Postby jimh » Tue Oct 01, 2024 8:51 am
I am familiar with the 23 WALKAROUND boat, from cruising with two friends who own (or owned) one, and reading of the experience of a third friend who also had one.
The original Whaler Drive configuration was quite a complicated structure, and the unusual rigging tubes with their below the water line entry through the transom were a source of problems. I see that your replacement set back bracket contains a substantial buoyancy box, which is very much needed to compensate for the engine weight, particularly with the change to modern engines that are probably heavier than the original engines.
The hull design is quite different from the Boston Whaler classic era moderate v-hull which were characterized by a more constant dead rise and not as deep-V angle at the transom. The 23 WALKAROUND hull needs quite a bit of power to run properly because of that design, particularly the Whaler Drive models, which were usually rigged (as yours) with twin 200-HP two-stroke-power-cycle engines. That also explains the enormous fuel tank capacity.
Another distinguishing element of this boat is the complexity of the many systems it has, such as pressurized fresh water tank, sinks, and plumbing, live wells and associated pumps, and black water holding tanks. For a 23-foot small cabin boat, that is a lot of added "stuff."
The fine entry at the bow imparts a better ride into head seas, but I think the boat has a tendency to bow-steer when running down-waves.
OK, enough for my impressions. I will try to offer an appraisal.
An appraisal is difficult, because this model was not made in large production quantities, so they are somewhat rare. Even more rare are the models with the hard top and radar arch. At the original new boat price, I am sure these boat were probably the most expensive model Boston Whaler had to offer. The outriggers tend to suggest they were set up for some serious ocean angling.
In particular in the case of your boat, there have been extensive upgrades. The most significant is the removal of the original Whaler Drive and replacement with an aluminum large set back bracket. And, of course, the two new modern HONDA BF150 engines. That must have been a very expensive refit.
One of the three boats I mentioned in my introduction was a notched transom 23 WALKAROUND with twin Yamaha F150 engines. That boat did not have a hard top, and no Whaler Drive, so it was a bit simpler than yours. The owner more or less aged-out of the boat, as be was approaching 80-years-old, and the boat was just too much for him and wife to handle. He offered the boat for sale at what I thought was an extremely attractive price--more or less about the cost of the quite new twin four-stroke-power-cycle engines. Despite that attractive price, the boat did not bring much interest, and it took quite a while for a real buyer to appear. The selling price was more or less about the same as the new cost of the modern engines. This was not a situation of a huge loss, because when my friend bought the boat, the seller in that transaction had priced the boat very attractively.
The other two 23 WALKAROUND boats I am familiar with both have the original Whaler Drive. On one of those boat there were significant problems with water inflow due to the rigging tubes not being perfectly sealed. A great deal of work was done to remedy that, as the boat was almost down flooded at one point during operation. The other Whaler Drive boat seems sensitive to weight in the cockpit. When rafted up and having several guests come aboard for snacks and drinks, the cockpit tended to begin to flood from the extra weight with water coming up the cockpit drains.
Exactly how your modification to the aluminum bracket and heavier engines has worked out is, or course, impossible to tell from a photograph or two. I hope the bracket has enough added buoyancy from its buoyancy-box to avoid that sort of problem. Also, the new bracket is significantly shorter, and it appears that the engines cannot be tilted clear of the water, as shown in Figure 2.
Whenever an older boat, and here this 1992 model year is now about to be 33-years-old, is re-powered with new, modern engines, the resulting value of the boat is not going to increase by an amount equal to the cost of those new engines.
Another element that cannot be appreciated from a few photographs is the overall condition of the boat. I do see in Figure 6 that the hull looks like the gel coat is in very good condition, as I see a reflection on the hull sides that suggests a nice glossy finish. On that basis I will assume the boat is in really very good condition and has no significant flaws or defects.
On that basis, I would expect that a reasonable selling price would be some amount that represents the expense incurred for the new engines and new bracket, and then perhaps $15,000 for the boat itself. I am guessing that would be about $50,000.
However, the market for older boats at his moment seems to be quite a bear market, as the crazy sudden enthusiasm for boating by newcomers to the field (from the COVID pandemic influence) seems to have evaporated, and there are many boats on the market.
Considering all the nice improvements, you might enjoy the boat for a while before selling at a price that might be below its true value.
ASIDE: in Figure 6 the boat is shown on a nice trailer. If that trailer is part of the appraisal, you should explicitly mention the trailer and give details about it, as that will value to the package.