Are boats really this cheap?

14ft. 35hp for $800?   Or is it the free Porsche scenario?  I haven't been boating in forever, but now with grandkiddies, why not?  Just want to do some gunkholing, maybe fishing and thought something with a windshield is better than an open boat if the weather turns.

Are cheap boats just cheap, is it economy driven and now is a good time?  For me, bigger & heavier isn't always better.  Suggestions?

Dan

No title/papers.  Engine doesn't run. Engine is a Chrysler. 

Yeah, that feels about right for up north.  I'd want to see it float myself, check for leaks and spongyness of the transom

Curtis? Your thoughts?

An old and small fiberglass boat like this is generally going to be worth the trailer + outboard. That outboard is worth about $300 if I'm being generous, and the trailer $500. It's not going to do anything very well aside from puttering around on a calm day. 
 

The windshield isn't going to give you any protection except to keep bugs out of your teeth. 
 

Lack of title is not so big of an issue on a boat this old.

Cheap boats aren't generally cheap.  Really depends on whether you can do the work yourself and just how bad it is.  I got a non-running, rotted floor old fiberglas bass boat for cheap, and sorted the engine for basically free and put a floor in it for cheap.  But it was a lot of work.  I don't regret it, though.

Lots of 14' boats are slightly under 14' so they don't need titled in some states. (Like Ohio, where I live.) The motor title is more of a pickle. But really what you're buying here is a fiberglass tub with a 2-stroke motor on the back; pretty simple and while you'll likely get it running, it'll be smokey and noisy and you'll tinker with it on every outing. Most people don't want to run a 50+ year old motor on their outings, and there's not much of a collector market for old fiberglass boats. Ironically it would be worth more if it was a 9.9hp motor as that often doesn't require a title and opens up a lot more lakes. I got $800 for my old 9.9hp 2-stroke when I replaced it with a new 9.9hp 4-stroke.

That looks like a way to spend a lot of time and an indeterminate amount of money with the boat without actually using the boat. 
 

The cowl on the motor looks like a very early Evinrude, so at least it's not a Chrysler. 
 

Having fallen for the "cheap boat" more than once, I see no reason to be interested in this one. 

I have a cheap boat.

It belongs to my neighbor and only costs a case of beer if I want to use it.

This is the absolute best way to own a boat.

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

The motor in the link is a Chrysler. 

Also, I'm probably biased cause I came up wrong, but those 64-ish Larks are not "early" Evinrudes.

Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:

 

Having fallen for the "cheap boat" more than once, I see no reason to be interested in this one. 

But who are you to deny this man the valuable experiences that have made you into the man you are today? 

If the hull isn't rotten it still needs an engine, tires, plus wheel bearings serviced.  New winch rope.  Possible trailer roller dry rot.  New rear tie down straps.    Probably new fuel tanks to go with the new engine.  Marine engines aren't cheap.  

Here is an example of a much better option at $2,000, although I'd probably value it at closer to $1,250 - we're now in the inverse of the supply and demand curve seen in 2020. 

Trailer looks like it has been used recently and will be less immediate headache. The hull being aluminum is a plus in this category of vintage boats. Transom is all aluminum. MUCH better engine, though still a very dated one, it was at the time one of the best engines available. And, unless I'm much mistaken, the floor in this is simply a piece of plywood covered in astroturf. I don't think it has any stringers.

In reply to mtn :

I'd be a little wary of that one due to the front seats.  Not at all what it came with, and how its mounted may be suspect.

Other than that, agreed.

Having worked in a boat repair shop many years ago, I treat outboard engines the same as German cars: You don't want to own one past the warranty period. I don't even want to go for a boat ride in your boat if the engine is more than 5 seasons old cause I hate trying to get home with the single paddle that is legally mandated to be on board.

NOHOME said:

Having worked in a boat repair shop many years ago, I treat outboard engines the same as German cars: You don't want to own one past the warranty period. I don't even want to go for a boat ride in your boat if the engine is more than 5 seasons old cause I hate trying to get home with the single paddle that is legally mandated to be on board.

I respect your opinion, and I suspect it's dead-on with regard to newer stuff, but I've got a 1983 Johnson 90 that will run forever. 

Mr_Asa said:

In reply to mtn :

I'd be a little wary of that one due to the front seats.  Not at all what it came with, and how its mounted may be suspect.

Other than that, agreed.

It originally had a bench across. What you see is actually that bench shortened down, plywood put on top, and then the pedestals mounted to that. You can see the attachment points still, they didn't touch any rivets so your big concern would be stability - those seats are often structurally important - but with the close bow, back bench, and short length, it should be plenty stable. 

In reply to mtn :

I bet that little thing would fly with the 50hp motor!

In reply to dculberson :

When I saw it, I thought for sure it was a mistake. But the catalog from '75 says it is rated for 50. The whole rig can't weigh more than 600lbs, probably closer to 400lbs. 

In reply to mtn :

Mostly concerned with the overlap between people modifying older boats and the people that think non-marine pressure treated is ok on a boat.

Lost track of how many I've seen with that.  Closer it is to stock the happier the buyer will be

A 16' tri-hull with a working motor is great fun at $500 - $1000. 

I will echo the sentiments on the Chrysler outboard.  They fall somewhere between suck and blow.  They could never get the carburetion right and they always run depressingly lean.... if they run.

If you're going old boat and want to avoid some possible pitfalls, look for aluminum.  It can't rot.  Having said that, you'll find that many fiberglass boats are much more appealing to look at and the ride is often better.  Aluminum doesn't bend in multiple planes, so they are kinda limited to simple curved hulls, whereas fiberglass can be any shape you want.  The problem with fiberglass boats is that they're almost always a wood core with glass over it.  Years of flexing and bending causes hairline cracks which means there is a fair chance an old boat will be rotten.

In truth, that's not always a bad thing.  Of course you would prefer to have a not-rotten core, but the boat I'm running this summer is a 1968 Glassmaster, 15', 70hp, and that boat has been absolutely abused.  The whole family lives on a lake in the summer, and we often travel to the ocean.  That boat has seen nearly 60 years of salt and fresh water, and honestly used three times a day for hours at a time.  It has had cracks in the gelcoat for 20 years, and just last week my foot went through a rotten spot in the raised floor.  Don't care.  Transom is still good.  I covered the hole with a piece of plywood and kept going.

Some glass boats get super flimsy when the core rots.  Some don't.  Wood is cheap, but glass is expensive, so some manufacturers use a thick wood core and a thin layer of glass.  Others will use just enough wood (think like luan) to basically be there for the glass to stick to, so if that core rots, it really makes little difference in the integrity of the boat.

I will also ask an indelicate question... how, um, "mobile" are you?  You mentioned grandkids.  Those bubble windshields are an absolute nightmare if you ever want to do a shore landing.  Dock, fine.  Beach, not so much.  My 57 Sea King windshield lasted about 4 years until I had enough and I took it off.  On the other hand, the (very lovely) runabout that MTN pictured is much like my Sea King.  Easy in/out, but if you're out on the lake and a rain shower kicks up, or it's a chilly evening and the bugs are out, you're getting pelted in the face.

If the grandkids are still young, freeboard height is a thing to prevent them from falling in.

Any of the bigger-name old outboards are a good bet.  OMC, Mercury.  If you get old enough on the OMC that it has the dual fuel lines (early 60s-ish) from the tank, you will likely find that parts are hard to get.  I do have a 62 or 63 Evinrude 10 and a 68 Evinrude 6 that refuse to die.  There is truth to "they don't build em like they used to," but you also will find that they are much heavier for the power you get.

Also, be aware that in the early to mid 80s, manufacturers started rating power at the prop.  Previously they were measured at the flywheel, so a 35hp from the 70s has about 15-20% less power than a 35 from the 90s.  Size accordingly.

I think you'll find that cheap boats aren't the expensive free porsche you're expecting.  The old saying of Bring Out Another Thousand is for people with a nice I/O cruiser that drop it off at the marina in September for an oil change, storage, and winterization.  If you do your own work, boats are some of the cheapest and easiest things to own.  A 2-stroke outboard is usually bulletproof and needs almost zero maintenance except for a possible water pump.  People will mock me for this, but the 1988 Merc 70 I have on the glassmaster (the one that has been abused forever) has had one water pump replacement, and that was only because I had to pull the lower unit for a seal and I figured it was a good time for preventative measures.

The best boat I ever owned (and still do) was a $1200 Baja 19' I/O with a seized 305 and motor stringers so rotten that they had grass growing in them.  Stripped it to a bare hull, built a 350, found a good used gimbal that let me put a newer Alpha outdrive on it, and added a rear seat from a Dodge Dakota extended cab that I covered in vinyl.  65 mph for $3600 and my own labor, and I could get my money back for it easily.

Mr_Asa said:

Curtis? Your thoughts?

I will enable the berkeley outta this

In reply to mtn :

This is the kind of boat I would realistically own. The places I can go play this is near perfect for my useage and there should be minimal headaches. 

Thanks guys.  As much as I like the classics, I've seen 1960s fiberglass.  Very informative Curtis; I am limber, I can get on the floor with no plan on how to get back up.  Gym 3X/week.  I believe I should be looking for something like Mtn posted; aluminum, no windshield to climb over for docking or getting on deck.  Chrysler bad.

The black & white boat is in NYC, pass.  I reached out the to guy with the red & black one, I asked for a pic of the interior from the transom (wanted to see the interior and floors).  'THERE'S ENOUGH INFORMATION THERE, MAKE A DAMN APPONTMENT TO SEE IT".  You bet.

Will let you know how this ends, with the LaSalle, should I just wait until next year?  Lets see.

Most of these windshields are easily removed. I wouldn't let the presence of one stop me from buying it. 

An aluminum boat is probably going to be the most worry free thing you can get.

If there is anything at all near you like this, get it. You can pull it with just about anything and launch it by yourself.