Practical Boat Owner – August 2019

We should have heard the faint last
gasps of the dry-rotten and disintegrating
vinyl. We should have noted the dark and
rotten wood in the crazed ski locker, that
we now know is a sign of catastrophic
structural decay. Similarly, the owner’s
comment that ‘she needs A LOT of work,’
should have rang an alarm bell.
Nonetheless, the owners, who were
‘moving and had to sell their boat
immediately’ demonstrated that, despite
the ghastly outward appearance, the
boat’s mechanical heart was operable. On
Saturday of that same week, we were now

the accursed owners of someone else’s
junk – and to make matters worse we’d
paid $2,100 for the entire package!
Avery and I, plus a few helpful friends
laboured all summer on that boat. I
changed the oil, oil fi lter, spark plugs,
replaced the exhaust manifolds and risers
(which corrode quickly in warm salt
water), replaced the circulating water
pump which was defunct, and replaced
the gear lube (which was milky) and
impeller on the Alpha One Gen II outdrive.
Things that now take me minutes, took
hours – even days – on our fi rst go

around, and blunders were inevitably

made. By July, we were fi nally satisfi ed to

attempt sea trials, and away we went to

the boat ramp, buzzing head to toe with

nervous excitement. This was it: South

Florida’s salty waters were to be the judge

on my mechanical prowess.

Upon launching the boat, all systems

checked out and the engine came to life.

The gearstick was a bit sticky, but after

fi ddling with it we headed north to Jupiter,

Florida, my old childhood haunt. About

halfway, we noticed that we were taking

on water, but couldn’t be sure if it was

coming from the engine, sea, or both.

There was a sheen in the bilge, but it

could have easily been the byproduct of

the many different types of fl uids that were

changed before our journey. It was

minuscule, however; the bilge pump

would easily keep up – or so we fi gured.

We proceeded for another mile before

turning back to the boat ramp, where we

hauled the boat out of the water and

drained gallons of water from the bilge

and ski locker. It was apparent that the

adhesive sealant I’d tried to smear

between the transom assembly and

transom had failed to do its job and that

was the source of our leak.

I trailered the boat to my friend’s house

so he could have a look and he jumped

up and down on the outdrive, declaring it

to be fi ne. “Tighten the inner transom

plate bolts,” he insisted – an almost

impossible task with the engine in place. I

contorted myself into the back of the

engine bay to tighten the bolts – and when

I did, the transom fi breglass skin cracked!

At that moment I knew that we’d bought a

worthless and rotten boat!

WANTED: nice boat with

dodgy engine!

I was extremely frustrated as I’d wasted

months of labour and thousands of

dollars! Avery, however, was more

level-headed: “Why don’t we buy another

boat with a bad engine and swap ours

in?” she suggested.

“Eureka!” Thus began the search for a

nice boat with a dodgy engine, across the

entire south-eastern US. I wanted a

Chaparral 2130 SS this time and found a

nice one in rural Virginia with a kind owner

who was willing to work with us.

However, whilst visiting family in

Alabama, we took a look at another I’d

seen online. The owner was cleaning her

as we approached, and beneath the

cocoon of diesel dust was glimmering and

pristine gelcoat. The interior was even

nicer, with pliable white vinyl and a

beautiful turquoise carpet.

After thoroughly tapping all surfaces, I

was certain this boat was solid as a rock.

The owner, a kind woman who had

recently been widowed, was asking

$4,000. We offered $2,000 before

eventually settling on $3,000 – but we

‘We were now the accursed owners of

someone else’s junk – and to make matters

worse we’d paid $2,100 for the package’

RESTORING MOTORBOATSPAGE NAME HERE

LEFT Chaparral

2130 SS on its

trailer ready for

the journey home

BELOW The same

boat moored near

Stuart, Florida

Worn vinyl was just cosmetic wear, but...

...the crack in the transom was serious

BOAT

PRICE

PAID

MONEY

SPENT

TIME

INVESTED

PRICE SOLD PROFIT/LOSS

1996 Regal

Valanti SE 202

$2,100 $300

Two months part-time whilst

working part-time

$2,200

-$200 but happy to not to

lose more money!

1995

Chaparral

2130 SS

$3,000 $3,000

Tinkering on this boat was a

joy. We owned her for a year

and worked on her a few

times a week until sold

$11,200 $5,200

1999

Chaparral

2335 SS

$9,500 $5,000

First real refi t. We spent a

few nights a week for 4-5

months

$17,000 $2,500