What do you think she's worth ???
 

I'm revisiting this boat and think that after 6 months of not selling the seller may get into the range I feel is acceptable.
Here's a link to July 2011's thread and my only reply

38' Scorpion

My understanding is he now has a survey as great hull fiberglass and gel, no moisture, but there were motor issues as one would start but not clear out and the other wouldn't start, and some misc. repairs noted that needed addressing.
I love the classic old school lines and the way they did the salon.
For the right price I'd hop on it like flies at a picnic and repower with some newer motors, these look like plain Jane 454's from way back.

As always thanks for any insight y'all may have.

http://images.craigslist.org/5Q65T45...98ddd31a8e.jpg

See ya,
Kelly

C'mon gang, almost 200 views and not a thought one about what the value may be.
Here's some linked pic's for registered members who can't see OSO pictures

http://images.craigslist.org/5Y15U55...96d1f61219.jpg
http://images.craigslist.org/5V25T45...8f08521a40.jpg
http://images.craigslist.org/5V55T55...f079c51674.jpg

IMO, with her age and issues around 15k max sitting on the trailer.
Any opinions would be appreciated!!!

See ya,
Kelly

Drives? what ones are the gimbals good and tight. Issue is the engines and year of the boat id do 10K here you go cash in the face. If he doesnt like it then let is sit as a lawn orniment.
-Mike

I'm guessing TRS, my pic's get grainy when I zoom in.
I interacted with the seller on the phone back then and now with it still for sale I'm fixing to contact him once more.
I don't want to make the long drive to see her in person unless he's clear on where I'll be with my max offer if I feel it's worth it.

Back then he thought the boat was worth more than the 10-15 I told him that I felt was the current market value. At his asking price I don't see it moving anytime soon.

Thanks for your insight.

See ya,
Kelly

TRS drives gimbals I literally can give them awat so they are worthless unless some one is in a bind and needs one asap. Motors need help from what the ad said so those are worth only there weight in scrap which is about 250 for both of them. Trailer id say is worth 4-5K depending on cond. of everythng on it. Hull you might as well burn. Seats and interior say 1000, seing as the seats will fit a variety of boast but the rest wont. Trannys might as well use for anchors. So thats where Id be at if I was you good luck.
-Mike

Stinger,
You've got me LMAO!!! cause your 100percent correct.

See ya,
Kelly

Glad to be of help. Next boat in question please......

It's worth what you are willing to pay. SOMEONE has to pay high retail and someone has to pay low retail for these little books and websites to work.

I don't post often but here are a few thoughts. About five years ago I decided to try to get into the "high performance" boat market. I figured realisticlly about starting out in a 28'-32' craft. I've boated in a cruiser/family model boat for some time. I did hold out hope that I might "Luck into" or Dumb Myself into" a 38' or larger boat. (The price goes up dramatically for those boats). So over the past several years I searched, recorded, and logged boats for sale on just about every web site you could imagine. So here goes an opinion....
The boat you've been watching might not be such a bad deal.
First off, if you replace the engines with high dollar new ones it not only adds cost to the boat initialy, but demands higher maintenance costs, and if you break one well....If those in the boat can be freshened up reasonably they would do nicely and still get the boat around at 70-80 MPH. "OLD" 454's are easier to maintain and replacements / or parts are abundant.
One thing I can tell you that to replace the carbs is @ $3,000.
Secondly, the transmissions and outdrives (probably Borg Warner & TRS) are old but good stuff. You can still find parts / replacements, and cost although not cheap is affordable.
So... If the hull and deck is in good shape as stated, the cabin interior looked nice, no pics of the cockpit interior. The boat looks much better than many 80's models.
I feel that if you could get it in the water with the mechanicals freshened up for under 25K, or even 30K it might not be a bad purchase. This is what I did with an 1986 40' Fountain...so far so good!
Whatever you decide ...GOOD LUCK!!!

i noticed you mentioned the seller has a survey in hand. Keep in mind this survey is almost worthless to you the buyer. Get your own survey. The only thing that determines the value of the boat is what you offer and what he will take. Toss out your number if he jumps on it well then ya got yerself a boat :D

You really think that 1980's era hull is going to push 70 - 80 mph with a set of 454's? :party-smiley-004:

If that boat was formerly an offshore race hull, and it's not incredibly heavy....yes. 70+ is a very attainable number.

I agree with the $10K-$15K range you mentioned. That seems more than fair.

I didn't say that the purchase price should be 25K, you have to try to allow for what you'll have in her after you address the boats issues. My post stated that after all was said and done if you end up with a usable boat that meets your needs a total figure of 25K would not be bad

10k or sink it in Miami boat just isn't worth it. Completely all stock trs boat with motors that are toast. Tell him keep the boat but the trailer for 4500 and buy something else. Or throw him a bone you will drag that scrap cast iorn fiberglass and rest of that heap out for 5k triple what scarp would pay.
Mike

Just askin' If you pay 10K for the boat, after repair or changes are made to it, what do you think he'll have in the boat? Also the assumption is made that the trailer is worth $4,500. it may be junk as well and not nearly worth that price. I agree that 10K would be a price point, but the boat needs work and you have to make sure you have a set figure you feel you wont go over.

Res to many factors here. Does he do the work himself what upgrade and to what extend does he do. Ive always read in oso take how much you believe it will cost and double it that will get you close

That's the point I was trying to make whether you do the work yourself, repower and rerig, or have a local shop do it you don't want to get over 25K in the boat. Even if you got the boat and trailer for 5K, if you spend 30-40K to get it going you are buried in it!

I agree bud. And your right on the trailer maybe a scrap heap also. Let the boat stay there. Buy a CIG!!!! :coolcowboy:

Kelly I'm going to shoot lower than these guys. Even a 4K trailer, 3K in drives and a grand for a hull with non running motors etc. I would do 8K as my top. That's just me, and as everyone has mentioned, the boat is worth what people will pay. Try in the next phone call or email to get a feel for the seller, some have this idea that any old "cigarette" boat is worth big $$, if he/she is one of those just walk away (I'm sure you already know that). You'll have 10K into making it a good running boat..

Kind of confused. If the poster has a 38 baja special why even look at something like this? Doesn't make sense.

huskyrider - would be a good idea to take a look at my 28 apache listed here. Its less than an hour drive from you and the motors are almost brand new.

It would be for my son and his family.
I'm looking for a go fast boat on the cheap that we can invest sweat equity and a little coin into.
I'm thinking 10k plus 15 out of pocket and handling as much as we can at my shop.
I like the old school look and the size, plus I've read positive reviews about the Scorpion 38 hull in my searches.
Over 25 and I could most likely find a running boat that just needs knick knacks.

Thanks for y'alls replies.

See ya,
Kelly

Husky go for it at 10 as I said. Sorry Tex but that 28 doesnt compair to a 38

Sting,
Thanks, that's kind of where my mindset has been since the very get go.

See ya,
Kelly

I just cannot see having 25K in something that no one else wants! If you want sweat value and a little money in something, at least start with a hull that someone else may want when you are done.

Spend the 25K up front and buy your son and his family a nice, newer boat they they can enjoy now. Not something that may or may not get them home every weekend.

Have you ever repowered a boat like this? Have you and your son taken on a lot of these kinds of projects? IMHO you should budget closer to $20-25K for a reliable stock repower. Once you pull the motors everything will start to show up, gimbals, steering pins, transom assemblies, cables, hoses, pumps, etc. Adds up fast.

You should also look into insurance before buying. My buddy had something similar to that, he put over $50K into his boat.......only to find out most wouldn't insure it and those that did wanted $8-10K per year. If the insurance company finds out that is was a race boat you will never be able to insure it.

Hawk,
Thanks for your reply too.
You know I'm kind of at a crossroad on this. We have a buyer who's supposed to bring cash for our ZX10R Ninja's we're selling.
I'll be sitting right in the middle of the value I felt was for the unit, so it'll be an equity trade. In retrospect thinking I'd probably yank the 454's to have them disassembled and inspected. If worthy, I'd pay for them to be rebuilt for reasonable power and longevity instead of forking bigger coin for new powerplants. My boat's not fast and he doesn't need the speed headaches too.
We really like the old school look and the salon, plus we tend to hang on to toys for a lot longer than many motorsport enthusiasts. The only reason we're selling the crotchrockest is that I lost a dear friend last year in a sportbike accident and truly feel this is a good time to put them out to pasture. I can foresee this boat parked in our stable of fun for many years to come.
I'm deeply grateful for all of y'alls insight. This site rocks with a wealth of knowledge on all aspects of the sport.

See ya,
Kelly

Your a mindreader, LOL!!! You must have been posting at the time I was. We've built cars and bikes a plenty but on boats not really anything major to speak of. But I've swapped plenty of engines, tranny's etc... in my excavators and work trucks. I could unwire, unfasten, and use a trackhoe to snatch the motors out like we always do.
Thanks for the heads up on insurance, I'd probably just tell my agent of 25 years that it's a 38' Scorpion w/stock BBC's good for about low 60's at best.
I don't think she'd hit those 70 to 80 speeds without some real power under the hatches.
My boy liked yours but I told him I think it would be an insult to offer much less than the asking price. I get my panties in a wad when peckerheads come offer me 60 to 70 cents on a dollar to my asking price. I'll always have some wiggle room but will usually stop at 20% off of what I'm listing for.
Personally, I love an Apache and think your boat would be a great riding boat in our area. We don't get really big water like some of you members do.

See ya,
Kelly

I have never done a boat from the ground up like that.

I know though that when I did a basic gimbal repair to replace the swivel seals I blew through a couple grand pretty quickly and didn't even realize it. ALL of this little stuff added up - I can only imagine that on a full re-rig it would be exponentially worse.

And like someone said - in the end you are left with a boat that doesn't even have it's own classifieds sub-section on this website!!! I think that might be telling to me.

I think FREE has a nice ring to it!!

One thing everyone here will agree with is the fact that the boat isn't going anywhere. And it certainly isn't the only old school 38 on the planet. If he doesn't accept a low ball offer, walk away and go find an old Stinger 390 or a 12meter fountain. They are out there and may be a favor in the end.

I agree completely and there are plenty to choose from.

See ya,
Kelly

I think you have your answer. If you like it for 10k, buy the thing for 10k.
The project can be fun and if you don't fool yourself into thinking that you 'll make money on it in the end, you're ahead of the curve.

Not breaking anyones balls here but why do some devalue this boat when their own iron sits and sits and sits...

Good luck and have fun.

What'd ya do ?
 

Hey Husky I was wondering what you ended up doing about the 38' Scorpion you were thinking about buying as a project??

I never even drove out to see it as it was at least a 3 1/2 hour drive from my area.
The seller is in a pickle as his balance on the note is way more than the cash value of the boat. I told him this is a very common situation and welcome to the powerboating world.
I offered him to approach the lender and request a short sale and my understanding on these is that they'll let you off the hook for unpaid principle and then send you a 1099 as misc income that you have to pay income taxes against for the amount off the charge off.
I'm going to wait again until the end of the season around Halloween and approaching him again. I don't see him spending more money to fix her up or moving it at his asking price unless it's a less than knowledgeable buyer.
It's quite a shame 'cause if I could have picked it up for between 10 to 13 I'd of pounced on it. I still believe it's a good boat at that pricing level. I found some pretty good insight on this offshore boat builder from that era during my internet searches. The builder, a spanish racer, had positive reviews on the hull quality, offshore handling, and the look is classic offshore cigarette styling.
My only concern was how much of a pounding she might have taken and how hard it would have been to remove and or flush 4 100 gallon fuel tanks. These were issues I was going to bring up when we met in person. I'd hope he'd of handled this before rigging his salon, which I did think was a tasteful looking interior.
She's got potential at the right price.

See ya,
Kelly

Here are a couple other options...

http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/boa/2854267194.html

http://porthuron.craigslist.org/bod/2887159534.html

Personally, that second stinger is the one I would look at...only 25 hours on the motors..