"sel1" wrote in message ...


The one I am going to look at is a 40'1969 Thundercraft
Drift-a-cruise. My guess is there is a lot of updating etc which I can live
with. The price is $9,500 CDN.

Something you really want to ascertain is the condition of the
hull,especially on the inside.A friend bought a boathouse on the
Mississippi in Minnesota in 2001 and a 1960's steel houseboat came
with it.The outside of the hull looked fine but on the inside from the
waterline down was pure rust caused by condensation,the outside cool
water keeping the steel cool below the waterline which condensed the
humidity in the air.The majority of the hull was inaccessable, the
floors and walls sealing it all off.We hauled it to fix a leak and
found that you could easily drive a screwdriver through the hull in a
number of places.The boathouse,houseboat,dock and the land for
parking,a toilet and storage shed with a perpetual lease from the
Corps of Engineers($15 a year)cost $12,500.