Bought another boat

[Gridley]

Bad me. I can't resist a good deal.

Yea, I know I have too many projects, but there is no rule that I have a deadline to finish them or can't change my mind and not finish some and instead choose to just sell them as projects. BTW, I haven't abandoned plans on finishing the 14'skiff. At my age I have no problem with changing my mind and moving on. The older one gets there is less time to waste. Boat projects should be fun and not stressful anyway.

Well, I hope it's a good deal, since I had to buy it based on conversation with the seller and pictures and sorta knowing what I was looking at. Of course figuring it would serve a particular use was part of it and also the price. In my opinion it was seriously priced low.

I figured I would just commit to the purchase and get the seller to give his word he would sell it to me, since I couldn't go fetch it right away. I haven't picked it up yet, but the deal is still on. My favorite cousin is fetching it for me next weekend. Part of the reason, or perhaps the main reason the seller chose me as the buyer, (he had lots of others to choose from) is that we talked about hog hunting and how he was having great difficulty to find a place for himself and his teenage son. I told him I had lots of hogs, and emailed pictures from the trail camera. His son intercepted the pictures and told his dad to sell the boat to me. I promised to fix him up with a hog hunt, presumably until they both get one. IMO, that's the best kind of deals, where both are happy and new friends are made too.

I've been dreaming of a boat to use during my summers in Alaska, for close in halibut, some trolling for salmon, crab pots, shrimping, etc. I don't like to run long distances and don't need to anyway. The boat needs to be sturdy, stable, tough, roomy, economical, and easily rigged out. It doesn't have to be fast, but of course it has to be able to handle three to four ft waves easily, not necessarily comfortable, but safely. It's not that I regularly go out in such conditions, but I like knowing my Alaska boat can handle it if need be. I don't like the kind of nervousness that growing whitecaps generate when the adequacy of the boat I'm in is questionable. In AK, the places I go, there are places where I call nervous water, where in the right conditions of tide and wind, the waves just seem to hop up and down, going nowhere, but real difficult to run through.

Another thing is that the boat needs to winter over well under shelter and be easily winterized and easily readied for service in June. Portable gas tanks are a plus, since old boats and in-floor tanks are not a good combo. Being easily launched and retrieved is a real plus, since I may not want to pay the slip fees to keep it in the harbor all summer, and launch it each time. I like the fiberglass much better than aluminum due to electrolysis and pitting of aluminum. If I choose to keep this boat in the harbor, a coat of the bottom paint that sheds barnacles and marine growth will be sufficient for two or more summers, and the normal zincs.

The boat is in Georgia and I plan on going over it, repairs, rigging, outboard, etc. there. I've been thinking of driving to Alaska again next summer. Now this boat gives me a good excuse, as though I really needed one.

The boat I found and couldn't resist is an old 19' commercial fiberglass net boat made by Atlantic Skiff in NC. I don't know the actual age, but I think it was made in the early 80's. It was never actually used commercially but as a pleasure boat mostly on lake Lanier, of all places. It's a well boat, with the outboard in a well, not hung on the transom as usual. It's got a V bow, and the hull transitions from the V, back to a flat bottom stern. It comes with a good trailer that actually fits the boat, with good tires, but no motor. I don't want to deal with an old motor anyway, and certainly don't want to pay for one as a package deal.

I don't know yet for sure since I haven't studied the boat up close, but I'm thinking a high thrust or big foot 60 hp tiller will do the trick with this boat. It may come close if not actually get the boat on step. Maybe a 70 hp tiller, with a thrust prop. Trim tabs may be the trick in this app. I don't know for sure about the tiller yet. It depends on how comfortable I can get for operation, and visibility too. It's a planing hull, but heavy. I have no intention or need to feed this boat with enough HP to plane off. If I get 12 knots I'll be happy. I'm more concerned that it will go slow enough to troll with the one main motor without the need for a kicker. I'm not sure a high thrust prop will run slow enough.

I think the seller is legit and the boat doesn't require massive reconstruction, repairs, transom or floor replacement. I think it just needs cleaning up, perhaps a little fiberglass work, moving or taking out the console, paint, and rod holders. The thing is setup for a canopy of some sort, with the holes for about 2" tubing molded into the fiberglass from the factory. For the purchase price, if it's a total loss, the loss of the use of the boat will hurt more than the loss of the money.

Of course, I plan on trying it out on the GA coast first. If I like it too much, it may just stay in the South East.

I'll try to post some pictures

 

[Gridley]

I plan on removing the pedestal seats, and the console, and the pulpit railing, and fixing all the holes scratches and dents, and painting.

Kinda reminds one of the Panga style. It's certainly like the Pacific Dory which is launched and retrieved off a sand beach.

 

[aabradley82]

I looked at the sale pics of that boat and thought it had lots of uses. congrats

 

[Gridley]

I agree, lots of uses, but I suspect it's not a boat for polling the flats - too heavy. But I suspect it is rather shallow draft due to the wide flat bottom. The main factor in why I bought it is I figure I can put a little work and money into it, use it for a while and decide if I like it, then choose to keep it or easily get my money back plus some upon a sale. That's not a common situation with a boat. It will really look good when I'm done fixing it up.

When I called, the ad had been listed only a few hours. I got lucky and he answered his phone. He said he had lots of calls all of a sudden on his cell phone voice mail and text, and presumed it was about the boat. I know that can be used as a sales ploy, but the talk has to match the walk.

It came down to whether I believed him or not, and if I believed him, I realized that this was one of those situations that I was going to get only one shot at it. If I said something like "I'll think about it and get back with you" it would have been sold within the hour.

Anyway, with a little discussion, I believed his story and himself, and that the sale was legit. I offered to send him money to hold the boat, but he refused to take money in advance. It was a test anyway on my part.
I have seen these situations before, with a low price ad, where the seller ended up selling for a lot more than the published asking price, to the highest bidder. That's what was about to happen, IMO. After giving me his word that he would sell it to me, the seller later told me that if I wanted to flip the boat, he could give me the number of a guy who offered $500 more, when told the boat was already sold. That could also be a ploy, but I believed him.

What he was saying indirectly was that he had turned down a bid of $500 more because he gave me his word. He also didn't directly say, but it was to cinch the deal on the hog hunting as well, which to him is worth a lot more than $500. After all, for a man of his word, who would be a better guest to invite him and his son out to whack a few hogs from a stand over a corn feeder?

If I've been conned, he's not the normal artist or scammer. The main thing that gave me assurance after committing to the deal, was the number of calls he had on the boat, and the offer of more than the listing price. I expected that to happen, which is why I moved quickly. To me, it was like going to a garage sale and finding some treasure, in which case I wouldn't leave and come back later to close a deal.

 

[Bama B]

I would recommend before giving any money that you make sure the vessel is registered in the person selling the boat. Getting boats registered now a days is simple if you have all the proper paper work. If you dont its an absolute nightmare. You have to have a ga vessel bill of sale notarized this can be printed off line and it has to have the person the boat was last registered to no third party. I would make sure you have all your documentation in order before you invest time and money in the boat.

 

[Gridley]

Getting the bill of sale notarized will be a problem. We had planned on swapping boat for cash in Walmart parking lot, along with a bill of sale. The seller agreed to deliver the boat south of Atlanta, which I thought was a nice gesture since driving through Atlanta isn't nice.

I have other boats with a bill of sale only, not notarized, but haven't tried to register them yet.

So, what do I ask for - show me the registration papers, so I can see the name on the bill of sale is the same?

If I have to get the bill of sale notarized, that's a deal breaker.

PS:

I went to the following web site, and copied what the State of GA says about it. I don't see the word "notarize", however I do see what I need to do and ask the seller to do.

http://www.georgiawildlife.com/node/2969

Boat is registered in Georgia:
Seller should give the buyer a signed and detailed bill of sale and the Georgia boat registration card. The bill of sale must contain sufficient information to identify the boat, such as hull identification number, year, make, model, Georgia boat registration number, etc. Buyer should obtain the detailed bill of sale and the seller’s registration card. If the seller is not the owner of record on the Georgia registration, the seller should also give the buyer copies of bills of sale that form a chain back to the owner of record to show the boat was legally transferred by the owner of record to each subsequent owner if these bills of sale are available. Buyer should obtain the detailed bill of sale from the seller and copies of bills of sale going back to the owner of record (if available), and the original registration card (if available). The previous owner’s registration card should be retained by the buyer until their registration card is received – after their registration card is received we suggest the previous owner’s registration card be destroyed.

 

[Bama B]

You may not need it notarized any more I just looked at the ga bill of sale document and there is no place for the notary. The old ones used to have a line for a notary signature. I would call the 800 number and they will tell you everything you need.

 

[Gridley]

Thanks

 

[frosty20]

I just sold a boat and my understanding was the BOS did not need to be notarized. I have also emailed DNR the paperwork notifying them that I have sold a registered boat

 

[doomtrpr_z71]

Make sure to use the pdf the dnr has for a bill of sale for a boat, itll make your life much easier. It doesn't need to be notarized. But you have to mail a copy of it to the dnr office in social circle before you they will finalize your registration. I dropped mine off the week of valentines day and got the stickers last week. You may can scan and email the bos to the dnr as well.

 

[Gridley]

My cousin is meeting the seller in the morning to get the boat. I'm excited like a kid on Christmas eve.

It's still not a done deal, and could fall through. I just hope the boat isn't trashed and can be cleaned up and fixed where needed and put to use for many years. I'm having to rely on my cousin's judgment about the condition of the boat. I'm expecting to have some fairly significant fiberglass work, such as removing the console and repairing that area, and repairing several screw holes, and removing several layers of paint on the inside before painting again.

My cousin thinks I'm nutz for buying such a big boat. He's used to river boats, and has no salt water experience. To me, 19' or 20' is still a small boat. This boat was listed as 20', but I think it's really about 19' 6". I've tried looking it up on google, and find very little info, and no 20' boats, but I found some 19' ers.

They may have made some 20'. Based on the pictures, the 19' boats with pictures showed one bench seat. This boat may be 20' because it has two bench seats. Either way, it will work if not trashed.

 

[Gridley]

Got it. Looks like it isn't 20' as advertised, or 19', but 17' instead. That's still OK. My cousin says it looks to be in pretty good shape.

It may take a few months to get to it, the way things are presently going, but hopefully I can fix it up real pretty without a lot of expense. I'm planning on removing the seats and the console first, then really clean it up, sanding and grinding and epoxy and fiberglass repair where necessary, deal with the gas tank issue, and paint the whole thing with marine epoxy, like interlux.

My cousin insists that I should use lots of HP, like over 100, but I haven't argued with him since I haven't made up my mind for sure yet.

From the beginning, and the reason I was attracted to this boat is because I was looking for something large to use a tiller outboard on. Looks like it will work, judging from the relationship of the back seat and the place where the motor will sit. I'm thinking of a 60 HP high thrust, or a 70hp with a high thrust prop, or a large diameter 13 pitch prop, for example. If those outboards push a pontoon well, surely they will push this 17' skiff very well. Simplicity and economy are goals. The bench seats have benefits, despite being obstacles somewhat. A wide open deck just isn't practical to keep stuff from sliding around and towards the back.

I'm planning on leaving those areas in the back, beside the motor well, open so the boat can be fished or utilized all the way to the back. It will be a nice setup for trolling since getting the lines or downrigger wire into the prop will be practically eliminated as a problem.

I've got time to think about it, but meanwhile I'm saving up, and dreaming of a new 70 hp Yamaha with a tiller.

Here's a video of what they do with these boats in the Pacific. Notice the motor is 70 hp.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPobPN-Mh4k

Here's another video of the launching this style boat in the surf. Although the boat in this video is bigger than mine, it shows what they can do. I don't intend to launch my boat from the beach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2plG9S6PWA