28 ft 2x v8 fix up cabin cruiser? 1200$?

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by parkland, Aug 16, 2012.

  1. parkland
    Joined: Jul 2012
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    parkland Senior Member

    Hey all,

    If you all remember, This was my plan:
    http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/boat-design/hi-first-post-wanna-build-monstrosity-43927.html

    While I certainly haven't forgot or lost interest in building a boat, I ended up getting busier again and having less play time.
    I also ended up finding an old junker boat for sale.

    It's 28 ft long, 2x 327 v8 chev engines, cabin cruiser.
    The guy wants 1200$, no trailer.

    The fiberglass has zero stress cracks or holes or anything, but some of the wood needs replacing, engines need rebuilding, and I/O drives are of unknown condition.

    What are I/O drives worth roughly, and how reliable are they?
    And also, am I correct that 2x v8 engines will probably burn 60 liters of gas an hour at full throttle?


    Seems like it will be an easy boat to get going for not much money.
     
  2. rwatson
    Joined: Aug 2007
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    rwatson Senior Member

    hahahahahahahahahahaha ..... it must be nice to be rich.

    Lets go over a few of the key comments :-

    " I/O drives are of unknown condition" ..... "What are I/O drives worth roughly, and how reliable are they? "


    You probably need to find out - used ones can be around $8000 - $12000, repairs are an unknown quantity.

    "engines need rebuilding" .... "2x 327 v8 chev engines"

    oh boy - that never was cheap and easy unless you own a garage and have some cheap mechanics on hire.

    "no trailer" .... "28 ft long"


    Minimum trailer cost = ~$4000. Its going to cost a fair bit to ship it over any distance.

    Now, exactly how do you define "easy" and "cheap" ?
     
  3. CDK
    Joined: Aug 2007
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    CDK retired engineer

    ""And also, am I correct that 2x v8 engines will probably burn 60 liters of gas an hour at full throttle?""

    No, that is not correct, even one engine needs only 45 minutes to burn 60 liters.
    But if the boat is OK, consider repowering it with one or two diesel engine(s).
     
  4. parkland
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    parkland Senior Member

    I would love to throw 2 diesels in, even 4 cyl diesels, and might eventually. For now I was going to just repower with gas.

    I found a couple rebuilt marine 350's for 1200$ each.
     
  5. parkland
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    parkland Senior Member


    I was wondering where the I/O drives compare in terms of reliability, against straight inboard....

    The engines, I found 2 rebuilt 350 marine engines for 1200$ each, they should bolt in I imagine. I should have a ton of spare parts after, I think 327's and 350's are almost identical.

    I found a trailer for 2000$, it's just a flat deck, I'll need to build some supports on it to hold the boat proper.

    I just want to make sure I'm not overlooking or forgetting anything.

    The I/O drives are a concern as I don't know much about them.
    My senses tell me they might be troublesome. :confused:
     
  6. SamSam
    Joined: Feb 2005
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    SamSam Senior Member

    Post some pictures
     
  7. viking north
    Joined: Dec 2010
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    viking north VINLAND

    Comparing inboard/outboard with straight shaft drives is like comparing lemons to peaches both in reliability and costing. Be vigilant in purchase and maintenance.-
     
  8. rasorinc
    Joined: Nov 2007
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    rasorinc Senior Member

    The 327s are strong fast engines and can easily be rebuilt. You did not give us an age to go by so I will assume they have carbs not fuel ingection. For any kind of fuel savings you would need to convert them over. Can you fire them up? Will the outdrives raise and lower and will the props turn over? Out drives also can be rebuilt. What brand are they? What color are the engines? If they are blue they might be Crusaders and are well woth re-building.
     
  9. Petros
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    Petros Senior Member

    There is a saying at the local yacht club: there is no boat you can afford less than the "free" one. Meaning it usually costs more to rebuild, refit an old boat than to buy a good seaworthy used one. Add up everything this boat will cost you to get it in serviable condition (include your time at minimum wage), be honest. Than go through the local ads for similar boats that are ready to go.

    If you intent is to have a long term hobby of rebuilding the boat, than add up the actual value of usable items on the boat (used value, again be honest), plus the cost of moving it to your shop, and see if it squares for the value.

    It is not unusual to find similar "deals" for free, you just have to look around. Again however you have to take a cold hard look at the finances of it. It is usually cheaper to buy a used but good condition boat (one the previous owner did what you are planning on doing, and than could not use it, ran out of money, divorce, etc.).
     
  10. viking north
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    viking north VINLAND

    Ran out of money and divorced --- thats 95% of the boating community--:D
     
  11. IMP-ish
    Joined: Jan 2011
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    IMP-ish powerboater

    If some small thing goes wrong on a sterndrive expect to pay with hundred dollar bills. If it's corroded and you don't know what condition it's in, expect to pay with a check. You won't have enough cash on hand.

    They are reliable and easy to maintain if you start perfect and maintain them religiously, check them regularly, fix any scrape in the paint immediately, etc. etc.
     
  12. philSweet
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    philSweet Senior Member

    for 5k my friend bought a 28 Carver w/twin Volvo Penta duoprop. Cost him 5k to transport it from Canada to Florida. Boat was good to go. Some minor electric stuff. Not a fixer upper. He did need some engine work the first year, but I think that was partly or mostly him. I wouldn't touch a boat that size unless the powertrain was 95% or better.
    Unless you have a shop and engines are your thing.
     
  13. parkland
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    parkland Senior Member

  14. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    327's will be in the 200 HP range and easily rebuilt if not ruined or "soft" from age and heat. It's been quite a while since 327's where cast. So, twin 200 HP V8's, you can forget about fuel efficiency. If you're comfortable rebuilding an engine, these are some of the easiest and cheapest to do. If not, consider crate engines. A couple of new 225 HP 350's will bolt right in place of the 327's and direct from GM they'll be about 5k each. An aftermarket rebuild house can do them for about 4k each. A local shop can rebuild what you have for about 2.5k.

    The drives need to be identified, but rebuilt Alphas, can be had for 2k (each) or less. Used ones that just need minor repairs can be had for half that.

    A trailer that can carry a 28', twin V8 equipped boat will be 3k plus. The engines and drives alone on this boat will over a ton by themselves.

    The 327 and 350 share many parts, but also have several differences. The crank can't be swapped over, which is a major expense. The heads, intake and exhaust manifolds, oil pan, oil and water pumps and engine mounted accessories can be interchangeable. The 327 isn't as stout as the better 350 blocks (4 bolts), but is more willing to rev up, which isn't very important on a twin V8, likely heavy boat.

    I/O's are quite reliable, assuming reasonable care and upkeep.

    I can get you a 305 (200 HP) long block for about 2k and you can swap all the accessories and induction over from the 327's. I can get a first generation 350 (2 piece main) for about $150 less (225 HP). Add 200 bucks for opposite rotation and another 100 bucks for single piece rear main seal (highly recommended).

    I can also get brand new Alpha or Bravo drive legs for $2,800 and $5,000 respectively. This assumes the gimble ring and related transom gear are intact. These are OEM, not rebuilt. If you need a new transom assembly (gimble ring, rams, etc.) this will set you back about 2k each (Alpha gen 2).

    Simply put, if you have the connections, you can get this done a lot cheaper, but if you're clueless about what's going on, the costs can get absorbent quickly.
     

  15. parkland
    Joined: Jul 2012
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    parkland Senior Member


    Thanks for all your input.

    I will look into the I/O drives better, that seems to be the biggest unknown expense.

    The engines seem cheap no matter what, they're basically old car engines haha.

    How come it seems like many marine gas engines only last a few thousand hours, is that common, or a sign of abuse?
     
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