due to the way it was built. Mostly, boats of that quality were built with chopper guns, very quickly. Corners cut and not all fiberglass done right when it came to sealing wood. Everything can be fixed, so it's not an issue if you go into it understanding that.

 

[dusper4]

Re: Need advice!!! New to boats

What kind of special attention do the mercury motors need?

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Need advice!!! New to boats

Yup, probably lots of wood with a coating of fiberglass.

The mercury looks fairly old . . . I wonder if it is original to the boat? Outboard parts can be pricey, particularly for older stuff. I just paid $45 for a fuel line connector to my 1969 mercury . . . and then another $50 for the fuel line

Anyway, if you are looking to learn about boats from a restoration, repair, and maintenance standpoint, this may be a good project. But treat it as such. . . a project.

Also, be cognizant of the boat titling requirements and regulations in your state. Older boats such as this may not have a good history of ownership. So, when you go to register it, you may hit a brick wall (and say ouch !!!) If the current owner has registration (and even title) in hand that could be a beautiful thing.

 

[dusper4]

Re: Need advice!!! New to boats

Please pardon my know nothingness, but what is a stringer? And I did read somewhere that these boats were full fiberglass. and I dont think the floor is gel coated, you can see the fiber strands. Also I assume stringers are under the deck but the corners where deck meet the sides seem to be molded, like its all one piece?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Need advice!!! New to boats

Sorry but your floor is not all fiberglass! It is a wood core covered in fiberglass. You should check for soft spots. It does not run unless you hear it run. Even then that does not mean it will not have hundreds of dollars of problems. A boat of this vintage will more than likely require a minimum of $2,000 to repair and could go as high as $5,000. Just trying to make you aware.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Need advice!!! New to boats

The Merc is probably a 1978 too. So it's 35yrs old. Vintage motors often require vintage parts, NOS (new old stock) only and often NLA (no longer available).

Do not be surprised to learn parts for 1977-79 Merc 115's (probably more accurately an 1150) aren't on the shelf at Napa. Some (many, actually) vintage Johnson & Evinrude parts are readily available at Napa stores.

Look thru the 1977-79 Merc 1150 parts listed here

And I think this is a 1978 Merc 1150 parts list

Iboats may carry 1978 Merc parts too but is organized differently

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Need advice!!! New to boats

Here is a good look at a boat's stringer 'system'. . . it is basically the skeleton of the boat and provides the structural strength needed. The hull itself would fold up like a kiddy pool without it.

 

[chconger]

Re: Need advice!!! New to boats

More specifically. Things running from front to back are stringers;

Things running from side to side are bulkheads.

Your boat has a decent chance of needing this stuff ripped out and replaced.

 

[dusper4]

Re: Need advice!!! New to boats

Thanks for all the help guys, I have decide against this one. Not because of the work alone but besides the work he isnt even sure he has the title, it was a gift from his parents so that would be a pain for sure.