Advice on Project Boat

[2Boys]

All,

I have been looking for some time for an inexpensive boat for family fishing in the bays, at the Jetties and some freshwater. Just to be clear my friends would say that I am downright cheap.

I have located (but have not yet physically inspected) a project boat that I am strongly considering purchasing. It is a Galaxy 18' boat with a 150hp Mercury outboard. I am told that the year is between 83' and 86'. It has been sitting outside for a few years unused. I am told that the engine needs to have the carborator rebuilt and that the boat needs a new gas tank.

Can anyone out there tell me what it might cost to have the engine looked over and have the carberator rebuilt?

Any reccomendations on someone to perform the work, preferably on the SouthWest side of Houston (I live in Sugarland)?

Any reccomendations on where I could pick up an inexpensive 25-30 gallon gas tank?

The boat has no seats and will need the interior upholstery torn out and replaced or painted over (remember I have been called cheap). I was thinking of gutting the upholstery, painting the interior with sum non-skid rubber paint and using ice chests for seating. I would appreciate your thoughts and reccomenations on this.

Thanks,
2boys

[Ernest]

PM me when you get to the tank. I have three in that size range in my garage.

[Argo]

sounds like alot of work. If you are cheap and like the labor it would be good.

[Hoover]

Yeah sounds like too much work for my liking. I don't know what you would pay for the boat but whatever there asking i would feel safe to say to add at least 1000 to that but probably more to get major tune on motor and upholostry. For a good certified mechanic I'm making a rough estimate but I think you would be in the 500 range. The upholstry I have no idea. I would personally look in the boat trader before I did that.

[lordbater]

If this is your first boat project, I would take lots of notes on what stuff is going to cost, then see if there is a better deal to be had in something that is maybe less of a project boat..

Consider:
possible cost to rebuild entire motor/lower unit
possible structure damage to the boat/trailer, some not worth repairing.
Electrical (other than outboard: tilt/trim, etc)
Mechanical (other than outboard: steering, etc)
(keep in mind that anything "marine" is quadruple cost, unless its equivalent can be purchased elsewhere without the word "marine" on it, in which case it is only tripple cost.)
I don't mean to scare you off, I just want to do my part to ensure you spend your money wisely... boats are freaking expensive, man....

-a

[BDunk]

You can really dump some money quickly on even the little things. Stainless fasteners for example I have spent at least $150. in the past 3-4 weeks just on the bolting. Take lordbaters estimate and at least double that. The upholstery can really be done nice and fairly cheaply. Hancock fabric has marine vinyl, but then again you do need to get Monel staples. Little things like this kill ya. If you do get to the upholstery I can give you a hand and some of the supplies.

[BDunk]

Actually I am selling an 18" Wellcraft now if you are interested in spending a little more. In Dec dropped a new motor in it (2003 Mercruiser) $3500.00 and $2000.00 in an aluminum trailer. The trailer has seen the water once. Runs great. A few people here have seen it in use. I usually run it offshore, a little further than the jetties. It is in Sugar Land also.


Bill

[Hou-Chap]

2boys,
I am just now finshing up a boat rebuild project. There are many unforseenthings that can really bite you, especially in an older boat. As stated above, boat equipment is expensive! That being said, I took on the project because it was my fathers old boat (free), the trailer was new, the motor was running good, and I knew exactly what I was getting into with it (I have fished in that boat forever). 4 months later I have about $2000 in it with another $500 or so left to go for painting. I looked at it as I couldn't have bought a boat that is exactly what I wanted and in good working order for less than $2500. When you rebuild a boat you have the oppurtunity to build it to your needs.....BUT, it is at a price and if you can't do the work yourself, you mine as well wait and buy a boat that runs and doesn't need any work. I have saved costs by doing the work myself and being patient and purchasing components second hand. You have to weigh the options. I took my motor to a guy on the northside which is far from you, but he works on old OMC motors, very friendly, and pretty inexpensive. He rebuilt my carbs, changed plugs, wires, water impeller, fuel pump, decarbonized, and checked compresison for $300. If you are interested in driving that far let me know and I will give you the guys contact info. Good luck. Shane

[Argo]

Thats a great price for all that work. Whe it is all said and done I will have about 27k into my rebuild.

[Hou-Chap]

Argo,
Yea, they really took care of me. It helps when you have boat stuff done during the winter time (off season) too. Wow! My rebuild wasn't that big. Replaced the deck, repaired part of a stringer, built a new console, replaced all the shiny stuff (cleats, bow rail, etc.), added a nice baitwell, created some storage by closing off underneath splashwell and adding hatches etc, rewired everything. Luckily the boat had a great hull and strong motor. The motor just needed a tune-up and will eventually re-paint and put new decals on. Still have painting ahead, I hope that goes as well as everything else has. Over time I will be adding/replacing different do-dads, because that's what you do when you own a boat right?? lol.. Shane

[BlckWS6TA]

Actually I am selling an 18" Wellcraft now if you are interested in spending a little more. In Dec dropped a new motor in it (2003 Mercruiser) $3500.00 and $2000.00 in an aluminum trailer. The trailer has seen the water once. Runs great. A few people here have seen it in use. I usually run it offshore, a little further than the jetties. It is in Sugar Land also.


Bill
ha 40 miles out is more than just a little further than the jetties :-P

[lordbater]

Oh, come on.. Tall Rock isn't that far from the Jetties..
35, 36.....

a

[Texxan1]

Ok since yall are talking about rebuilds, Let me ask this. How do you know really for sure if the internals need anything. My hull appears strong, and the transom is VERY strong, but how do you know for sure about the internals. Ive done some minor glassing to the keel, its still rough , i can sand it down and get that right. However i dont know the condition of the inside. For example one of the baitwells has some rotten wood on the upper porttion under the floor. I have No softspots on the floor at all. Right now i have 5k in the boat and motor and the motor, a 150 suzuki has less than 100 hours on it. So the motor rocks, All it would appear that i need is to make it how I WANT IT, is to rewire the lights and bilges. Add electronics and i want to redo the steering cables and helm. Everything else appears great. So you guys tell me, how does one evaluate everything. This boat handles Great in rough water and it can carry a load.

Just so yall know, its a 1985 22ft Proline hull.

Tight lines
Needlefish

[Hou-Chap]

Texan,
I am by no way an authority, but I have done a sizable amount of work on my boat, and can share my experiences with you. In my opinion, the most important aspects of the boat structurally are the hull, stringers, and transom. They are the most time consuming to fix. My transom was solid, but I had a soft spot in the floor. That soft spot started to grow once I started diging into it, and after it was all said and done I had rotted wood core in one of my stringers and alot of the deck was shot:eek: . Newer boats use composite core, so there is no problem with rotting core material. Since the motor was strong and I had no money in the boat (it was givin to me by my fahter), I decided to rebuild. If your motor is shot, I wouldn't personally mess with it unless you have a good lead on new power cheap. The price of a motor makes it impractical to fix an old boat IMO. In my case, I have about $2000 in it currently and about another 500-700 left. The downside, I still have an old boat. The upside is I have a boat, that I could have never purchased for less than $4000, and it was built to suit my needs and fishing preferances. It has taken ALOT of work (every weekend for the past 3.5 months). MY expericence is if you find "alittle" rot, you will more than likely find alot more once you start digging into it. If your floor feels (and sounds) solid than it is more than likely ok, but there is no way to be 100% without digging into it and looking under the deck (which is again alot of work). If your boat has been sitting up dry for awhile it makes it harder to find the spongy moist rot, but as soon as it gets rained on or wet you will definelty find that what you thought at first was ok is not. If you have a soft spot the core is probably rotting, and may be into the stringer (again alot of work to repair, but can be done). Parts and materials for boats are very expensive, and can easily override the finacial practicality of rebuilding a boat vs. just buying one in good shape to start with. You will find conflicting stories from everyone as to rebuild or not to rebuild, it just comes down to if you are willing to invest alot of work and some money into getting it going. My father thought I was crazy at first when I started cutting into it, but as each phase of the rebuild is completed he is starting to understand. It has actually turned out better than I figured it would, and am honestly surprised and proud of what I have. Definelty a personal judgemnt call IMO...My .02.

Geez.. that was long..you'd think I had something important to say or something..lol.. Good luck!!:biggrin:

[Texxan1]

Well

the power is not an issues. the suzi i have is so cherry she could be considered new. As for the boat, after reading all this earlier, i went out and looked at her. other than the little rot in the one spot, i can say that i cant find anymore. However, all i need to make her what i want is to do some minor cosmetics etc. I figure i can do all i want for 1500 and if nothing, use her for a few seasons. Enough time to season myself with the short offshore places i want to go. If anyone has any ideals or any experts might want to say take a look sometime let me know. She is a sturdy hull, built the way they USED to build them.

Thomas

[searrow]

2boys, as far as the motor now is a good time to learn plus down the road when you have a problem you'll have a better understanding. I'm just a shade tree mechanic; messed with jet boats, inboards and outboards of all sizes. Been boating for 25yrs. and love every minute of it. The first thing is to check compression on each cylinder, they should all be within 15 psi. The higher the psi the better. If that is good it usually safe to say the bearings and reed valves are OK because if the rings got enough oil so did the bearings. When it comes to 2 strokes those are the major mechanics of the engine. As far as carbs they are really simple. If you can work on a lawn mower carb then you can work on these. The gas is pulled out of the carbs from vacuum into the venturi. Just unhook the linkage and unbolt the carbs from the intake manifold. Take apart the carbs and take them to some auto shop or boat shop and let them soak in cleaner. Kits go for about 20 to $40 . Most of time the carbs just needed cleaned and don't require a kit. You will need to adjust the idle jet after this and the motor should purrrr. The water impeller is just as easy, just unhook the shifter from the lower unit shifting shaft under the carbs. unbolt the five bolts under the cavitaion plate. With the moter trimmed up all the way pull down on the lower unit, may need rubber mallet or block of wood to tap on it to get it started. This will expose the impeller cover and from there it is basic. You still have your major electronics which are the coils, stator, and power pack. If the motor starts to sputter at high rpms I would suspect the power pack going out. The benefit that you will get out of being cheap is that you will learn alot and be able to reconize any problems and fix them on the water. Back when my budget was tight I rebuilt a 24' formula,re-upolstered the engine cover,bench,captain chairs and the cuddy,replaced the carpet.The boat had the old OMC lower unit and I had to rebuild it with the help of locale repair shop( shim tools and sort).The inboard was a 307 chevy cammed up. The rumor was that it was one of the boats used on patrol when the president(Nixon I think) was in our near the water.The boat was a 74 model.

Sorry I didn't mean to write a story, just bored at work. I guess what I'm saying is to DIY but evaluate the entire boat and motor to make sure you don't have a money pit and have fun.

[Argo]

I am still debating the repower thing. I am going to paint the boat and get it looking pretty and when I am done with the cosmetics I will think long and hard about dumping the cash into the motors. I am looking at 20-28k for motors installed and that is a big lump in my throat and stomach. Therefore I am going to paint the thing then think about everything while getting the pool installed at my house and then the end of summer will be my time to come of age and make up my mind.