Am I in over my head???

[OUpharmer]

I have the opportunity to purchase a 1977 Stinger Bass boat with a '78 Johnson Javelin. According to the new owner, the boat and motor was rolled, and set upside down in the water for about an hour. They say that they pumped all the water out of the engine, drained everything, and sprayed WD-40 in the cylinder via the spark plug hole. I have the unique opportunity to bring it to my house for to inspect it and determine if I want to actually by it or not. So far this is what I've found:

1) The trim motor 'humms' when I hit the switch, but nothing moves.
2) There are a few soft spots in the floor.
3) When I apply pressure on the motor, the transom flexes (alot!)
4) I can't really try to start the engine because the key is MIA, but i can make it
turn over if I hook up the battery and jump the starter-solenoid.

A friend of mine suggested getting 1/2" piece of steel to reinforce the transom from the back, but I'm not sure that is the best way to go. Is there anything else I should take a look at, and (pending the engine actually works) is this worth $800? I was also wondering if anyone knows where I could get some information on these old Stinger boats??

Thanks in advance.

[Skeet'r89]

It is only worth 800 bucks if you also have another 1500 dollars and six months of spare time. Thats if you do it yourself. If you want a shop to do it you will need probably 3000+, and none of those cost count repairs to the motor.

[Rollo331]

do not waste another minute on the boat..it is not worth fixing if he gives it to you and PAYS you 800.00 to take it...you will have a fortune in it and it will still not be worth 200.00 dollars...i promise you wd40 did not stop rods and mains from pitting inside the motor.......... and the entire boat is a pile of rotted wood
run my friend run............

[BASSCAT7]

Listen to Rollo.........bad transom, bad floors on a 31 year old boat = JUNK.....He would be hard pressed to get a junk yard to take it off his hands for free, let alone get someone to pay him for it.
Wood rot is like an iceberg, you only see 10 % of it......you can already see major damage, once you started opening it up you would probably be building a new boat.

[arjone01]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rollo331 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">do not waste another minute on the boat..it is not worth fixing if he gives it to you and PAYS you 800.00 to take it...you will have a fortune in it and it will still not be worth 200.00 dollars...i promise you wd40 did not stop rods and mains from pitting inside the motor.......... and the entire boat is a pile of rotted wood
run my friend run............</TD></TR></TABLE>

+1!!!!!!!!!

[99procraft2]

Run +2

[ProcraftMike]

I'm a sucker for boat repairs and I would run from this one as well. It is not worth it.

[calfish1]

run away............... run far far away from this one.

[northrivergeek]

Ive restored 6 boats and working on number 7 .. I paid 100 cash, and traded for the other 100 , I knew the boat had rot, and knew I could fix it , I bought a 1989 88hp motor for 300 that is good, Ive spent total to date in materials wood, and glass, $275 I still have to buy new foam to replace some of what I removed, and prob 2 more gallons of resin for $50. Thats just for the structural repairs transom, stringers and such.

I happen to have a friend in the auto body supply buis , hes giving me all the paint for the top cap, except for the epoxy primer. The 24oz carpet same stuff ranger uses got it for free thanx to a buddy that works at the carpet mill in Dalton, GA where the stuff is made.

So after its all said and done I will guestimate that I will have 1000 -1500 in this boat total, and thats everything.. new pumps, and bling.

So your prob looking at a minimum of another 1500 -2000 on top of what they want for the boat. Dude there are tons of restoration projects around, I would wait and find one cheaper , unless your like me easier to come by the money a little at a time than all up front.. easy to sneak past the wife l


AND PS DO NOT TRY to reinforce the transom, with alum, steel etc .. your life depends on it .. Ive seen several boats over the yrs that tried this 2 drowned in 40 degree water, 3 lost the motor in the lake!!!!!

[OUpharmer]

Thanx for all the advice, I'll probably let this one go right on by. If anyone in the Oklahoma area knows of a decent project boat I could pick up for pretty cheap, let me know.