When I get on computer I'll send u some links, willing to travel?

You done good checking the boat out . . . if the stringers were wet, most likely the main bulkhead is wet/rotting and probably the fuel tank is sitting in wet foam.

Thanks guys. Yea I'll travel a little bit, don't much want to get outside of NY. I'm not looking to go much above 10/11k, twins are okay too. Looked at a 242 with twin smalls last year but it was a POS. Still talking to the marina about this one. The owner is talking about having it fixed because that's the only way they will broker it for him now. I told them to call me in August when it's done and we can talk and my offer still stands for a lesser price. I know some of you have done rebuilds on these 242's, What's the worst case, cost wise, that this boat could be in for?

I re-did my 242 myself. But here is what my guess would be for a pro rebuild on the affected areas

Dis-assembly and engine removal
Bulkhead and engine room stringers
New fuel tank (probably has been sitting in wet foam for years)
Foam installation
Re-assembly and engine installation

$6-7k

What he said. I did my transom myself on both my formulas. Not that hard.

Mine... I took it to three people for estimates. I needed to have the transom, engine stringers, main stringers, and the fuel bulkhead redone in mine. I removed everything; propulsion, electrical, etc. first guy quoted me $4K unseen, then said no after looking at it. A really good shop here in VB asked for the starting money upfront ($6K) and said it would probably go up from there. The third guy told me $4.5K but I'd need to buy materials. Finally, I had a friend do it for just over $3K (but it took him almost a year to complete). It was a huge job, and I still had to re-rig everythig.

$6-7K is probably a ballpark number IF you do not run into anything else farther up the boat (mine was dry beyond the bulkhead, thank goodness!). On this boat, if the owner isn't going to redo the backend, I'd walk away (more than likely, he won't. No ROI).

Good luck!

Yea, it looks like the 'net worth' of that 242 is about $3-4K . . . So, the seller might be better off just dumping it for that to someone who is willing to fix it.