Should I buy it?

[jee70611]

Hi everyone, I've been looking for a boat for a while and found one I'm kinda interested in. I'm kinda leary of it because of its age. It is a 21-22ft Delta boat and it has a 188hp 302 Ford Mercruiser 888 in it. He says he thinks it is a 1971-1973 model. It has all the power and room that I need and seems to run great. He's asking $2500 for it and it has been garage kept most of it's life. I believe it still has the original carpet and upholstery. What do y'all think about it. If it were you and the boat would suit your needs, would you buy it regardless of age? The main reason I'm not sure is because of parts availability. Do they still make parts for a Mercruiser of this age? I'm just looking for a little advice to help me decide whether to buy it or not. If parts are still readily available I'll probrably go for it. Here's a link to the pictures: Boat Pics <br /><br />James

 

[mathiasmorgan]

Re: Should I buy it?

Obviously it depends on the individual boat.. But I love old boats.. I just bought my 1970 Penn Yan and absolutely love it.. sounds like the boat was well cared for.. The 302 is a pretty decent engine.. I can't access your pictures from here (I'm at work) so I haven't seen it yet.. But in some cases the old boats were built better than some new ones.. It also depends on you.. All boats, new or old, are work and money.. the old saying.. A boat is a hole in the water that you throw money into.. hehehe At least your not spending 10's of thousands on it.. Might be worth it. George

 

[mathiasmorgan]

Re: Should I buy it?

Oops.. forgot to mention my boat has a 1969 era 250 cu. in. GM 6 cyl. with a mercruiser I/O. My girlfriend works for NAPA and they carry a marine line. I haven't had any problems with parts so far. And many Mercruiser dealers carry them. I have run into a few things that were discontinued, but I could find something that worked.. George

 

[catfish1]

Re: Should I buy it?

jee if you dont buy it, i will! <br />for $2500 looks great, nothing wrong with an older boat, hell! some of them are better than new ones. dont worry you'll be able to get parts for it.<br />just check it out good and test run it, also check for soft spots in the floor, cracks at the transom, patches on the hull, check the lower unit oil, the skeg looks like it has taken a beating.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Should I buy it?

Go For It...............<br />Looks like a Really Cool Clean Boat.....<br />The 888 is a mod.1 outdrive, Parts are Very Plentyful,+ The Least Expensive of the Merc.s to work on.....<br />The Ford motor is Not My favorite, But it's Not a Bad motor.... just a personal thing with me.... I like Chevies.....<br />2 other Pluses.......<br />It'll Never be worth Less than you're going to Pay for it.........<br />AND, It's Not a Bilgeliner..........

 

[JasonB]

Re: Should I buy it?

I personally like the motor I have a '76 888 that I rebuilt last year as the previous owner left some saltwater in the cylinders over the winter...but she's better than new now after some upgrades It pushes my 19' Glastron deeeep-V which looks to similar to the boat you are looking at- just shorter, to 45+mph on the GPS and still gets good fuel economy with its 2bbl carb. <br /><br />That looks like a nice boat. If she is solid, runs well, and you like it, go for it. As someone above said, these older boats are often built like tanks. Mine is great.

 

[jee70611]

Re: Should I buy it?

Thanks for the advice and encouragement guys. I'm gonna do a thorough survey first. Then if it all checks out I think I'm gonna go ahead and buy it. Finding parts for it was my biggest concern. I felt all around the floor and it seems solid all the way around. I think it even has the original carpet in it. That right there tells me a lot about how it's been cared for. I drove it and it runs great. It fired right up and ran like a top. I didn't really have time to do a thorough job looking it over then though. There's also plenty of room to suit me. I think it might serve me well .<br /><br />James

 

[philtheskipper]

Re: Should I buy it?

Dude, if I were you I would get that survey done ASAP and buy it before someone else does!!! If there are no major problems it looks like a steal at that price!

 

[catfish1]

Re: Should I buy it?

ditto that!

 

[biloxiriver]

Re: Should I buy it?

Man I've never been able to buy anything but older model boats. Speaking from hard, and expensive, lessons I would encourage you to have a good marine shop check the transom. If it flexes you burn out drive couplings. I may get some argument here but any flex in the transom is a sign weakness. A couple of years ago a got a "good deal" on a 1973 WellCraft V20 Steplift with a 165 mercrusier and after burning out the second drive coupling I had it checked out and it ended up being a soft transom. My $2000.00 good deal cost me an additional $1700 for a transom rebuild, which had I known what I know now I would have just done myself. Plus the cost of the 2 drive couplings. However, after that the boat was great. Unfortunately, it is difficult to recover that cost in a resale on an older boat although being able to say "new transom" does help. Don't get me wrong though, I love old boats, just make sure you check out that transom. I also like the 302. I have a 1970 21' TigerCraft CC inboard 302 (true inboard shaft drive) and it is a great engine and setup. Incidentaly, if you are going to run an older boat it is a good idea to have a good relationship with a marine shop, and I would encourage you, even at the cost of spending a few more dollars on something, to buy from them whenever feasable. It makes it easier to get advice when you are on a first name basis. And if possible find a good marine salvage shop operation for access to used parts, and get to know them too.

 

[MrBill]

Re: Should I buy it?

I hope by the time you receive this message you're already cruising that boat. For $2500 (or your reasonable offer) to get boat in great shape and in good running order is a miracle. Apply for Sainthood, buy the boat...and enjoy the rest of the summer.

 

[jee70611]

Re: Should I buy it?

LOL MrBill . Here's an update everyone. I went over it and bought it about two weeks ago. Took it out Sunday with no problems. She ran great all day. I'm very happy with it so far. Not only did I buy this boat, but I bought another one for $800.00 ! It always seems that whenever I decide to buy a boat, I end up with at least two more than I origianlly wanted . Can't go wrong there LOL. The other one is either a 1987 or 1989 Glastron X-19. It has the 3.0L 4 Cyl. Mercruiser 140 in it. It needs some work on the hull, but the motor runs fine. Because of the work it needed, I wasn't gonna get it until the guy I bought it from offered to let me pay him when I could. I gave him $200 up front and brought her home. He just wanted to get it out of his sight because he couldn't work on it due to his health. Shoot, if all else fails I could just part it out on ebay and make money, but I don't see that happening. It's in too nice of shape for that. Here are some pics of it. New Boat Pics <br /><br />James

 

[catfish1]

Re: Should I buy it?

$800? you gotta be shi?tin! all i can say is: you walk in to some awsome deals dude!<br /><br />ps. you otta sell me that one, i'll give you your $800 back!

 

[miloman]

Re: Should I buy it?

3 simple words go for it!

 

[JasonB]

Re: Should I buy it?

That X-19 is a close relative of my V-195 with the Mercruiser 888. If you decide to get rid of it, let me know.

 

[Link]

Re: Should I buy it?

James<br /><br />You must be living right... it's almost enough to make me change my wicked ways <br /><br />Hmmm someone just found a new home! <br />http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jee37716/vwp?.dir=/My+Photo+Album/Gl asstron&.dnm=Glasstron+8.jpg&.view=t<br /><br />Link