1987 weekender

D

Dr1532

New Member
Oct 4, 2011
13
RI
Boat Info
26'cc
Engines
twin 250 ox66
I am not new to boating at all, My wife wants to buy a boat that we can spend a few days on at a time, I have found an 1987 30' weekender . it has twin 260hp motors with straight shafts, aswell has a wesbeke gen. This boats bottom has nevr been painted so I take it it was ona lift . The owner stated to me that he had purchased it last fall and had put it in the water for a few days to try it. A friend of mine has a 27' 87 amberjack in which I do believe this boat is set up the same way but bigger, alot of room forsure. What are some of the trouble areas of these boats ??? How much wood did searay use back in 87. If there is wood in it I will prob hire a surveyor to do a moisture testing, Did they have issues with rot around the winshield ???? soft spots on the fordeck??

thanks
 
Definitely have the stringers and transom checked out for moisture and rot.

The stringers and transom are wood and encapsulated in fiberglass. Behind the glass is all wood and foam.

Amberjacks are more open for fishing and a have smaller living area -vs- the Weekender. The Weekender has more cabin area and sleeping area's.

Your floor and windshield areas should be fine and you can easily check those out from the engine room. Look for leaks around the side windows where water worked it's way down the wall and into glassed-in areas. I've read where some owners of the 30's have seen moisture issues in those areas.
 
This is our first season with our 89 300.
The areas on the boat recommended to watch by the surveyor are as follows:
-forward transverse bulkhead (check under the second step going into the cabin for the shower drain and bilge pump)--bad area for moisture if not maintained and very difficult to correct if gone bad----ours needed a bit of epoxy and good to go
-deck area forward of main center hatch-- if hatch seals have gone bad moisture will have penetrated into the deck core--our survey pointed out this area had an elevated moisture level (which is not real good)--I have had it checked again as well as the hatch seals and fastenings--all is very solid
-bow stanchions- if they flex you may have issues with water penetration--they will need to be rebedded--not a big issue if the wood has integrity and you can get at them from inside the cabin
-cabin ceiling fabric loose under windshield--surveyor said it was moisture coming in from either the windshield or the center bow rails--not so--prior owner fishing stereo wiring from bulkhead loosened the fabric
-look for brown stains on the cabin interior fabric--may be fiberglass resin from water leaking in from the hatches etc
-check fresh water tank inlet if mounted flush on deck--prime area for water penetration but can be repaired

Engine bay:
-ensure engine mounts are solid
-secure all lines open the engine hatch and watch the prop shafts while in gear--no wobble
-no vibrations under way

I did considerable research on moisture meter readings and surveyors interpretations as well as talked with many knowledgeable in the industry before we proceeded with our 22 year old boat purchase

No regrets

Good luck
These are good solid boats !!
 
I see you stated this as an 87 model Weekender, is there a chance it is a 1989 boat? There is a 1989 boat here in CT with no bottom paint for sale currently. I would imagine no bottom paint on a 30' boat is rare. Any wood cored boat will need to be checked for rot. Usually around items mounted to it, hatches, stanchions, etc... Being a true inboard though, you stand a better chance that the transom is in good shape, as there isnt a large (or two) hole through it for the outdrives.
 
You are correct as it is a 1989 not an 87 like I first thought , and that is the boat that I am going to look at, Its strange to me that there was never no bottom paint on it , I will def look for all the possible issues listed above, supposly this was a frsh water boat, it will be easy to tell. I have look at alot of these boats online , is it common to have two small blocks , instead of the 454's , also is the 520hp enough to get it out of its own way. This may be a big step up for me as even though I am a wrench turner , i have always had outboards

thanks
 
Don't know about Weekenders but my 30' Sundancer more than gets out of it's own way with the 260 HP small blocks and Alpha drives. It was a bit of a pig until I changed the props, now it handles like a much smaller boat and has more than enough power.
I'm currently going through a repower and I'm going to be putting two brand new 275 HP Mercruisrs in it. The boat should really fly with the new power.
I imagine that the 260 HP inboards should perform well too in the 30 foot boat as long as the motors are strong and the props are right.
 
JVM225, what props did you put on that improved your perfromance and handling? I'm still running the stock 14.5x19 and anything I could do to improve handling would be a plus.
 
When looking we were advised to go with the big blocks if we could find one. Mor torque and less rpm. Anything above 3200 rpm will start to open the secondaries. We can cruise at 3200/28 mph and no trim easily with lots left if we need it.
 
thanks for the info regarding the big blocks, also who told me to look at when buying .I am going to try to look for people with small blocks and see if they are happy with there power, With winter comming , and not much money around, im sure I should be able to find something, One person mentioned on here that he changed his props to help out. this boat has straight shafts , and his has an IO , not sure if preformence will be different. i was also told to look at the trans, as they made two, i was told the velvet drive was the better out of the two??? I do not know​
 
Good suggestions above with regards to areas to watch for moisture. I would add to check ANY and ALL fasteners on the foredeck that required drilling through the fiberglass to mount. I was amazed on my 340 how much water was able to get past screws for snaps that were installed to attach lounge pads. They were only #6 in size, but the balsa coring was rotted and soaking wet several inches around each. The forward 'deadlights', or football shaped windows are also prone to leaking, as Sea Ray bedded them in clear silicone, not the best idea they ever had.

As for power in a 300WE, the small blocks work great and stay on plane easily, even below 3000 rpm, with the straight shafts. The difference between the small and big block powered 300WE was about 500 rpm at cruising speeds. I had a friend that bought an '89 300WE new at the same time I had my '86. When he was at 3200 rpm, I needed to run 3700 to hold the same speed. Top speed wasn't much different though, as both boats tended to push the bow down at WOT and 4400 rpm. That's the nature of fixed shafts that can't be adjusted to be more parallel with the boat's hull.

The 300WE came from the factory with 17" x 17" props, 1 1/4" shaft.
 
Although I am not a Sea Ray owner, I have a 29' boat that is very similar. The twin 270 hp, Crusaders give me a low cruiser around 21 knots, a mid range cruise around 23-24 knots and a top end approaching mid 30 knots. Even with a full load of people and supplies, the boat will plane off no problem and run well. Not underpowered by any means.
 
Dr1532 said:
thanks for the info regarding the big blocks, also who told me to look at when buying .I am going to try to look for people with small blocks and see if they are happy with there power, With winter comming , and not much money around, im sure I should be able to find something, One person mentioned on here that he changed his props to help out. this boat has straight shafts , and his has an IO , not sure if preformence will be different. i was also told to look at the trans, as they made two, i was told the velvet drive was the better out of the two??? I do not know​
Click to expand...

Our 300 has the Merc Hurth 1.6/1 ratio transmissions and they seem to work flawlessly. 17 x 17 3 bladed props and 1 1/4 shafts. One advantage I like with the direct drives and hull design, is the significant difference in draft required. Our mim is 29 " where as an i/o will be in the 30 plus range (which of course can be trimmed upwards). The other thing I like is a lot less expensive hardware hanging in the water. Another point to consider is docking and tight space manuouverability. Our weekender pivot point is just slightly aft of the helm. Forward and reverse response is awesome with no input from the helm required. Not sure about the i/os where a lot of weight is back at the transom. I guess I am a bit bias.

I should have also mentioned we can cruise at 23-24 mph and 2700-2800 rpm
 
I had a chance to go loot at this boat today, what a waste of a nice day besides the 40 in gas. I will post pics when i find my camera cord. The boat looks fantasitc form 15 ' away, The hull around the exaust has many spider cracks , both sides, aswell as the transom is full of spider cracks. this in an area in where I believe there should not be any. The cabin area is in decent shape , I did touch the wall fabric below the cabin window and it was very brittle , telling me that ther is water leaking by the windows, aswell you could see some staining . All canvas would need to be replaced , all fabric on the deck would need to be replaced, the seats aswell as there frames were junk, swim platform needed to be rebuilt .it does apeare to be a fresh water boat as the engine room / motors had very little rust, the window frames around the cockpit ,port side were falling apart. Oil in the engines were filthy, there was signs of water intrusioon around the bow rail screws . The gen seemed ok. the death kiss . Even though they were not bleedong out yet the stringers has glass that has pulled away some as long as three feet. these were the inner most stringers, so I m sure they are soaked' The outer stringer I looked at seemed ok, but could only see rear of the tank. I do not mind doing what needs to be done , but not really into putting new stringers. What a shame that some one would try to sell a boat in this shape , or atleast tell the interested party what it may need
 
Oh man... what a bummer... keep looking sounds like you know what your doing... there are lots of boats on the block today for descent prices...

Keep us posted
Jason
 
weekender 2.JPG
 
double pic sorry
 

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I have about 8 more photos but cannot seem to be able to upload them on here . I would gladly email them if somone would put them on here for me thanks
 
I know the feeling of disappointment. It is amazing what " in excellent condition " means to some people. We have looked at so many over the years, and based on the pictures it makes you want to buy the boat right then and there. However !! Not the case.
Think of it this way. Look at how much you have learned and what to avoid. Just a note though. Spider cracks around the exhaust outlets are common for this vintage of boat and typically are not an issue.
Good luck on your search.

Ken
 
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