Close to pulling the trigger on a 1977 F36
Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 8:51 pm
New guy in town...........
I've been enamored with the Trojan F-series sedans since growing up boating on Michigan's Lake St. Clair - the guy in the well next to my father's boat had a sharp F32 (background: I was piloting my father's 1968 36' Chris Craft Cavalier double cabin when I was about 13 years old after passing my USCG Boater's Safety Class).
Now, many years later, I'm getting back into boating with my own first boat. I had been looking at F32s, but the extra cockpit and salon space of the F36 hold m1ore appeal. I was thinking about one of Trojan's 10.8 meter sedans, but I can't get away from the classic Fs.
I looked at a 1977 F36 that was in what I thought to be pretty decent shape for a 1977 boat. The wood looks good throughout (though the teak decking is covered w/indoor-outdoor carpet in the cockpit, and I'm assuming the 1977s had teak decking in the salon as well; am I wrong on that?). Any way, there are a couple of soft deck spots that I noticed: one on the bridge right at the top of the ladder, and one near the anchor mount on the port foredeck. I didn't notice any other noticeable soft spots in the glass other than those. I'm not a surveyor by any stretch of the imagination, but from what I could tell, I saw no delamination or other structural issues with the stringers; the engines mounts all looked good and solid.
More importantly, the Chrysler 440s are original and have 1800 hours. I had the owner cold start them, and they fired right up. He indicated that, to him, they appeared to be cooler-running engines, usually getting up to 135-140 or so. The ignition system let off a buzzing noise on turning the key (is this normal?). They ran for about 5 minutes and sounded smooth. No smoke of any kind was noticed from the exhaust ports on start or after running, and water was just pouring out of both exhaust ports off stern. The owner told my wife he changed impellers every 2-3 years. The bilges appeared to be dry, but I noticed a small bit of oily sludge down in the port side, low-point channel. Due to the boat's age, my sense is that it's residual drippage from years of oil changes. All electrical/electronic systems seemed to be working fine. The original owner was the K-Mart corporation (I'm guessing it was a vessel used for marketing purposes) and the owner indicated that he had the original receipt for the boat, original manuals for everything, and a slew of paperwork. He performed his own general maintenance and upkeep but I didnt' ask him if he documented his work.
I noticed a few small cracks in the fiberglass here and there, but nothing major. The ones that gave me the biggest pause were the 1-2" cracks that were coming from the base of the port bridge support structure where it meets the gunwhale. Not wide enough to insert a dime, but cracking at a structural joint nevertheless. I also noticed a couple small cracks in the two sliding port windows. The owner said he cracked one from an inadvertent slam. However, I'm wondering if the bridge is getting wobbly and contributed to the cracks. Those windows, like the rest, still slid okay - none were bound up beyond movement though a bit hard to slide.
The kicker, and thing that is really drawing me to this boat, is that the current owner bought it from the prior one from the same marina that I grew up boating from, clear across the other side of Lake St. Clair. I know my father, were he still alive, would be proud as hell if I owned this boat, but that's an emotional argument for buying this boat (or anything else, for that matter) and I don't want to make my first boat buy based on emotion and potentially get stuck with a total dog. The re-sale after having the boat 10 years or so, and putting money into making some interior upgrades, general maintenance, etc. doesn't trouble me. I know in 10 years it'll be worth 15K less - the boat will be 45 years old by that time.
The current ask is $25K. Owner said he was firm, but is ready to put the boat up for the winter and head back to Florida August 29th. I was thinking of offering $20K and working from there should I decide to pull the trigger. I'd really love to own this boat, re-do the cockpit teak (and interior salon deck as well if it, too, is teak) and just take some time for my wife and I to make it ours. Obviously my purchase would be contingent on a satisfactory survey and sea trial.
I guess I'm just looking for some advice, and if sound advice along these lines is to be had, I figure it will come from here. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
I've been enamored with the Trojan F-series sedans since growing up boating on Michigan's Lake St. Clair - the guy in the well next to my father's boat had a sharp F32 (background: I was piloting my father's 1968 36' Chris Craft Cavalier double cabin when I was about 13 years old after passing my USCG Boater's Safety Class).
Now, many years later, I'm getting back into boating with my own first boat. I had been looking at F32s, but the extra cockpit and salon space of the F36 hold m1ore appeal. I was thinking about one of Trojan's 10.8 meter sedans, but I can't get away from the classic Fs.
I looked at a 1977 F36 that was in what I thought to be pretty decent shape for a 1977 boat. The wood looks good throughout (though the teak decking is covered w/indoor-outdoor carpet in the cockpit, and I'm assuming the 1977s had teak decking in the salon as well; am I wrong on that?). Any way, there are a couple of soft deck spots that I noticed: one on the bridge right at the top of the ladder, and one near the anchor mount on the port foredeck. I didn't notice any other noticeable soft spots in the glass other than those. I'm not a surveyor by any stretch of the imagination, but from what I could tell, I saw no delamination or other structural issues with the stringers; the engines mounts all looked good and solid.
More importantly, the Chrysler 440s are original and have 1800 hours. I had the owner cold start them, and they fired right up. He indicated that, to him, they appeared to be cooler-running engines, usually getting up to 135-140 or so. The ignition system let off a buzzing noise on turning the key (is this normal?). They ran for about 5 minutes and sounded smooth. No smoke of any kind was noticed from the exhaust ports on start or after running, and water was just pouring out of both exhaust ports off stern. The owner told my wife he changed impellers every 2-3 years. The bilges appeared to be dry, but I noticed a small bit of oily sludge down in the port side, low-point channel. Due to the boat's age, my sense is that it's residual drippage from years of oil changes. All electrical/electronic systems seemed to be working fine. The original owner was the K-Mart corporation (I'm guessing it was a vessel used for marketing purposes) and the owner indicated that he had the original receipt for the boat, original manuals for everything, and a slew of paperwork. He performed his own general maintenance and upkeep but I didnt' ask him if he documented his work.
I noticed a few small cracks in the fiberglass here and there, but nothing major. The ones that gave me the biggest pause were the 1-2" cracks that were coming from the base of the port bridge support structure where it meets the gunwhale. Not wide enough to insert a dime, but cracking at a structural joint nevertheless. I also noticed a couple small cracks in the two sliding port windows. The owner said he cracked one from an inadvertent slam. However, I'm wondering if the bridge is getting wobbly and contributed to the cracks. Those windows, like the rest, still slid okay - none were bound up beyond movement though a bit hard to slide.
The kicker, and thing that is really drawing me to this boat, is that the current owner bought it from the prior one from the same marina that I grew up boating from, clear across the other side of Lake St. Clair. I know my father, were he still alive, would be proud as hell if I owned this boat, but that's an emotional argument for buying this boat (or anything else, for that matter) and I don't want to make my first boat buy based on emotion and potentially get stuck with a total dog. The re-sale after having the boat 10 years or so, and putting money into making some interior upgrades, general maintenance, etc. doesn't trouble me. I know in 10 years it'll be worth 15K less - the boat will be 45 years old by that time.
The current ask is $25K. Owner said he was firm, but is ready to put the boat up for the winter and head back to Florida August 29th. I was thinking of offering $20K and working from there should I decide to pull the trigger. I'd really love to own this boat, re-do the cockpit teak (and interior salon deck as well if it, too, is teak) and just take some time for my wife and I to make it ours. Obviously my purchase would be contingent on a satisfactory survey and sea trial.
I guess I'm just looking for some advice, and if sound advice along these lines is to be had, I figure it will come from here. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
