CONTINUOUSWAVE

What is a reasonable asking price for a 1972 13-foot hull with a Yamaha 25-HP engine with tiller steering on a trailer in Buzzards Bay Massachusetts?

Near me one was just restored and looks nice. I was shopping for something built in c.2000 but came across this, and it is really catching my interest. In Buzzard's Bay these old whalers were everywhere back in the day.


Fig. 1.


Fig. 2.


Fig. 3.

In 2022 bought a one-owner 1988 13 foot Sport with original 30 HP Johnson. Good original condition, well maintained with so-so trailer. I paid $5,000.

ASIDE
Where on Buzzards Bay?

ASIDE
Mattapoisett--I see you are in Westport. We spend a week on the Westport River as well. I'd love to have a boat up in that river for that week each year.

Before you buy the boat under discussion, you need to be aware of several possible problems:

• The boat has a notched transom, so it needs a short-shaft or 15-inch-shaft-height engine. It is unclear from the three photographs if the engine on the transom is a short-shaft engine. Short shaft modern engines are rather limited to just a few models. If the engine is not a short shaft, the boat won't run properly;
• Tiller steering with a 25-HP engine can be a bit tiresome. Usually a 13-footer with 25-HP would be a SPORT model, with a console, remote steering and remote engine shift and throttle controls. Yamaha does have some special tiller steering models that have a shift lever on the extended tiller. From the photographs it is hard to see if this engine has that feature.
• A modern 25-HP engine will be heavier than a c.1972 two-stroke-power-cycle engine, and with the tiller steering the helmsman will be sitting in the stern; both will create additional weight in the stern and tend to make the hull very light in the bow.
• You need to realize that a boat made in 1972 is about to be 54-years-old in a month or so. Old boats can be in good shape, but because of the "restored" nature of this boat there is no way to know what its condition was before the restoration. A glossy finish on the hull and woodwork could be hiding some repair work.

The most valuable part of this boat-engine-trailer combination is the engine. That is fine, as long as the engine is suitable, that is, as long as it is a short shaft model. That is the first element to check out.

The restoration certainly added value to the hull. But as you note, there a probably a lot of old 13-footers in your area, maybe not as shiny because they have just been well-cared-for since new, and have had no damage.

This 13-footer is a STANDARD model, the least expensive, and perhaps the least desirable. There has been a lot of inflation in the price of used boats in the last five years, but much of that was generated by the COVID lockdown of the country. Used boat prices are not as strong as they were in 2022 when KOVAR bought a used boat.

Also, the boat offered by KOVAR as a comparable at $5,000 is not really comparable. That boat is 16-years newer, has a 20-inch-transom, is a SPORT model, and has an appropriate 30-HP original engine with remote steering and throttle. All of those elements are significant upgrades from the 1972 STANDARD 13 that has been "restored" and re-powered.

The problem with buying an old boat with a very new engine is the seller probably put a lot of money into the engine. The only effective way to get value out of a buying a new engine for an old boat--and in this case a very old boat--is to keep the boat for 20-years and enjoy the new engine. Trying to sell a boat with a very new engine just put on the transom will generally result in the seller losing money on the engine purchase. Of course, the seller will try to avoid that, but he may not be able to hold out for the buyer who will repay him for the full cost of a new engine.

jimh wrote:Before you buy the boat under discussion, you need to be aware of several possible problems…

jimh—Thanks for the info. Here is a better picture of the motor situation. What do you see here in terms of engine shaft compatability?


Fig. 4.

At a glance perhaps $4,000.

Figure 4 appears to show a short shaft engine that—very strangely—has been modified by adding an extension, which appears to have a much different color and age compared to the color of the much newer engine, making it into a 20-inch shaft model. That is very curious.

You should contact the seller to resolve this conundrum.

Also, the trailer looks like it is 54-years old from the rust that appears everywhere on it, and while it adds immediate convenience, its road-worthiness needs to be verified.

Further, the bottom paint (which looks very recently applied) could be hiding the true condition of the hull bottom. You should also see the boat in the water to see if the actual waterline matches the painted waterline. Comparing the location of the painted waterline of the bottom paint to the waterline indicated in the Owner’s Manual (see https://continuouswave.com/whaler/refer ... tml#bottom ), the painted waterline is several inches higher that the factory diagram shows it should be.