This could be the boat ......

It may have been a combatant in the war against rust.

 

The boat was weighed on a scale, and the trailer weighs 1500 lbs, and the boat weighs 13,500 lbs.

 

I will see who I can find in the area.

 

According to the owner, it is very much rust free, even the bottom of the hull inside.
I think it just had a bit of surface rust which will be taken care of.

 

I pretty much expect that a few things might have to get fixed from sitting.

As far as modifications, I believe the rear part of the cabin might be built higher than the original design.
Because of that, and the repower using way smaller engine, steel weights were bolted inside the hull to compensate.

long and narrow is exactly what I wanted.
This thing should be really good on fuel.

I did want a full displacement design for maximum fuel economy, but I'm thinking this is about as close as I'll get.

 

I'm in agreement with Daquiri. It looks top heavy and all that pilot house area is going to be a bear in a cross wind as well as a drag underway. If it is actually top heavy, then the rolling motion could be disquieting. A Dramamine queen?

Which war? Surely not WW2.

Beware of older steel boats with new paint jobs.

 

The cabin is all rusty, that seems too small a boat for a large steel cabin. The trailer looks to be unsprung with 2 different kinds of wheels and tires and about 8 feet too short. I'm guessing the inside is gutted.

 

Beware of that statement... Hire a person who knows his stuff about boats (steel boats, not just grp ones!), and let him inspect it thoroughly.

 

GRP ?

I think I found someone who will be able to look at it, who's been running steel boats around that area for decades.

 

Surface rust?
Thats all it is, a little surface rust.

I know a trailer guy that is going to find tires for it and put new bearings on it before I tow it away.

Is it perfect? No.

Is it worth 15,000$ ? I am trying to figure that out.

If I am any more picky, I'll never have a boat.

 

That the cabin is all rusty means it's steel, that it's steel suggests it's top heavy.

It's got tires, the trailer looks like it has no springs and is way too short for the boat.

 

Well if it is top heavy, is that really a problem?
I mean, top heavy has to be a relationship between the cabin weight VS hull weight right?

As for the trailer, I don't know what to think.

 

Complete load of ******** from the owner. It looks nothing like a military boat. 17 knots with a 6354 perkins. I can tell you that rust bucket would get 9 knots top with that engine. I would tell the owner to be truthfull and offer him $2000. Thats about what its worth. With $15000 you could find something decent. You always look at overpriced piles of rubbish . Get yourself a boat around 18 or 20 ft and have fun with it. You will learn a lot. I just do not think you are up to owning a large boat with your experience. A smaller boat can do most things a large boat can without the huge maintenance bills.
.

 

That trailer is an old yard trailer. Certainly not roadworthy.

 

Parkland: every one is advising you wisely. Whitepointers assessment is close to common sense. Offer the owner $2000, take it or leave it. He'll be lucky to get that much so if he is smart he'll accept the offer.

You questioned the affect of top heaviness. It is not just a matter of exchanging a weight up high for an off setting weight down low. That only affects the immersion of the boat. The other affect is that the boat will roll much more than its original design anticipated. Go out in the yard and swing an axe or shovel over your head at arms length. try to stop the motion in mid swing. Now reverse the axe or shovel so that the heavy part is in your hand. Swing it in the same way and you will have demonstrated the principle of mass moment of inertia. It works that way on a boat too.

Measure the height from the top of the boat to the ground. There are maximum heights that you can tow down the road. That is particularly interesting if there are bridges, wires, or overpasses that you may need to drive under.

Before you hand the guy two grand, (definitely not 15 grand) make certain that that awful trailer has functioning brakes. If it has been sitting for years, even if it has brakes, they are probably all frozen up and will not work. Towing that kind of load without good trailer brakes is tempting fate. Don't! If you have to rebuild or install new brakes you are looking at a lot more than lunch money.

The pictures are not sufficient to tell whether there is walk space at the sides of the pilot house that will allow you get to the forward deck. If there is foot space there, it is not very wide. This is a serious matter that should not be ignored.

Boats are a very small market item. Used boats do not sell with the same rapidity as used cars. There are a lot more used boats on the market than there are buyers. Keep that in mind and shop around at some length before you commit to buy. You can get a lot better deal than the one here in question.

I will now cease my rant and apologize for being so negative. I am only trying to comment in sufficient detail to you save some grief.