Gary Warner wrote:

"Dan" wrote in message
news:eFl8c.144231$Up2.34705@pd7tw1no...

I am going to look at a '77 19' Fibertech tomorrow. I don't currently
own a boat, and am looking for something realtivley cheap to play with
through the summer. What do I need to look at when looking at this
boat, is there any thing I should know about such an old baot?

Any help would be appreciated.

-Dan


I assume that is a fiberglass boat? Is there an outboard engine on it?

Yes, it is fiberglass. It has a Chev 250 inboard.


My first boat was a 17' Winner with a Merc outboard. A few things
I wish I'd known / done:

+ The charging system was not charging the battery. This didn't show up
in my test drive because seller had battery all charged already. I could
have brought a little multimeter and checed that it was putting out
12.5+ volts.

At the moment the boat doesn't run. The exhaust manifold has a cack
(new manifold costs $500CDN) and is not attached to the engine.

+ This boat leaked. In my sea trial I was so concentrated on driving the
boat ('cause I was new at that) that I didn't notice how much the bilge
pump came on. All I saw was - the pump works, OK good. And it
wasn't constant pumping or anything (not that bad). But I wish I'd just
STOPPED driving for a while and checked out the boat in mid
ocean. I would have noticed the pump coming on quite often.

Never even hough of this, I just figured that if the hull was intact,
with no deep scratches or cracks it would be fine.


+ I *did* do a sea trial, I *did* look over the hull closely, and I *did*
look over the trailer (bearing, tires, nothing bent, etc.). This worked
well because it told me some good things about the boat.


I know that the bearings in the trailer need to be replaced, but that is
a cheap and easy job.

What should I be looking ofr when looking at the hull, just crack and
scratches, and the quality of the gel coat?

+ I wish I'd known how expensive and how much work would go into
fixing it up. I saw the boat and thought - gee, it needs a few little
things
and I can do those for not much money. But every project takes longer
and costs more than you think it will. On a bost multiply that by 4.


Oh, how much is the person asking for the boat? It might well
be worth trying to find a knowledgable person to check it out
for you. Even if it isn't a full Marine-Surveyor, any good boat
person would be well worth $50 to have them look.

The boat is $1500CDN, really cheap. The guy says he used it last year.

What I would like to be able to do is get the boat running, either by
repairing the manifold (yes I know this is difficult, but I do have the
shop and tools to do it) or replacing it. Play with it over the summer,
then sell it for $500 next spring.

-Dan