Boat owners, check in here.

[McGyver]

That's it? No other boats?

[akorcovelos]

'84 Webbcraft Riviera 21'. This is where we spend a good part of every summer.

[LateFan]

That's it? No other boats?

I guess that's it.

[coldweatherblue]

Gonna de-winterize this weekend.

Looking forward to 7 months at the lake!

[mbonder]

I have wanted a boat since my childhood; my family used to vacation each summer in the NY Adirondacks so boating would be a yearly event each summer.

I've finally gotten to the point where I could afford a boat (well a cheaper boat, nothing new, nothing particularly beautiful or tremendously fast, but an entry level craft).

I would like a fiberglass boat (16-20' I guess) that would be able to handle tubing, wake boarding, water skiing, and the occasional fishing expedition. I can spend somewhere around $4-6k. Thoughts on any of these for sale in my area:

1984 Wellcraft

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/boa/5502295303.html

2001 Larson

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/boa/5543644250.html

2004 Caravelle

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/boa/5543721697.html

1994 Chaparral-Might be a bit out of the price range but...

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/boa/5535518699.html

1990 Cobalt

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/boa/5519897672.html

Anyway, that's enough for now, really I just want a boat to have fun with on weekends. I really enjoyed wakeboarding but haven't done it in a few years as my family stopped vacationing in the Adirondacks due to a few family health issues. All is well now, plus I'm not flat broke anymore, so I'm interested to hear your opinions...

[Fsnow]

I think the Larson would be a good choice from the list you posted. The boat shop that I worked for years ago used to turn away some of the older boats due to difficulty obtaining parts. Other things to consider would be maintenance records, hours on the engine and check that everything is in good working order.

[mbonder]

I haven't really done any research yet, those just seem to fit my limited criteria. The Wellcraft, although old, is serviced by the marina on Lake Hopatcong, NJ's largest lake, stored there in the off season as well as I'd have good knowledge of the service history. Need to look into parts availability though.

The Cobalt and the Wellcraft have larger engines than the other three, any insight into the variants of the Mercruiser and the Volvo Penta that's in the Larson?

[akorcovelos]

Anything pre-2000 will have wood stringers and flooring, make sure there are no soft spots. Rotted wood is the rust of boats, if you see any from the surface, there is lots more you can't see.

For a first boat stick with Mercruiser engines and drives, most common, cheapest to maintain (aside form outboards) and very reliable (except the 470...NEVER buy a 470). The 260 and 3.0 are very reliable. Volvo makes really nice engines and drives, but way more $$$ to run and maintenance can be a pain, parts a much more difficult to find in stock than Mercruiser.

If these are salt water boats ask when the last time the exhaust risers were replaced, they rust and if one fails it will hydro-lock the engine. They aren't cheap, so if they don't have proof they were done recently plan on around $600 to do it yourself.

I grew up on an identical '84 Wellcraft, awesome boat. In '84 Wellcraft was still hand laying the fiberglass in mats, very strong, solid, heavy boat. If everything checks out that hull should buff out really nice. All the newer boats will have little to no wood in them, which is nice for longevity. They feel cheaper to me, but I like lots of teak and that hand built feeling of the older boats. Wellcraft is still in business, and there are tons of them out there so parts shouldn't bee much of an issue.

oh, and no matter how good a deal you may find, NEVER buy any boat powered by an OMC. They put a lot of engines in older Wellcrafts and went out of business 20 years ago, parts are few and far between and reliability is terrible.

[Fsnow]

^ very true. Mercs are very reliable and easy to work on.
I would also stay away from any yamaha stern drives as well because of parts availability and pricing.

[mbonder]

All of the boats listed are fresh water boats, from what I'm finding they were run on either Lake Hopatcong or Lake Mohawk here in NJ, so no issues with salt water. Truthfully, when I really get dedicated to looking I'm going to probably have the Marina on Hopatcong look it over before buying so anything that they've serviced recently interests me more so than something serviced by a shade tree mechanic.

Good advice on the mercruiser drives, will stick with those to make it easy on myself.

[akorcovelos]

Marina's generally will only tell you about mechanical history/issues, check the hull yourself. Get in and walk around the boat, look for soft spots. Look in the bilge, should be clean and mostly dry, if the boat is kept on the water there may be a bit in there, but you shouldn't see standing water or signs of rot.

[LateFan]

[ATTACH]107180[/ATTACH]

[Gerta]

[ATTACH]107180[/ATTACH]

When you care to have the most expensive marine engines to maintain.

[LateFan]

When you care to have the most expensive marine engines to maintain.

"Be right back, dear. I'm going down to fiddle with the mixture screws."

** missing boater never seen again **

[BlackbirdM3]

Looks like I'll be crewing aboard the Schooner Mayan in this year's Master Mariners race on SF bay. The Master Mariners race is one of oldest sailboat races in the US.

Here is Mayan taken from the deck of Schooner Martha last year.





Will