35' mistress cigarette

looking at 1979 35' cigarette, has #3 drives, 540's, external steering, been sitting for years, has real high Xdimension, exhaust is exiting hatch, everything appears to work, don't know if motors run, the man wants 22,000.00. Was supposedly built by Don Arrow. Have receipts from new and only has 143 hours on it. Is this a good buy????? and how available are parts for drives???????? Thanks - Tom

[super termoli]

tom, parts should not be a big problem and 22K is a good deal for a running boat of this dimension. however, it all depends on its overall condition. give us some more details, what year and make are the engines, is hull in good shape, what is cockpit upholstery like, dashboard gauges... all this small detail like gauges appear trivial but it's this detailing that costs so much to put right. i'd rather have a big dent that requires fiberglass work than a dashboard to reconfigure and rewire... OSO members like photographs. Post some photos and then you'll get some more opinions, maybe even from someone who knows the boat or part of its history. good luck with it if you go forward with the purchase...

[Madcow]

Are they really #3 or #2 speedmasters? The easiest way to tell is the 6 bolts holding on the drives on the #2s two strait rows of 3 on each side, On the #3s they are a little bit offset. Other than that make sure you have a survey to check the condition of the hull. Thats an old boat and it very likely has some rot in it. If your not sure if someting works you better count in it not working. Otherwise it sounds like a fun project.