Doral Grande 19.5'
 

Hi Everyone,

I am looking at a '86 of the above boat in our neighborhood that is on
sale. The boat has the OMC Cobra out drive with the 4.3l V6 engine. The
seller is asking C$8k.
Any opinion on the boat, good or bad?

The boat looks clean and maintained from the outside.

This is what I learned from the seller: The seller is the second owner
for the last 7 or so years.
He claims to be a mechanic and working on his boat himself and he says
that the boat is running well and does not have any mechanical problems.
He did not know the actual hours on the boat, but he claims to have used
the boat little. The exhaust manifolds, bellows, water pump impeller (if
there is one on the out drive) have not been replaced by him. The boat
was only used in freshwater (Ontario).
He claimed the motor to have 180 HP and the boat 50 mph max. speed (both
sounds too good?). He did not know the fuel consumption and the size of
the fuel tank.
The boat is on a dual axis trailer with no brakes. The aluminum prop had
lots of small nicks.

Looking around the net, I could not find much on the boat itself (at
least Doral is still around), the engine seems to have good reputation,
while the drive seems to have had its problems.

If I decide to consider this boat seriously, I will have it surveyed by
a marine surveyor.
I am just wondering that with the age of the boat, and the apparent lack
of preventive maintenance, if some of the components/mechanicals would
need replacement/overhaul soon.

Any comments appreciated!

Thanks, Peter

"Peter Orban" wrote in message
...
Hi Everyone,

I am looking at a '86 of the above boat in our neighborhood that is on
sale. The boat has the OMC Cobra out drive with the 4.3l V6 engine. The
seller is asking C$8k.
Any opinion on the boat, good or bad?

The boat looks clean and maintained from the outside.

This is what I learned from the seller: The seller is the second owner for
the last 7 or so years.
He claims to be a mechanic and working on his boat himself and he says
that the boat is running well and does not have any mechanical problems.
He did not know the actual hours on the boat, but he claims to have used
the boat little. The exhaust manifolds, bellows, water pump impeller (if
there is one on the out drive) have not been replaced by him. The boat was
only used in freshwater (Ontario).
He claimed the motor to have 180 HP and the boat 50 mph max. speed (both
sounds too good?). He did not know the fuel consumption and the size of
the fuel tank.
The boat is on a dual axis trailer with no brakes. The aluminum prop had
lots of small nicks.

Looking around the net, I could not find much on the boat itself (at least
Doral is still around), the engine seems to have good reputation, while
the drive seems to have had its problems.

If I decide to consider this boat seriously, I will have it surveyed by a
marine surveyor.
I am just wondering that with the age of the boat, and the apparent lack
of preventive maintenance, if some of the components/mechanicals would
need replacement/overhaul soon.

Any comments appreciated!

Thanks, Peter


Without knowing the engine hours but considering it's age it can be quite
possible that you may be looking at a rebuild of the engine in the very near
future.....with a cost of over $2,500 USD.

The impellor will have to be replaced (not a hard or costly job) as will,
most likely, the outdrive bellows.

If you decide to go forward with this I would ask for a log of all
maintenance and repairs (along with receipts). Make sure the engine oil and
filter has been changed at least every year. I would also have a mechanic
do a complete inspection of the engine including compression checks on all
cylinders.

8K Can seems high for a 19.5' 1986 boat. That is still like $6200 US. I
figure a smaller, under 20' 19 year old boat, has got to be very reasonable
to purchase.

"*JimH*" wrote in message
...

"Peter Orban" wrote in message
...
Hi Everyone,

I am looking at a '86 of the above boat in our neighborhood that is on
sale. The boat has the OMC Cobra out drive with the 4.3l V6 engine. The
seller is asking C$8k.
Any opinion on the boat, good or bad?

The boat looks clean and maintained from the outside.

This is what I learned from the seller: The seller is the second owner
for the last 7 or so years.
He claims to be a mechanic and working on his boat himself and he says
that the boat is running well and does not have any mechanical problems.
He did not know the actual hours on the boat, but he claims to have used
the boat little. The exhaust manifolds, bellows, water pump impeller (if
there is one on the out drive) have not been replaced by him. The boat
was only used in freshwater (Ontario).
He claimed the motor to have 180 HP and the boat 50 mph max. speed (both
sounds too good?). He did not know the fuel consumption and the size of
the fuel tank.
The boat is on a dual axis trailer with no brakes. The aluminum prop had
lots of small nicks.

Looking around the net, I could not find much on the boat itself (at
least Doral is still around), the engine seems to have good reputation,
while the drive seems to have had its problems.

If I decide to consider this boat seriously, I will have it surveyed by a
marine surveyor.
I am just wondering that with the age of the boat, and the apparent lack
of preventive maintenance, if some of the components/mechanicals would
need replacement/overhaul soon.

Any comments appreciated!

Thanks, Peter


Without knowing the engine hours but considering it's age it can be quite
possible that you may be looking at a rebuild of the engine in the very
near future.....with a cost of over $2,500 USD.

The impellor will have to be replaced (not a hard or costly job) as will,
most likely, the outdrive bellows.

If you decide to go forward with this I would ask for a log of all
maintenance and repairs (along with receipts). Make sure the engine oil
and filter has been changed at least every year. I would also have a
mechanic do a complete inspection of the engine including compression
checks on all cylinders.

Peter Orban wrote in message
...
Hi Everyone,

I am looking at a '86 of the above boat in our neighborhood that is on
sale. The boat has the OMC Cobra out drive with the 4.3l V6 engine. The
seller is asking C$8k.
Any opinion on the boat, good or bad?


Before you buy, make a few inquiries as to who in your area works on the
older OMC outdrives and the availability of parts.

My bet is you will find very few, if any.

Eisboch

On Thu, 28 Jul 2005 08:44:10 -0400, Peter Orban
wrote:

Hi Everyone,

I am looking at a '86 of the above boat in our neighborhood that is on
sale. The boat has the OMC Cobra out drive with the 4.3l V6 engine. The
seller is asking C$8k.
Any opinion on the boat, good or bad?

The boat looks clean and maintained from the outside.

This is what I learned from the seller: The seller is the second owner
for the last 7 or so years.
He claims to be a mechanic and working on his boat himself and he says
that the boat is running well and does not have any mechanical problems.
He did not know the actual hours on the boat, but he claims to have used
the boat little. The exhaust manifolds, bellows, water pump impeller (if
there is one on the out drive) have not been replaced by him. The boat
was only used in freshwater (Ontario).
He claimed the motor to have 180 HP and the boat 50 mph max. speed (both
sounds too good?). He did not know the fuel consumption and the size of
the fuel tank.
The boat is on a dual axis trailer with no brakes. The aluminum prop had
lots of small nicks.

Looking around the net, I could not find much on the boat itself (at
least Doral is still around), the engine seems to have good reputation,
while the drive seems to have had its problems.

If I decide to consider this boat seriously, I will have it surveyed by
a marine surveyor.
I am just wondering that with the age of the boat, and the apparent lack
of preventive maintenance, if some of the components/mechanicals would
need replacement/overhaul soon.

Any comments appreciated!

Thanks, Peter

As to the "used the boat little". Many things on a boat go bad from
lack of use, not use. Waterpump impellors for one unless carefully
lubed.
Mark E. Williams

Don't know much about the boat itself, but as to the 4.3l V6, the
power/speed may be accurate. I have an 18' Regal with a 4.3l Volvo V6 and
they advertise it as 190hp. On smooth water it will top out at just under
55mph, which I have verified with a GPS that tracks speed.

On a boat of that age make sure you check the deck out closely. If it is
wood covered with fiberglass look for soft spongy areas which would indicate
the wood is rotting and may need to be replaced. I went through this a
couple years ago when a friend of my wife's got divorce. She had bought the
family boat and it was in her name. It sat for 2 years uncovered and unused
so she gave it to us. I thought it just needed a deck replacement, but once
the deck was off. the 4x4 with the forward engine mounts was completely
rotten as well, all the stringers were wood and gone, the entire foam fill
was water logged, etc. If I didn't know better I would have thought the boat
had been capsized.

"Maynard G. Krebbs" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 28 Jul 2005 08:44:10 -0400, Peter Orban
wrote:

Hi Everyone,

I am looking at a '86 of the above boat in our neighborhood that is on
sale. The boat has the OMC Cobra out drive with the 4.3l V6 engine. The
seller is asking C$8k.
Any opinion on the boat, good or bad?

The boat looks clean and maintained from the outside.

This is what I learned from the seller: The seller is the second owner
for the last 7 or so years.
He claims to be a mechanic and working on his boat himself and he says
that the boat is running well and does not have any mechanical problems.
He did not know the actual hours on the boat, but he claims to have used
the boat little. The exhaust manifolds, bellows, water pump impeller (if
there is one on the out drive) have not been replaced by him. The boat
was only used in freshwater (Ontario).
He claimed the motor to have 180 HP and the boat 50 mph max. speed (both
sounds too good?). He did not know the fuel consumption and the size of
the fuel tank.
The boat is on a dual axis trailer with no brakes. The aluminum prop had
lots of small nicks.

Looking around the net, I could not find much on the boat itself (at
least Doral is still around), the engine seems to have good reputation,
while the drive seems to have had its problems.

If I decide to consider this boat seriously, I will have it surveyed by
a marine surveyor.
I am just wondering that with the age of the boat, and the apparent lack
of preventive maintenance, if some of the components/mechanicals would
need replacement/overhaul soon.

Any comments appreciated!

Thanks, Peter

As to the "used the boat little". Many things on a boat go bad from
lack of use, not use. Waterpump impellors for one unless carefully
lubed.
Mark E. Williams