I have a question! Is $2500 to much for a 1973 Sea Ray 24 foot cuddy cabin with the 888 Mercruiser? I looked at one today that has been sitting under a car port for 15 years unused it needs quite a bit of work! It is in fair to good shape!
I would not take a 50 year old fiberglass boat with an obsolete engine for free. I would not take any boat that had been sitting for 15 years even if you gave ME $2500. To answer your question, yes its too much. But that's just my opinion. It will probably cost thousands to get it in runnable condition, and if the stringers and deck are rotten (which is almost a certainty) you can add another $5000 to the cost.
You would really need to know exactly what you are getting into. A fifty year old sea ray, almost certainly has structural problems. I have learned first hand how involved it is to repair these kinds of problems. Whenever I am asked if a certain price is too much for a boat. I always respond, "Be careful. Free is too much for too many boats."
I currently own a 1976 Sea Ray 20 foot with the very same engine and drive setup but I have had mine for 22 years I bought it the summer of 2000 and I am in a slow half ass process of doing some restoration on it I just spent $560 on new seats this summer. The boat runs like a charm.
The woman asked me what I thought her boat was worth and I told her just the fact that the thing has been sitting for 15 years without being run is a lot of problems I told her probably $500 and she scoffed I can't let it go that cheap! Well good luck! I know what I had to go through with my own boat after it sat for 10 years with being run on a set of earmuffs and a garden hose every summer.
Sounds like it is sitting on a trailer. A used tandem would likely fetch a big part of her asking price if it were in reasonable shape. I find it easier to walk away than to insult someone with how they value something. Sounds like you guys are a long way apart.
5 years ago I purchased a 1970 cream puff see Sig. It was 100% original and perfect. This spring I purchased a 1981 SRV195 w mercruiser 350 and it’s darn near perfect. I paid $2500 each time w trailer. Yours is a project. It’s worth at worst paying $350 to get it towed out from under the tree by a salvage guy, up to $750 to the ole lady if the engine block and outdrive are still salvageable and trailer is good.
I'm not in the business of buying and selling, or salvaging parts to make some cash. My free time is spent out on the sandbar drinking beer. Old boats in poor condition usually require more hours working on them than actually using them. My buddy, who is on the thrifty side, went the fixemup route. But then the repairs turned out to cost about double what the boat was actually worth. Although it was now in nice usable condition his wife decided that boating was not for her. So she made him sell it. Of course, he got market value, so in the end he lost thousands of $.
Actually the boat that the lady has is sitting under a big carport but still sitting 15 years without even having been at least run on a garden hose it needs the works on the mechanical end and then there's the interior it's a project period! I have already been thru what that one is going to need when I put my own boat back into use 5 years ago.
Sounds like you know what you would be getting yourself into but can't tell wether you are trying to convince yourself for or against? Any boat is worth whatever you are willing to spend. Doesn't matter what others think. If not looking for a project, then definitely not what you are looking for. If so, then what is a couple G's for the right hull? Comparing the price of an old 19-20' to a 24' with cabin is apples to oranges. The trailers alone have twice the axels. We picked up ours for twice what she is asking for that one. We were looking for a project though and knew it was the right hull for us and have no regrets. New trailer, electronics, replaced the stringers, repaired the transom and repowered with a more modern Vortec/Bravo 2. Blah, blah, blah..... All in now we are probably around 25G with doing it all myself. Would hate to put a price on my labor but then I take my time and actually enjoy tinkering on my own stuff. We run with other boats in the 50-200G range. I wouldn't trade any of them for what we have. These old Sea Ray hulls are more solid and actually more efficient than the ones we run with. Probably more to do with the lower deadrise which allows less hp to maintain a decent cruise speed. They aren't as good at cutting through chop above 3' but we don't fall far behind when it is. Any chance you have a pic or link? Love to see these old hulls.
