Assessing Water in the Hull of Older Boston Whaler boats

[Gargantuga]

Q1: what is the procedure to determine if a Unibond hull is waterlogged?

Q2: if a Unibond hull were waterlogged, what volume of water (in liters or gallons) may have entered the hull, judged by where the water line of the hull at the transom is located relative to the engine splash well drains?

Q3: if a Unibond hull were waterlogged, how much would a professional restorer of Boston Whaler boats like METANE charge to remove the water?

Q4: would it be possible to suck out the water with a vacuum pump--I've seen some video on line--and restore the boat in-house? I have very limited experience with repairing my sailing boat with epoxy, but I have many friends.

Q5: is the boat/engine/trailer shown worth a price of US-$17,000?

Fig. 1. This view shows what may be a large volume capacity tank located under the wrap-around stern seat. This adds more weight in the stern, particularly when the tank is full of whatever it holds.

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Fig. 2. A MONTAUK 17

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Fig. 3. A useful view of the hull showing the location of water line marks relative to the engine splash well drains.

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BACK STORY
I'm negotiating the purchase of a 1983 MONTAUK [17] in Sicily. The boat has been in a covered shed for about two years now. Previously it was used in sea water. From the pictures in Figures 1, 2, and 3, I have a serious concern the boat is waterlogged, given the waterline tilted aft and the marks of dirt above the splash well drains. The bottom drain seems to be replaced with some brass fitting.

On the other hand the owner has fit a shower tank under the aft seating with the pump and the related equipment.

I'm asking here because US community has way (way way way) more experience on these boats the Italians.

Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

Gargantuga
Venice - Italy

[jimh]

The water line marks seem to indicate the static trim on the boat will cause the engine splash well drains to be slightly submerged. This is likely a result of the heavy four-stroke-power-cycle engine and the wrap-around aft seat. A common change when older boats are re-powered with modern engines that are significantly heavier than the original two-stroke-power-cycle engines for which the hull was designed is to move the battery out of the stern and forward to be in the center console. Also any fuel tanks should be moved out of the stern and forward. If there is a large capacity tank under the wrap-around stern fuel tank, consider moving that forward. Typically a fuel tank would be located under the reversible pilot seat. There are Moeller-brand on-deck fuel tanks that are specifically designed for to fit under the reversible pilot seat.

The anti-fouling paint on the hull indicates a prior water line that would have left the engine splash well drains above the water.

Q1: what is the procedure to determine if a Unibond hull is waterlogged?

Please refer to the FAQ for advice on this topic. See

FAQ Q3: Is there water in a Unibond hull?
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/FAQ/#Q3

Q2: if a Unibond hull is waterlogged, what volume of water (in liters or gallons) may have entered the hull, judged by where the water line of the hull at the transom is located relative to the engine splash well drains?

To see how much deeper a particular hull will submerge with one-gallon of water entrapped in the foam, just bring a one-gallon container of water aboard, and place it in various locations of the hull, while carefully measuring any change in the immersion of the hull into the water at the transom.

Q3: if a Unibond hull were to be waterlogged, how much would a professional restorer of Boston Whaler boats like METANE charge to remove the water?

The best way to get an estimate for cost of professional repair will be to contact a professional Boston Whaler hull restorer in your local area and ask for a quote.

Q4: would it be possible to suck out the water with a vacuum pump...and restore the boat in-house?

Use of suction to encourage water to leave the foam is a possible method. Again, see the FAQ.

[jimh]

Q5: is the boat/engine/trailer shown worth a price of US-$17,000?

The horsepower of the engine is not mentioned and is not clearly seen in the illustrations, so the value of the engine is not determined. The engine value will be an important factor in the selling price. The engine appears to be a modern four-stroke-power-cycle engine, so that is a big plus in value. If the engine is 75 or 90-HP, that is also a plus factor. You do not mention the year of production of the engine, so readers again have little information to assess its value.

Because the boat in question is already in your country and convenient to you, to assess the market value of the boat in Venice, Italy, is very difficult for readers in the USA.

[jimh]

ASIDE: as seen in Figure 2, the method of using an orange tie-down strap wrapped around a bow railing stanchion base is not a good method for securing the hull to the trailer.

[Gargantuga]

Thanks for the kind answers and the rephrasing)

The engine is a Suzuki 60hp 3 cyl 4 strokes heavy duty. It's called ARI in italy.
It has a larger reduction gear ratio 2,42:1 and a more solid construction of the transmission.
This to have higher torque at low rpm and mount larger props, to push heavier boats.
The engine is 2021 with only 50 hours on it, almost new.

Bregs
Gargantuga

[jimh]

The engine is a [2021] Suzuki 60-HP [three-cylinder four-stroke-power-cycle heavy-duty model]...

That sounds like an expensive engine. I would assess the engine value as contributing at least US-$6,500 to the asking price of the boat, and perhaps even more if you consider the newer engine remote controls, harnesses, and gauges, and propeller involved in the engine installation.

[Gargantuga]

Correct, the engine new is around 9000 USD with all the controls installed
The trailer has never been submerged, the owner used a crane/suspension system to haul in/out. It goes for adound 3000 USD new.
I believe 17000 USD for the package to be a good bargain, even budgeting 3000 USD for the repairs, hull checks etc etc.
Some work to be done, but that's all the fun.
Also the boat has not been named yet...... so hopefully it will be up to me!

Bregs
Gargantuga

[jimh]

ASIDE: to me, the Bimini Top looks like the orientation is backwards. The shade created will not be over the driver at the helm seat, which is the actual purpose of the Bimini top.

Also, the aft strap that exerts tension onto the tubular frame of the top is typically oriented almost straight down from the frame to a pad eye on the gunwale. As seen above, there is a strap or rope of some kind that is angled far aft for attachment to the hull. That is a very poor orientation; it creates a big obstacle for getting on the boat from a dock or pier, and also would interfere with fishing lines if you were angling for fish with rod and reel.

[Gargantuga]

Today I met with the owner and performed sea trials (10 mins). Tried the boat at different speeds. On plane at 4200 rpm at 13 knots. Max speed 24 knots. Perfect conditions no wind no waves.

Checked the boat from the back, it had the drains submerged :(
Also the owner said he usually kept it in the water without the plug. After the rain it usually had 2cm of water inside up to the consolle……

The biggest concern anyway was the engine fastenings inside the splash well. They had broken the gelcoat ad ended up inside the glassfiber.

There were marks of impact of the engine with a wall, probably insorge the guy’s garage. The engine was working ok anyways.

Also the owner (angry) was pushing to seal the deal claiming that waterlogged Boston whalers are unheard of and that I was not in good faith…..

End of the story, I backed off…. So no montauk for now. What do you think? Was it a good call?

Bregs
Gargantuga

[Gargantuga]

Thinking back, the main thing I didn’t like was the general absence of care. Many new things installed (sonar, engine, radio, gps finder, shower etc) but very little real care for the details.
I believe buying a 30+ years boat first of all you buy the previous owner.

[jimh]

I agree with your assessment that when buying a used Boston Whaler from an individual seller, the buyer needs to assess both the boat and the seller.