SCARAB III owners, info request (long)
 

A friend of mine just sold his high dollar cabin gig, and said he has be driving by this Scarab for two years!
On a parking lot, tri axle trailer (middle axle is missing) and 4 flat tires, leaf springs gone, un-movable, it is in front of a pawn shop.... of course we are dressed like two navy officers who must have money to burn, NOT, I just bought a new boat!

So, we took the afternoon off to go check it out!
1983 (hull numbers say 83 etc)
340, with Twin 454's that he claims are 400HP each.
Of course somebody had STOLE the outdrives but he said insurance will fix up the back end with new drives ya a ya da ya da....
Painted with awlgrip, Runs in bottom of hull!

Owner said the motors run sweet and everything is new, 50 Hours on one and 100 on the other, interior of the cuddy was mint and original... very very nice.
He said he took it in Sept 2000, (tags matched his story) boat has sat since, hull seemed fine, hard as a rock, very heavy boat for sure, but the rub rail on the bow had a been hit by a dock, nothing major but water ran out on applying pressure.

Otherwise she was sound, so we figure, professional survey, get the cockpit totally redone, total repower the engines, (with new drives he promises) some body work and paint, two year project and BAMB, a sweet project boat cutting the bay.

We guessed asking price in this condition would be 12 to 15 K for a beat 19 year old boat... he stood firm on $ 25K....
I think they sell good dope in his pawn shop....
My buddy had been dreaming the last year or so about this rig.....
A very doable project..., hull really did seem nice, some light sandining and repaint if she surveyed okay!

Thoughts? My friend has deep pockets but is retiring and looking for a great project boat....
Thoughts, comments, advice etc etc welcome....

NICK, what year is your Scarab and weight?
Bryan

With the drives... its would be close...

is he saying hes going to replace them with

TRS
BRAVO

or what?

that might make the diff.

Also, CHECK THE ELECTRICALL....

you have two choices there... nah, make that one choice...

TEAR IT ALL OUT, AND RE DO IT.

unless its already been done... this is almost a requirement on a boat that old...

I have a 1978 SCARAB 300 with twin 502's

its a GREAT BOAT....

it runs in the high 60's and has on occasion hit 70.

:D :D

my boat weighs in at 8500 LBS on the trailer with gas.

oh yea... there is prolly a hole in the bottom at the front right, where the toilett used to go (before it became illegal).... be sure to plug that thing... ive heard rumor that it leaks water....

all said and done, let me tell you the bottomline....

the final decision is not about the money....

its about being DIFFERENT.

its about having something that nobody else has, regardless of money.

its about spending your entire saturday working on it, so you can go out sunday. (and believe me you will.)

its about some people STARING over the bow over their 2002 42ft tiger and saying... "wow, nice boat... i dreamed about having that when i was 20....)

its also about... "dam, I shoulda bought a new one."

its a tuff call.

im glad I already made it.

scarab IIIs had a hook in the hull to make them ride more lieka express cruiser than a true offshore boat. As a result they aren't as fast as they could be. BUT they ride like a cadillac.

25k seems high for a boat that old that needs work. I bought one (long story, i would up getting screwed out of it just prior to picking it up out of state) The hull was completely refurbished. All new imron and clearcote. Cabine was origonal but cleaned up. Head was a macerator flush and small holding tank. ANd eth cokpit was completly restored. Bolsters recovered, bench recovered and new rear sunpad. In adition teh dash was completly refurbished. Filled painted, and looke dliek real fiber glass instead of that crappy 80s wellcraft bumpy plastic. In addition it had all new guages, new VHF, Mapping GPS. The engine compartemtn stringers were completely rebiult. The compartemtn weas painted and re-rigged. It also cam eiwth GIL manifolds and dry pipes as well as external muffler tips and mayfair external steering.

It did not come with engines or drives or a trailer. But all that only woudl have cost me 18k. I coudl have dropped in pair fo 502/502 crate motors for another 15k and a pair for bravos for 3k and been running. It woudl have been a completely redone 70-75 mph boat with brand new 0 hour power for 36k. I doudt you could get the pawnshop boat into that kind of condition for anywhere near another 11k. Just a though.

I am sure you could find another project III for cheaper. There was one listed on yachtworld.com for 15k and i am pretty sure she was ready to run just needed to be cleaned up.

Best of luck with the project. Remember a scarab III will take a crap load of power to get moving.

PUDER there is no way that boat would go anywhere neer 70-75 mph with stock 502's and bravo drives. I have aprox. 600 hp 502's and I am going 75-80 mph with the faster 34 scarab hull. If it still has the TRS set up -with 454 engines top speed will be in the 55 to 60 mph range with a clean hull. In about 1990 they redid the hull design and speed increased 10 mph. My 34 scarab with stock 502 did 65 to 70 before I added all the extras.

I have to agree with Too Old, that seems a bit high for that boat. If he has been sitting on it that long I am surprised he will not move on it.

:D

If it had brand new MODERN outdrives put on it, I think it would be worth it.

If not... and it got TRS, then only 15k

btw, thats based on PERFECT engines.

tinker. it had bravos. The transom was glassed adn recut. The xdim might have even been raised. Also i typed 502/502 crate motors. Meaning 500hp 502cid engines. Not 420 hp 502s. 75 mph was very hopeful. I shall never know what it will do cus i didn't get it :(

Too bad you missed out on it they are a great boat. your top speed would have been about 65 mph. I love mine. handles the rough stuff great.