1995 29' Scarab Rotted bulkhead

HOTTZU98 · 06-19-2004, 04:00 PM

I looked at a 1995 29' scarab last night. Its a fairly clean boat. I opened the engine hatch and noticed what appeared to be a white flower-somekind of funges growing out of the bulkhead that is directly in front of the engines,that goes from the cockpit floor to the bottom of the hull. The glass over the wood was coming off and its rotted to mush. Also appears to be a crack below the center stringer going horizontal about 3 in. Cant tell how far down its rotted. 1) is this repairable? and safe after 2) or is the boat junk? A fiberglass guy told me it can be repaied and that the crack bty stringer was there first and the bilge must have filled with water to the stringer and water got in and rotted away. Any opinions on this one. He is asking $40,000 twin 350 mags. Has alot of stress cracks above the rubrails. If a guy bought it for $25,000-$30,000 would that be crazy or just pass on it????????

Fast Forward · 06-19-2004, 05:02 PM

For that kind of money I'd keep looking.

syclone · 06-19-2004, 05:14 PM

there is another rotted transom thread running, also a 29 scarab if i recall correctly. i have a ´95 22 scarab and it has some deterioration problems, too. the wood wellcraft used for these boats is crap. very cheap stuff and also bad workmanship. dont get me wrong, i think scarabs are nice boats (hey, i have one, too!) with a good hull design, but the craftsmanship is really bad.

to answer your question: i do think it can be repaired but it may only stay reasonble if you do it yourself. having it done by a shop might set you back $$$, or at least enough that you could have afforded another boat with less problems and work to do.
the cockpit floor, stringers, even the transom can be ripped out and renewed and it would make sense, anyway, because of the bad material.
the stress cracks come from a mismatch between hull and deck and pulling them together with bolts.
also, it seems scarabs (of that time) have great variations in gelcoat and laminate thickness which makes them prone for spider cracks. can be repaired, too, but requires a lot of gelcoat work.
i have no clue about the price, if the mechanical stuff is all fine and you can (and want) to do most of the work yourself it may be a steal, 25k doesnt seem too bad a price for a 29 with twins, but if the engines are 9 years old they will most likely need an overhaul. also, alpha drives that age are a little weak and may have suffered over the time especially if trimmed up most of the time.

bottom line: if 25k dont kill you, you dont mind going boating next year and putting blood, sweat and $$$ into it, it may be a rewarding project.
you want to go boating fast and dont want to live with a not-so-well built boat: leave it.

just my 0.02 euros

peter
austria

HOTTZU98 · 06-19-2004, 07:51 PM

Im wont but it,to much risk. I was just very shocked to see that kind of issue on a 95' model boat. I had a 1988 Donzi Z-29 that was rolled over and partially sunk and then repaired and It was rock solid! Dry stringers in rear. Slightly damp in the area under the step in the cuddy where water will sit if the drain hole plugs. Thats boating you learn a little more evreyday your into it. Thanks for responses.

06-19-2004, 08:05 PM

Just buy mine it is in perfect condition. Listed in classifieds. 1996 29 asking 39000.00

Fast Forward · 06-19-2004, 10:16 PM

I bought a 5 year old scarab years ago and ran into several rot issues. And it was only 5 years old with 170 hrs on it. Also had spider cracks everywhere on the boat. Don't get me wrong they sure have some of the most beautiful lines but that was about it. After buying a Powerquest I'd never look at another wellcraft product. The materials used were just plain poor quality. Besides, summer is short as it is! I'd rather spend a few extra $$$ and be enjoying the summer on the water. Not sitting in the shop swearing all summer.