Need Advise on What To Do with This Boat

Hi Correct Craft Blazers:

I have a few questions about a Correct Craft Martinique I purchased in an auction. I purchased it without sufficient information. No I think it was a mistake.

I found a place to store the boast and the boat storage yard guy inspected the boat and told me that the boat may not have been winterized for a season or so and the engine barely cranks when he attempted to crank it. He indicated that it will cost me about 4K to put a new engine.   He indicated that it has a Chevy engine and not ford.

Can someone comment on whether it is worth while either rebuilding or resorting the engine? I do not yet know the year of the boat. It is 20 foot or less long.

Thanks a bunch for the reply. I will be able go to the storage place on 24th if he is open or on next Saturday. If someone else from my family can visit and view it earlier, I can post the pictures and info sooner.

Sincerely appreciate for the input.

Well, you may have guessed by now that I am a rank novice to boating. I bought the boat because the price was low enough for me to get into boating without risking a major domestic situation.

Will try to answer some of the questions as best as I can:

1) The boat looks to be in good shape. I have not pulled the carpet out but overall do not see any damage to fiberglass, carpet or plastic. I will provide additional information later next week once I physically access the boat. Do I need to pull the carpet out to see if there is any rot to interior wood? I am not a whole lot concerned about replacing plywood. I think I can buy and cut marine plywood to shape if needed.
2) I paid $1300 for the boat and paying $30-00 a month for storage. Has a decent original trailer. Do not see any damage to the hull from outside. It is not sparkling but looks good. The seats etc are not torn though are pretty basic. No physical damage.   I am hoping that the storage yard guy is honest and has provided an honest feedback without private agenda.
3) Do not know is wrong but the storage guy says that it was not winterized for one or more of the previous years, oil has water in it and the engine hardly cranks. If you or others could share some of the tests, I will be glad to run them next week when I visit the storage yard and boat.
4) I am reasonably mechanical but can only work on the weekends. Been a while since I worked on my cars (the newer ones got very complex). Spent last several years doing more of carpentry, plumbing and household DIY work. Have a compressed air supply in the garage and a decent woodworking shop in the basement and collection of manual and pneumatic mechanics tools.
5) I think that I can work on this if I pull the boat to my garage from storage. However, I am trying to be practical though since I read a number of suggestions on this forum to stay off from restoring to another guy who was planning to restore the boat. If I end up spending another 3 grand or more on this boat, I might as well sell the boat as is (with full honest information about it) and call it an experience. Then buy another boat down the line when I can afford to spend some decent cash or as my wife strongly suggests – rent it when I need it.
6) How hard it is to replace the engine if I get one from auto junk yard or from used boat engine marketplace on internet or craigslists? I read that auto engines may work for inboard motors. Also which engines will work as replacement? One of my buddies indicated that he has a car engine that is in working condition. He pulled it off his Lincoln Town Car.
7) I work in both Chicago and Kansas City so have access to used boat motor market place in Chicago though the boat is in Kansas City.

Without seeing the boat, it's hard to estimate a value. In good working shape could be worth 4 to 7K. If you have 1300 in it, you should be able to get the engine back runnning and still be ok financially. If the stringers are bad, then you're proabably not going to be even financially. A couple thousand in materials to do a stringer job, plus all your labor, plus whatever engine work you need. At the price you paid, you can probably part the boat out and make more than you would selling it as a whole. Trailer, Windshield, seat frames, motor box, engine manifolds, etc. All kinds of parts that interest those of us working through project boats.

If it were mine, I'd see if I couldn't figure out what is wrong with the engine (without spending much money doing so) and then make a decision.

Just one guy's opinion. I know a little something, but I'm not the guru of all things boating.

Again, some photos would be helpful to everyone here.

BKH

Folks I feel I am in a real support group. Quite different experience here! Several years ago I used to be active in rec.woodworking and this group is very similar.

Sam,

Look for that ID number right under the rub rail on the right hand side of the transom. It will be stamped in the Fiberglass and the last two digits may be the year it was made.

Be careful trying to start the boat. You need to have it on a water hose. There are things called Fake Lakes that attach to the water inlet on the bottom of the boat. They look like a tolet plunger with a hose attached. I have a Perko Flush Kit ( $60.00)to hook my garden water hose to. You can pull the water intake hose off and hook it directly to the garden water hose. You need to start out with the water about 1/3 flowing and when the boat starts you need to get the water flowing 100%. These boats are water cooled and you have an rubber impeller inside of the Raw Water Pump that you can burn up very easly if you run it with no water. Also, you can crack the heads by running it with no water. On the other hand, if you have water in your oil there is already a serious problem with the engine.

Do not worry with pulling up the carpet for now. The boat probably does have some stringer and floor rot if it is older than a 1993 Model. In 93 composite material started being used.

The engine sits on two main wooded ( Covered in Fiberglass) supports called main stringers. These are prone to rotting. There are also two secondary stringers running beside them that also rot. These four stringers take about 100 hours and $1,500.00 to replace if you do it your self.

Your carb, distributor and starter are marine grade to prevent explosions when starting. Engine gas fumes and a spark can cause an explosion.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

Donald

Sorry! I think I pumped out some bad Info. I mistakenly thought that the power was a right hand Ford. Oiling procedure is correct, firing order/ rotation is wrong. I thought this vintage boat had a PCM Ford. Don't know the rotation or firing order of a GM motor.

Sorry, I forgot to add by the time I was all done I had about 5K total in the boat. We skied it for three years and then he needed a better boat I upgraded to a 2000 and sold the old one for 4K in 2 days.

Sounds like you are headed in the right direction. See where you stand and pick a destination.

FWIW- if it is indeed a Chevy and it's in a Martinique, it's likely a 454. On one hand that's a good thing...super engine when they are right; on the other, a replacement block will cost you a little as I think many of these gave their all on a drag strip somewhere.

My Adventure

im doing a 30 formula with twin big boys and im rebuilding one of the engines and when he dropped the boat off (first boat btw) pull in his boat which he said was winterized and all the plugs were pushed out with a gush of ice, I may have caught it in time, we'll see, if not i know he'll need one

Sam,
Like stated before, the original engine rotates the opposite direction(RH) of a car motor(LH). You can use an automotive block and use the "backwards" stuff from your existing motor to keep it the original rotation.

If the block is cracked from freezing, you should also pressure check the exhaust manifolds, oil cooler, etc.

You might give Eric a shout...he knew of a Chevy, "backwards",454 that could be bought pretty reasonable.

Take a look at the capacity plate before thinking bbc in a 76 martinique, it would sink my 78

B T W Ihave a 77 martinique 351 ford windsor