SCARAB III Pull the trigger?
 

Hi guys. Need a little bit of advice and you guys are the best at that! I have a friend with a Scarab III that he was restoring. During the restoration someone stole his drives and his motors. He got fed up and said to hell with it and is offering to sell it to me. He redid the transom and prepped it for paint so I know that the boat is structually sound. He is asking $8,000 for the hull, steering and its on a tripple axle trailer. He has a fiberglass fairing and fairly new upholstery. It was set up for bravo 1's.

Couple questions
1. Is it a fair price?

2. I can get a pair of 330 454's for cheap $3,000....what will it do with stock? Can I put on a 177 blower on it and call it a day? My buddy says it will be a complete dog with the 330's and it will not be able to run in 3-5 ft swells with those low hp motors.

I am ready to do the deal, but my buddy is steering me to a donzi 28zx without power for 15K. The stepped 28 seems a little bit small to be boating offshore to me. Thats why I am leaning towards the Scarab. Any opinions?

Thanks!

with stock 330's it will run mid 50's..owned one going on 10 years.. I just finished new 600hp power.. I put 177's on my stock power a few years back..gained 14 mph !!

The Scarab will be a much smoother ride in the rough stuff than the 28 donzi. The scarab III's are heavy boats.

If you buy the boat for 8g, and need to do motors, and drives, you'll probably have close to 20g in it. With the economy the way it is, you can probably get a clean complete running scarab III for that money without having to turn any wrenches.

+1

$8000 is to much money, especially with all the good deals out there now.

I have been seeing some complete ones under $20k. I will do the math and see.....I will let you guys know what I decided! Thanks!

I have a buddy that has a pair of Bravo's for sale at $4000 for the pair and I think thats a fair deal. So add that to the $3k for engines and $8k for the unpainted hull and you're at $15k still needing paint and assembly. As you read some of these projects that guys like Scottie and 502 have been doing you'll fly past that $20k mark so fast your wallet will melt to your shorts. $8k sounds nothing short of you buying some else's heartache.
Bill

Question?
 

Hi there I have a Scarab III with new 330's this season. TRS drives. What else did you have to change when installing the blowers? 14mph is pretty significant! Would you do blowers again or would you do a nice hefty top end kit and make it natural? I am considering both options dont know which way to go...
Thanks,
Jon

Jon I racked stored and could not get 93 on the water. wouldI do it again , yes, but I would have changed Head gaskets too, call me @ 440-773-1833 if you ever want to discuss , Happy to help..,Dave

My father had a 1985 Scarab III with 330's. It was a DOG! Turned high RPM's at average speeds, so fuel flowed fast. If you get the project, plan on more power or dont waste your time. You'll only be happy when docked or at teh beach, not on the ride.

With the deals that are running around now I decided to pass on the III. By the time that project would have been finished, I would have had more in it than I could get a running one now. I will save up some more $ and I will try to wait for a nice 33 powerplay.