Whats It Worth
 

Please help i am on my way next week to see the Larry Smith 38 being sold by Jim Earle .The boat is a 1997 staggered 38 with number 6s and Merc 1000s.Considering the CURRENT market and the fact that it is a non cabin,non stepped boat that has been for sale for years what is it worth.(Please remember this is a Larry Smith NOT a production Wellcraft.Thanks Joe.PS it comes with a nice trailer.Overall condition of everything APPEARS excellent from photos.

:worthless_without_p

Its the red ,white and blue 38 on the on the offshore only classifyed .From the pictures (i pray they are RECENT )the boat shows almost new.Numbers guys, whats it worth =TODAYS MARKET.Pros=Drive ,great shape ,well built (Larry Smith ) nice traier,Mercruiser power.Cons=No cabin ,raceboat cockpit ect,(very limited resale market as the boat has been for sale forever) 97 non stepped hull alot of people feel is antiquated INCLUDING Larry Smith himself.

PS I spoke to a friend who owns a large marine in NJ This guy has had ever High Perf boat imagionable and feels that if i go over 75grand for the boat i am crazy in this market because of the hulls age,no cabin ,non stepps ect(even though it has 6s ect )Also the age f the engines ,power level ect

i always really liked the look of that boat. are those normal size boxes on the 6s? they look pretty long comapred to usual.

heres a link.

http://www.offshoreonlyclassifieds.c...o17127-en.html

best of luck with the purchase.
josh

They are extension boxes =Drives further back,clean water.Big dollar race boat item

Anywone,anywone.

I would agree that you could come out OK at 75 as long as it had an impecable survey and the engines were gone thorugh with a fine toth comb by someone who knew what to look for.

Those engines are old technology also.

I love that boat though, and wish I could swing something like that for my stable.

Good luck with the buy. I am looking at it from a wholesale standpoint. If you really like the boat and want the 6's then you could probably get away with a little more.

I don't remember, were those dry or wet sump 6's?

Jeff,they are dry sump 6s .You are exactly cottect about the engines (old technology )The problem in evaluating them is the only true way to tell their condition is to pull the heads and oil pan off .(the max price i will pay is going to factor in major rebuilds before i splash the boat.Since i am in NJ if something major goes in July iam basically done for the summer )

I dont see how ya could go wrong, 75,000 for a big power #6 boat......That boat is beautifull....All the right stuff cockpit,clean trailer, lifting eyes,pair of big blower motors and drives....I cant see the part that sucks about this deal....Just that i cant buy it....

PS IF i buy at say 75 and have to put 20 in (major rebuilds )then iam at 95000.00 which to me at least is too high (single purpose , 11plus years old non stepped,non cabin ex raceboat ,been for sale for years) considering the horrible boat sales market .(Gas up here is 3.50 a gallon.The guy with 300 grand for one of these things does not care but at the price point (under 100k ) it must effect sale,resale.

I all breaks down to,,,,,,, ( does it get you excited when you open the hatch and mash on the throttle) Otherwise you are not an owner, you are a broker.

Broker or dealer would be in that boat at 50k. Owner could be in at anywhere between your 75k and asking price.

I would just splash the damn thing and run it till it breaks. Old engines might be in good shape. These things surprise me sometimes.

Good luck and congrats.

I dont mind being an owner but it has to be at the right price.If you negoiate from strength not weakness you will usually do fine.With the state of the boat sales market now it definately is a buyers dream Gas is close to 3.50 a gallon .The guy with 300gs for one of these things does not care .The guy with 100 grand does .

I never look at anything logically so i cant comment on your anwser.....That boat gives me a chubby, it sounds like you are planning to sell it before ya bought it.....Good luck.......There is a lot to choose from in the 100,000 dollar range...(i love old race boats) so i am a little bias in all this...

I dont know Jeff if it was that great a deal at 90 gs it would have sold already .Broker or dealer should be happy just to move this boat and not lose money in this market.The broker dealers are telling me once i buy something of this nature i will have to piece it out to sell it (remember the boat is already 11 years old ) Unless its bought at the correct price.

PS the boat is definately bad ass its just a thing with me about being up side down terribly.i could be wrong but the dealer needs me to buy this boat not vice versa .If i iose it another will come along at the correct price esp in this market.

I just goy back from Canada.Pros =boat is in great shape for its age ,top of the line hardware ,drives ect.Cons=EXTREME Hardcore to the max (drop in race bolsters approx 5 feet high leaving not one square inch of cockpit room ) absolutely no cabin (a cubby hole directly under the steering wheel that if your ober 150 lbs you can not even get down on you knees to view muchless crawl thru) 11year old everything.I think imade a fair offer on the boat.To me at least if something (like this boat )has been for sale for years (considering the shape its in )and has not sold plain and simple the price is too high.

So you made an offer and?????? Is it as clean as the pics show for it sure is sharp looking in them

The seller wants 90 FIRM.The boat definately needs muffalers (none at all )and in all actuality if the boat is to be used in the cold weather states preventive maintaince engines rebuilds since the engines are 11 years old.(In nj if you pop one in July your done boating for the year )It is how ever in great shape for its age.I offered 70 plus and he turned me down

PS Even if you totally forget the lack of cabin ect the way the bolsters are set up the boat CAN NOT be used for any sort of pleasure boating in any sort at all other then poker runs.Basically if you buy this boat at the wrong price you own it forever.

red,
i think you got the situation nailed; cuz at 90k that's your lifetime boat. i think that 70+ is a fair offer. like you, i'm amazed that the 400k new prices don't pull up the value of these older boats more - but they just don't- end of story. - good luck - jeff

That is a sick boat ! I wonder if they can convert the cockpit from race to pleasure.

Guys i wanted the boat badly (between all the BS in getting from NJ to Canada plus the 1000.00 cost=traveling expences ect)BUT if you crunch the numbers its not worth it to me at least since i was not willing to run the boat as is without preventive maintaince rebuilds and muffalers.on 11 plus year old engines.(If you dont rebuild and something catostrophic happens your done for the summer in NJ and now you got a 30 grand plus bill on top of what you paid for the boat.Either way you just dont know the TRUE shape of the engines untill you BUY the boat and pull them apart

Definately but it will not be cheap.(notice how no pictures are supplied of the entire bolsters-guess why )trust me once you see just how hardcore this thing is in person you will realise why the boat has not sold IN YEARS =TOO EXPENSIVE.

Didn't it race A class before in its life on my crashed computer I had some more different pics of it.

Dont know for sure but the way its configured thats really all you can do with the boat.Dont get me wrong for its age its in great BUT the whole package definately has issued

There will be others. Others that are more setup for the way you are looking to use the boat!

Thanks guys, nice boat though, GREAT hardware ect just something that unless its bought at the correct price the buyer will forever be terribly upside down.

what about this one!!!!!!!!

Thanks Baja but for how i intend to run this boat i need something staggered with 6 drives.

PS your boat looks great.

If any other potential buyers have any questions i can help with feel free to call me at (732) 977-7244 thanks Joe.

Quit being a cheapskate and buy a boat already. It doesn't matter if the motors are new. I had 2 new merc motors and after break in of 20 hours before the nyc poker run , blew one on the run. Chucks guys had me back in 3 weeks , not bad for the high season and the week of july 4th! You've spent so much time scrutinizing you'll never have any fun!

Really , when you find what you are looking for , I know we'll see you out there!!!!!

[QUOTE=REDDEATH;2459466]Definately but it will not be cheap.(notice how no pictures are supplied of the entire bolsters-guess why )trust me once you see just how hardcore this thing is in person you will realise why the boat has not sold IN YEARS =TOO EXPENSIVE.[/QUOTE

If the bolister was a little torn i would have skipped the whole deal. Its not like your getting a #6 boat for 70,000 grand or less.....God forbid your (UPSIDE DOWN IN A BOAT)..............

yeah yeah yeah,why dont you two guys buy the LS SCARAB for 90 drop another 50 into it (bolsters ,complete engine rebuilds ,mufflers ect )and in two years you can have a 15 year old boat that you spent 140 grand plus on worth 50 k. Ps LOL i want a ride and i will bring the beer.HUNSTER yoy too funny.

Just a question, how many hours are on the boat and how fast did they tell you it would run?

They said the boat should run approx100 mph.As far as hours its anyones guess (i have hard that years ago the boat was raced in the Michigan area).When something of this nature is for sale according to the seller it needs nothing.Here the selling broker is claiming the 11 plus year old drivetrain is fresh.Everyone is different in my case i just was not ready to take the gamble of tens of thousands of dollars (major rebuilds ,muffalers ,bolsters ect )that this was true.

PS a compression leakdown test means nothing (an engine can pass the test and still have blowby at upper rpms)every engine builder has told me the same thing the only way to tell is to pull them apart in this case considering their age ,power level ect if they need ajor rebuilds (sleeves,pistons, valves blowers,trannys muffalers ect )there is an easy 40-50 grand on top of the selling priceof approx 90.Buy the time your done you have got a 11 year old ex raceboat (no cabin,race bolsters )that you paid close to 150 grand for.

Just razing ya, i did not see the boat in person....They always look good in pics

This isn't the right boat for you. You are concerned about all the wrong things for this to be your boat. Move on and find something more popular and easier to sell when you are done with it (Fountain, Cig, etc) This is a very serious boat built for poker runs and club racing not for pleasure cruises. The eventual buyer of this boat will have special needs/interests and be willing to ignore the very things you are basing your decision on. He/she will buy this boat solely for the love of what it represents. There are obviously not many of these type buyers around these days. I oughta know.

PS, boat was built for Wellcraft execs to do poker runs. They didn't care about cabins, resale value, loud exhaust, etc.

Good luck with your search.