Boat Opions Needed. Would you buy it?

[p-funk]

There is a guy here that has a Stratos 1998 179V Bass Boat for sale.  $1000 for boat and trailer.  Now here is the catch(s) (as usual) Here's what I saw. There is not gasoline motor on the boat.  The previous owner blew it up and took it off, never replacing it.  There is a crack in the fiberglass on the top part of the boat where it hit the boat dock once.  The front livewell would not drain.  It was filled with water and slowly and I mean slowly drained.  The steering wheel was off the column and under the deck.  Don't know why?  There were 2 gauges missing from the dash, not sure which ones?  The carpet needed some cleaning but wasn't ripped or anything.  The front receptical for the trolling motor (I believe) was pulled out with wires exposed to trolling motor.  No fish finder on boat.  It had a 65lb thurst Minnkota up front and a 30 on the back.  Seats were dirty, need to be cleaned.  Trailer looked a little beat up and he said the previous owner had removed the brakes on it?  Again, I'm not sure why???  The boat has been clear coated and the clear coat was peeling off pretty bad.

Now knowing all this and not really sure about a lot of other stuff I should be looking for would you pay $1000 for it?  Is that too high, if so what would be fair or would you just walk away all together.  I fish out of a 14' Jon boat right now so I'm looking to upgrade to this if it's worth it.  Opinions?

[Muddpuppy]

It sounds like a boat kit in reverse and a $1000.00 headache to me. I would stay clear. For the money you are looking at for just what you know is wrong or missing, which sounds like everyhing that you've seen so far, I would think you could find a running boat in good condition that hasn't been wrecked and salvaged out. With everything pulled out and disconected it may have electrical probems too.  It sounds like the previous owner might have felt it was cheaper to pull all the acc. off of that one and stick them on new one, then it would be just to fix it.  

[PeterF]

The real question is. How much money do you have to spend on fixing it? I spent $1900 on my 14 ft grizzly and spent another $2000 to $2500 extra to get it to the point where it's at. It can get real expensive real fast. I would spend the money (under $10,000) on a used boat that works well.

[Skwerl]

Do you want a boat or do you want a building project? I bought a boat hull once. It sat in my back yard for 3 years and I managed to dump about a Grand into it before hauling it to the dump. If you want to fish then find a boat, not a construction project.

[bassnleo]

I agree w/ previous reply's, steer clear of that heap. What shocks me is that boat is a 1998? and sounds absolutely trashed.

[Jeff_NHBA]

Sounds like they should pay you for taking it off their hands.

[chunter_ksu]

I gotta agree it sounds like you would be relieving someone else of their headache.

[Madhouse27]

This sounds like one of those projects that is going to start out very cheap and end up very expensive. By the time you get the boat ready to roll I have a feeling you are going to have more time, effort and money invested than it's worth. I would definately pass on this one.

[cart7t]

There is not gasoline motor on the boat.  The previous owner blew it up and took it off, never replacing it.  There is a crack in the fiberglass on the top part of the boat where it hit the boat dock once.  The front livewell would not drain.  It was filled with water and slowly and I mean slowly drained.  The steering wheel was off the column and under the deck.  Don't know why?  There were 2 gauges missing from the dash, not sure which ones?  The carpet needed some cleaning but wasn't ripped or anything.  The front receptical for the trolling motor (I believe) was pulled out with wires exposed to trolling motor.  No fish finder on boat.  It had a 65lb thurst Minnkota up front and a 30 on the back.  Seats were dirty, need to be cleaned.  Trailer looked a little beat up and he said the previous owner had removed the brakes on it?  Again, I'm not sure why???  The boat has been clear coated and the clear coat was peeling off pretty bad.  

I've got experience redoing boats. My current was kinda in the shape the one you're looking at. Blown engine not worth rebuilding. Badly oxidized, wiring hanging out. Stuff not working.  New carpet but it wasn't done well.

The engine blew up.  He probably sold it along with a couple of the gauges that went with it.  You can quick mount the steering wheel back on and try turning the wheel.  If it moves easily your cable(s) is/are fine, if not, you're looking at around $200 for a pair of steering cables.  The deck crack can probably be fixed by you though it may not look porfessional it might pass for acceptable.  I'm not sure why the boat even had brakes. Thats a relatively short boat to have surge brakes, it's possible he had those added (aftermarket)  because he was pulling the thing with a smaller vehicle and wanted to try and recoup his money.  Sand the trailer and repaint yourself if possible, $100.  As for the re-gelcoating.  It may or may not be gelcoat. It may be stuff called Vertglas which is a temporary finish to restore a boats surface to a like new condition. It's only good for about a year or two.  It's possible the guy merely had oxidation and took the easy way out to restore the shine.  In the area's where some of the stuff has peeled completely off, can you feel the metalflake in the surface?  If not, you can wet sand the  finish off starting with 600-800 grit and working all the way up to 2000 grit Wet silicon.  Your big thing is no engine.  Around $3k or more for a decent used 150hp or less for a lower hp. Prop, throttle box and oil tank for the engine will be extra but you can often find those at great discount on Ebay.  A depthfinder or 2, which can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. A couple gauges, $100.  And a lot of work. If you're into it like some of us are it can be quite rewarding.  You do need to really look carefully at the transom.  Look for stress cracking at the splashwell corners.  knock around on the transom. It should sound solid, not hollow.  A hollow sound indicates a water and rot in the transom. Fixable? Yes but not without a lot of work.  Check the floor of the boat.. Walk around all over it and jump up and down looking for soft spots.  Finally, look over the entire hull specifically for cracks or breaks.  Be especially aware of anywhere raw fiberglass might be showing through in areas below the waterline. That's an indication he struck something and water may have permeated the fiberglass (stay away if you see that!)  Ignore spiderweb cracking in the gelcoat, that's common in just about anyboat more than a few years old.

If that boat was anywhere near me I'd offer the guy $500 and work with him to get the price down.  I could fix that thing up and turn a buck on it.  It's just going to depend on how much work you want to do and your skills. Remember, it's a fairly new boat. If the gelcoat underneath whatever they put on it is restorable and the hull is sound as well as the transom I'd jump on that thing. If nothing else you can use the TM to fish out of it till you can swing the OB motor. Plenty of knowledgable guys here can help if you're interested.  Believe it or not I've seen boats in far worse shape than that one turned into real gems for not as much money as you think.  

[jb_from_texas]

that sounds like a lot of work and a huge headache.  keep looking.  i was able to find a 15'4" 1986 skeeter with a 75hp, fish/depth finder, TM, trailer, etc for $2500.  it's just like the one in this post http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1121303946 except a mariner 75hp.

nothing special but it gets 40mph with just me.

KEEP LOOKING

[senile1]

I would absolutely avoid this bargain unless you are wanting to learn alot about boats and you enjoy projects.  I bought a bargain 15 1/2 foot bassboat with a 70 horse Johnson a few years back.  After spending approximately $4000 extra on the boat, engine, and trailer plus numerous hours of my own time working on it I have a pretty good fishing rig.  But I never want to go through what I went through again.  For the money I spent, I could have bought a good used rig without wasting all of my free time.  The only positive out of this situation is that I know exactly what to look for the next time I'm shopping for a used boat.