I am thinking of doing what everyone is warned not to do, buying a
yacht that needs a lot of work. To make it worse, I've never owned
anything bigger than an old ski boat and am totally ignorant when it
comes to yacht engines and otherwise. This one is a 1988 34' Bayliner
Avanti with 2 gas engines.

I am receiving an incredible price for it, half of the fair market
value on the hull survey. Here are the troubling parts of the surveys:

- Exhaust hoses burned and collapsed from lack of cooling water.

- Severe corrosion on engine oil cooler and leaking on both PORT and
STBD engines.

- PORT: Outboard manifold has been replaced with center rise unit. Not
plumbed correctly for proper water flow. Mounts for fuel filter
different and secured only by tie straps.

- STBD: Inboard manifold has been replaced with center rise unit and is
very rusty from water leaking from hose connection to riser. Not
plumbed correctly for proper water circulation.

- New alternator installed on engines have mismatched pulley-belt
combination and are slippling.

- Battery terminals unprotected by covers. Engine room has bad rust
and corrosion on motor mounts, brackets, clamps, and metal straps.
Carbs appear dirty and gummed up from lack of use and old gas.

My questions a

- I assume all of those items need to be fixed, what is the ballpark
cost of that?

- In general, how much would maintenance cost on such a boat per year
as more would break? I know it's impossible to know, but should I plan
on spending $1000 per yer? $2000 per year? $5000?

- How much should I plan on spending for insurance and registration per
year?

Thank you so much if you can provide useful information. Feel free to
try to talk me out of the purchase if you want :-)



I have to agree with the other posters in response to this one- I'd walk
away. I own a 19' Bayliner (1985 model 1950 cuddy), and though I got my
money's worth as far as a weekender family lake boat for tubing, I've had
more than my share of problems. The reason: it's a Bayliner. They're cheaply
made, and your repair bills will certainly be higher than with most
better-built boats. My boat has been very well cared for, by the way, and it
sounds like the one you looked at has not been properly maintained, which
could translate into many more headaches than average.

I love our boat because it was dirt cheap, and at my price point ($3500) it
was a real steal, even with the repairs. Even if I double my purchase cost
by putting $3500 more into it over the next few summers (about $600-800 this
summer, no engine work-yet), I've still had several summers of fun for a
decent price. At your price point ($20k), if you double your costs by
putting $20k into it, you've got $40k and many man-hours into a boat that,
at the end of the day, is still a Bayliner, and will never have the resale
value of a better-built boat.