This is the one at Boat Boys right? I'll keep my fingers crossed and whatever else I can cross for ya.

Yup. Many times reduced, still not sold. I'm going to have to see for myself what the deal is. I go out Tuesday morning.

WELL, here is the abbreviated version of my day yesterday.

First and foremost, the surveyor (Paul) is extremely thorough, very boat "smart" and generally seemed to be a nice and honest guy. I learned more about fiberglass and boat structure in 4 hours than I ever though possible. I wish I could use him on a retainer for the next one we find.

That being said, the fist two hours or so of the inspection had me very worried. Not how you would think though! He had already shared with me his comparable sales which were in the 74-85K range. The outside of this boat is AMAZING, very few gelcoat imperfections, the graphics (pain) was just about totally flawless also. One could really tell that it had been cared for (cosmetically). Moving on to the bilge, the motors are super clean, no fluids in the bilge, no concerns there. He begins to place the moisture meter around the center stinger and it pegs (had been seeing 10-20 numbers elsewhere with little concern overall). Uh, oh, little wet. Maybe still noting to get too upset about. We continue on with the cockpit area, all looks very good, vinyl is 99.5%, only one single tear on the drivers seat. original fountain bound carpet in great shape.

Next, the cabin. I get right to it, leading him up to the V-berth area that I had already been warned about. What a friggin mess, huge amounts of wood rot, likely coming from the anchor locker up front, BOTH of the tubes that are supposed to drain directly out of the side of the hull up front are disconnected (one totally missing). Both the of the vent fittings (similar to gas tank vents, only plastic) weren't even caulked onto the side of the boat, they were both able to be removed by hand. Poking your finger in those holes revealed a really moist situation right there.

No need for the moisture meter in the cabin, there were several places where his hammer just poked right through. So much for Fountain (and other dealers) telling me not to get too concerned. The center "keel" stringer which can been seen at the access hatch directly next to the head was a treat too. Totally soaked, and whoever it was that warned me about the keel being OPEN at the topside was absolutely correct. Why in the world they would glass two sides of a piece of wood this important and leave the top open is beyond me.

Anyway, end of this lovely story has the surveyor putting a SALVAGE value on the boat, which in his opinion is about 20-25% of the average retail.

Boat Boys was really honest and helpful also, parking the boat in their facility and offering help a few times. No complaints about them for sure, the bank is pretty much screwed on this one.........


Back to my search for a decent SC, I guess realistically I need to get back to a 92-93.

50g's US eh?........just so you know the US and Canadian dollars trade even now.

Pj: I wonder if that center stringer is going to be an issue on all of them? Man thats to bad. 25% of 75k is what like 18k glassdave probably could fix it for 20-30k Then you would know what you got.

Pullmytrigger: I seen that today dollar trading @ 1.0167

Dunno, I am making a point of looking at at least two to three more in person before I condemn the whole model as a my choice. Thing is, the cabins are SO nice, inviting, makes you want to sit down and relax in there. Very much different from most boats I've been on.

I think I'm going to take a look at the mustard yellow blower motor one this Sunday, just for the heck of it.

That, and maybe the 94 in Delaware.

As far as having someone "fix" it, that scares me. I know I'll know what I have, but what about others, as in when I go to sell it. I'm figuring that can't be good for resale values.

I just want one that isn't rotten and moldy, shouldn't be that much to ask...... I'm telling you, from the outside, that boat was an absolute cream puff.
(does that make me gay to say that)

That keel stringer is the same in the bigger lightnings. I called Fountain about it but they couldn't explain the rationale for classing the sides but not the top. Makes no sense to me. Keep looking. In this market you shouldn't have to buy a boat with problems and worry about fixing them.

Thank you (and agreed).

As I've said, I'm poking around with my current boat all last week, cleaning up, tying up some loose ends, new stereo, speakers, fuel filter changes, etc. Just going to go about my business of running my boat this summer and keep my eyes peeled.

Something will pop up here eventually I suppose.

How much of the info from the survey are you/did you share with Boat Boys. Guess if they take that info back to the bank, the bank will be surprised and or not agree.

Does a broker need to disclose this info after being made aware of it? I would think so.

Put it this way, the BANK payed for the survey, I was invited to attend and was allowed to sit in for the verbal from the surveyor to Dave at Boat Boys.

They have one other interested guy, supposedly a fiberglass man who isn't worried about the damage.

I want something that I can get rid of if need be, and not have to lie about or worry about what the next surveyor will find.

Paul is supposed to be sending me some pictures we shot during the end of the survey, they are brutal. The amount of water that was allowed to sit in that hull, and the rot that developed is downright amazing.