92 supra saltare question

[Jmm]

I am looking at a 92 saltare to purchase. The boat is clean and upholstery is in good shape. It has a 7.4 mercruiser engine with 315 hours. It has a Roswell tower. The guy is asking 11,900. I think the boat is all composite, so I should not have to worry about floor and stringer issues. Do y'all think this is a fair price. Also, the boat will be used primarily for wake boarding, but also skiing. Does it throw a nice wake? Is it difficult to hide ballast? The boat is on boat trader and the Atlanta Craigslist. I would really appreciate your input. Thank you.

[Jetlink]

If you have one or both of the links handy, post them up here, that way we can take a look at the boat and pictures to try and help you determine what you are really looking at.

[Jmm]

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/1992-Supra-Supra-Saltare-101916273/?zmc=

This is the link to the boat trader ad. Thanks again.

[haugy]

I think I just had deja-vu........someone sent me this ad a few days ago.

Okay, here we go. Seeing as it's about as far from original as it can go, you can't do much worse. It's a composite, with a tower, and new interior. While it's butt ugly (personal opinion), which is probably why it's so cheap, it's over done add-ons lead me to believe all the work is low-quality. The stitching on the seat and how the vinyl is loose and not tight makes me think this was a serious budget/hack job. Also, the fact that it doesn't show the motor makes me nervous.

It's missing the swim platform, and I don't know what the heck the owner was thinking by drilling two MASSIVE holes in the transom for speakers. So that is a big concern of mine . One good wave will take out the speakers and then let water in. BAD BAD BAD idea.

I love old Salts, but this thing is hideous. Is it worth that price, meh, it is a composite, but it's a mess.

[Jmm]

I can deal with the ugly part. The speakers in the transom really bother me. I have never seen speakers mounted in the transom. I agree with you, BAD idea. I don't want to buy problems. However, it is hard to find a composite in that price range with low hours on the engine. Do you think I should walk away based on the speaker issue alone?

[wotan2525]

The speakers in the transom is dumb, dumb, dumb.... but since this is an all composite boat, the "harm" in it isn't all that bad. You could pay a pro fiberglass guy $500 to un-do the guys mistakes. I'd talk him down that much to start with.

The vinyl is garbage. Plan for either headaches or $2k to fix that. A good vinyl guy could probably work with the material that is there.

The guy will try to tell you how awesome his "custom" stereo is. I wouldn't listen to him.

Do a compression check and look at how to un-do this guys bad ideas. It's a solid boat with a lot of potential. Get him down a bit on the price and you've got some extra money to start with.

[Salty87]

if it's not too far go take a look. it's possible that an enclosure was made to seal the transom speakers, doubtful but possible (come on, they are marine speakers at least :) . have to wonder about the tower install. trailer looks kinda rough.

if you can live with the mods, might be a good deal for you. if the vinyl, tower, transom, trailer all need fixing then you're not really getting much of a deal.

[haugy]

I emailed it to you last week...you're opinion hasn't changed. You forgot to mention the decals are hideous. I think the vinyl is homemade.

Yeah, I know, I was just trying to show I didn't know you. :D :D Actually I never know who may want people to know who knows them.......(get all that?). So if people send me things or ask questions, I'll just say someone. That way if it's embarrassing or they don't want something to be known, it's secret.

Yeah the decals are bad, but hell, those are the easiest to fix on that whole trainwreck. I can believe it about the vinyl, it's awful.

To the original question:
No, I wouldn't buy it personally.

About the speaker holes being patched, while that may be possible, a hole that big is going to take some serious time to lay in right and flush and still maintain strength. That won't be a cheap repair. No way that will only cost $500. That is a structural point on the boat, and it needs to maintain that. The guy that cut holes in it needs a swift kick in the nuts for stupidity.

[crystal waters]

never fall in love with a potential boat today for you will always find a nice one tomorrow!

[Jmm]

I was planning on going to look at the boat this weekend. Beginning to wonder if it is worth the trip. I spoke with the dealer and he does not know much about the boat. He is going to contact the previous owner and see how the speakers were mounted. My family wakeboards and skis behind a 86 Supra Marauder, which is a closed bow sunsport. The wake behind the boat was big enough for us, granted the boat was full of water logged foam. I am assuming the Saltare would have a similar wake. Is that correct?

[TitanTn]

Boats can hide problems a lot easier than cars. So to buy this from a guy who knows nothing about it is risky. I would consider this a decent price for this boat if it had the original interior, no holes in the transom, and the owner knew its history. This could still be a deal if he came way off the price, but this is unlikely from a dealer. Of course you never know if you don't ask. He'd have to come off a good bit for me to be interested.

BTW, I'm originally from Newnan. Where do you ski? West Point?

[Jmm]

Sometimes we go to West Point, because it is closer. We spend most of our time at Wedowee. I appreciate all of your input. I have decided to pass on this boat. That spacious interior was very tempting coming from a closed bow boat, but it did appear cheap and ugly. I'm moving on.

[haugy]

Personally I wouldn't quit looking at it. The graphics, can be removed, even the hideous tower. The expense will be the interior, and those holes.

That boat can be saved with an investment. So get that dealer low as hell. Point out how bad it is, and the structural weakness of it. If you can get it for $9k, I'd grab it. Put the $3 you save back into her for proper saving. A good composite should go for around 12K anyways. So if you can get that one low enough and put the money back in you'd still be flush at 12k out of your pocket.

While I hate how that boat looks, she just needs someone to save her.

[5akman]

I kind of like the looks of the tower myself but do admit that it would probably look better as a radar arch on my commercial fishing boat in Alaska!

[Jmm]

I got a chance to look at the boat. There were no major surprises other than what we already knew. However, 1) there is a 12 inch scratch in the keel that penetrates into the meat of the fiberglass. 2) the bracket that holds the swivel rack on the starboard side of the tower is broken. 3) the engine looks ROUGH. I had a mechanic check it out and it has great compression, but has some carb issues. There does not appear to be any major problems with the boat, but I am not looking for a "fixer upper". I think for the right person and the right price, the boat has a ton of potential. I have decided to put my resources into restoring my 86 Supra Marauder. Probably not the wisest financial decision, but we love the boat. I am sure I will have more questions along the way. 11664

[skiman_61]

Homemade vinyl? What's the recipe?