Yep - another "How much is it worth" thread (re: 92' sunsport)

[sirhc]

I'm looking to purchase my first boat... don't want to spend $50k on something we may not use and/or slam into a dock. Primary goal is wakesurfing and cruising, with the requisite bit of wakeboarding, kneeboarding, etc.

I found a '92 sunsport in fair to bad shape. The hull is solid and straight, the motor runs great with good compression numbers (125-127) with ~650 hours... mechanically its a good boat. Whats wrong? Its ugly, scratched, needs interior switches and lights, muffler baffles are loose (may require a muffler - $$$?), windshield frame is loose, rear railing is loose, shower is inop, heater is inop, depth finder is inop, trailer needs brakes, etc.

I've been looking for a 92-98ish sunsport due to the composite stringers and modern windshield. They were asking $9k, talked them down to $7k, then had the pre-purchase done which manifested all of the above listed issues. If I bought it, I would throw an impeller and a muffler in it, fix the required trailer, light, and switch issues, wrap it in some black 3M Controltac and throw some ballast in it.

Cheap surf machine or huge money pit? What would be a reasonable sales price?

Thanks guys.

[michael hunter]

At 7k you have 3-5k to work with without exceeding what the boat is worth. Some pics would help. 92 was the crossover year for composite floor and stringers make sure if its wood its not rotted. Make sure you test drive it and than check the fluids.
IMO it looks like a good deal. Good luck.

[Ptownkid]

I'd pay 7k for a composite stringer sunsport as long as it had no compromising hull damage and running engine. Not sure about the cost to repair the trailer though...at 6k I would take it for sure. Look at it this way, you could probably fix the trailer, the entire interior and exterior for under 7k, which means a pristine composite sunsport at 14k which you probably would not find.

Go for it!

[Salty87]

Its ugly, scratched, needs interior switches and lights, muffler baffles are loose (may require a muffler - $$$?), windshield frame is loose, rear railing is loose, shower is inop, heater is inop, depth finder is inop, trailer needs brakes, etc.

nothing scary there...got a pic of it? does it have angled or curved windshield frame?

[sirhc]

Thanks for the input guys.

Its got a curved windshield, which I believe is synonymous with the composite stringers? The floor feels quite solid - short of drilling into the boat, any sure-fire ways to confirm?

I don't have any pics with me on this computer. Its completely stock, complete with inoperable tape player. I've come across clean composite stringer boats in the $10k - $12k range... I really don't want to put $3k into a boat to get it worth what I've got into it when I could have bought a cleaner boat to begin with. Another consideration is that I'm financing it, and at the $10k pricepoint I get much better terms and rates. I know there is more to a deal then the monthly figure, but its hard to tell the wife that we could have spend an extra $20 a month (granted, for more years) for a much nicer boat.

Thanks again.

[Ptownkid]

Yes, curved windshield = no wood stringers.

[Salty87]

uh, where's this boat located??...just kidding

$7k for composite stringers is a steal. lots of sellers of 91 and earlier are asking that or more. dropping $3k into a new, used boat is very common. a boat from 1992 is going to need some care.

i think you should be glad the boat is so stripped and priced accordingly. if it had a several year old cd player instead of tape, you'd still be looking at replacing it most likely. boat stereo's don't last forever and if you put a system in it, you'll prob want a nice new deck too. same if there was a crappy tower on it that you really didn't like the look of. you're not paying for someone else's bad taste or cut corners.

sounds like a cheap surf machine if it checks out. with the lower note, perhaps you can pay it off early and save on some of the higher interest rate.

[DAFF]

There was a rough composite black/ salt water boat for sale a few months ago on E bay. It had the same look as you are describing and no knowledge of the drivability of the boat. The trailer was also a mess. Went for $6500 or so .....

Anything under $5000 would be workable. Keep in mind the composite boats are running around the 10-13k mark for super clean and perfect.

92 was the change over year so some curved are wood, you better double check.

[sirhc]

Any way to double check without drilling into the boat?

[stinky_1]

Now I may be wrong, but I thought 91 was the crossover year. So "some" of the angled windshields had composite stringers and you had to check that. Once you hit 92 they are all full blown composite with no wood at all.

I would say if you are approved for financing to get the higher prices ones, and they are ready to go that you should get them. If you cant afford to pay cash for the boat at $7000 have you got $3000 lying around in cash to spend fixing it? Boats cost money, and keeping them in the water does too.

The other thing to ask is that list what it needs to be perfect? Or is it what you need to be up and running? A lot of people look at something like this and think they need to do everything (ie change the radio) because it doesn't work before they can use it. On an older boat on a fixed budget you do what needs to be done, and the rest gets dealt with as you get time and or money.

From the sounds of it your better off with the ready to roll boats.

If this was me I would buy the 7k boat and do the work. I am actually planning to sell my boat in the fall and look for a newer composite one over the winter.

[sirhc]

I like to finance stuff like this and pay them off in about a year... money to complete repairs isn't an issue. As you said, I don't plan on fixing a lot of the little issues - but I do think it will make a great first boat that I won't feel horrible about slightly abusing.

I'm headed to the lake for a water test with it in a bit...

Thanks again for the input.

[sirhc]

Ok... lake test went well. May need a new steering cable in the next year or two, but other than that she was great. Plenty of power through the rev range, no funny noises, no leaking fluids, no concerning water take-on. The seller accepted the offer of $6k, so I feel like I got a solid deal.

Should pick her up tomorrow, going to do the requisite "purple sticker removal," trailer overhaul, horn and bilge fix, impeller replacement, and other misc. maintenance tasks. Plan on spending a few hours on the water over the next few weekends practicing not slamming into docks or backing into swimmers.

Thanks again for the help. Anticipate more posts in the future from me regarding ballast, wraps, towers, etc.

Thanks again!

[Salty87]

congratulations!

[haugy]

Your next posts better involve pics. :D

[sirhc]

Nothing like buying a supra and having the forums crash the next day!

The boat is great.

Did the basics: purple decal removal, hasty wet sand, wax, impeller swap, fixed the bilge, blower, and horn switches, new marine speakers and ipod setup, etc. The boat has (so far, knock on wood) been a good example of a great boat in need of a little love. Everything I've fixed so far has been best case, i.e. The rear railing was loose... put a half turn on the retaining bolt, tightened right up. Not stripped out, not warbled, etc.

Put about six hours on her last Sunday and had a blast. Mostly family oriented stuff, shuttling people to and from the camp spot, tubing, kneeboarding, etc. I got a cheap launchpad ballast setup with two 800 pound bags, plan on doing some wakesurfing next time we head out.

Winter plans call for the black vinyl wrap, ballast install, and maybe a tower... we'll see how much money the wife lets me spend.

Thanks again for all of the input.

[sirhc]

Few more pics, including a "before" showing the awesome purple stickers and the depth of the scratches.

[Ptownkid]

Screw the wrap and just save your pennies to get it painted.

[sirhc]

Already bought the $115 of black Oracal vinyl - I think it will look good, and match the theme of the "cheap surf boat" as opposed to a $800+ paint job.

[Ptownkid]

For $115...fair enough

[Salty87]

looks great. if that boat does have composite stringers, you made the buy of the decade.

[haugy]

Boat looks good. The black wrap will look awesome!!! Please take lots of pics of the process. There are many of us that would like to see how this turns out from a budget aspect and final results. Congrats on the great boat, you're gonna love it!!!


looks great. if that boat does have composite stringers, you made the buy of the decade.

There's a red one for sale for about the same price in a Saltare in the Classics for sale thread.

[stinky_1]

Love the pics and looks like you got a good deal. I hope to find one of those over the winter as well. I just gotta sell my 90 sunsport first.