1982 34 Californian

Hi Everyone, I am going to make an offer on a 1982 34' Californian. Cosmetics inside and out are great. It has aluminum windows all round which are in perfect shape (no signs of leaks) 2 central A/C units, limited electronics. 2 radios (one doesn't work) 2 GPS depth finder chart plotters, but again one doesn't work. For some reason they wouldn't fire up the engines or gen set till sea trial. The fuel tanks are aluminum. I have read quite a bit about people having to replace fuel tanks, but I thought that was mostly black iron tanks.

The asking price is $54,900. I know it's difficult to say without seeing the boat, but any insight on what I should be looking out for problem wise, and what might be a fair offer. I would welcome any advice from Californian owners. Thanks.

Greetings,
Mr. a. Find out the reason they wouldn't start the engines (3). It should be no problem to start and run the equipment even for a short period of time. What engines?
Improperly mounted aluminum tanks are prone to corrosion.
Of course you're going to get both a hull and engine survey.

Thanks RTF for your reply. Yes you are right I will be getting a thorough survey, including hull and engines. I understand that the broker is sometimes not allowed to start the engines when the owner isn't there, but the owner is the owner, and can start the engines whenever he wants. I love the 34' Californian however, and will make an offer subject to survey. Any idea what the average asking price is these days. It was on the market 2 yrs ago for $59,000 and he bought it for $47,000. Thre is quite a price difference according to BUC between a Jim Marshal Built boat and a well craft built boat. Is it possible to tell who the builder was with the hull #. Thanks.

The engines are 85 hp Perkins. A 1982 JM boat is between $43,000-$47,800 A Wellcraft is between $35,000 and $38,900. I wish I could figure out which it is. The hull # starts with JCM if that is any help.

"JCM" are the initials of the original builder (Jule C Marshall). The serial number on all the early Marshall boats began with JCM. According to the information we've gleaned, Wellcraft bought the Californian brand in 1980 and ran it until 1984, then sold it back to Marshall. If the boat you're looking at is a 1982, then it sounds like your 34' would be a Wellcraft. Maybe Flywright or Captain Craig have more information on the specifics of the 34' line though.

Thanks Edelweiss. Well whatever she is I'm going to make an offer. Wish me luck

I agree with Edelweiss. According to Gil Marshall, Jule's son, JCM stands for Jule Marshall California. Any HIN starting with JCM was built in California.

Can't help you with the current value, but I know you can get a lot of bang for your buck.

I have the same engines and love 'em. Sometimes I wish I had more power for more speed, but I like their efficiency and reliability. While the salon can feel tight at times, the cockpit and walkarounds that eat into that salon more than make up for it with great outside access.

The ER is large enough to allow full engine access with ease. I lack a built-in generator, so my aft lazarette storage is significant and I can move from the cockpit laz door to the ER Fwd door.

There are some issues to watch for on the boat. If your fuel tanks are aluminum, they may have already been replaced. Their weak point comes from saltwater flinging onto the sides of the tanks from the shaft logs. My boat's PO installed dripless logs when the tanks were replaced. Also, many 34 LRCs sag in the aft corners of the pilothouse enough to allow water to collect there in the cockpit. It's more nuisance than anything else and nothing a small squeegee or a large towel can't handle.

Keep us posted on your purchase process. Good luck!

Thanks FlyWright, good info.

34 lrc

We bought our 1981 with 3300 hrs on twin Perkins T6.354 - still very solid; no Genset, reasonable electronics in working order, dry hull, very good interior for $40,000
They are worth more it seems on the west coast where they are better known. Knowing what I know now, I would go to 50K+ for ours without batting an eye.

hope this is of help.

They (34-Californians) are good looking boats with a higher storage capacity (flying bridge "attic", larger engine room/compartment although the Coot's isn't as cave-like, and more counter space at the expense of less seating) than my Coot.





Above documents the first FlyWright--Coot encounter from the Coot's viewpoint.

Great shot! Love the bow flare.

I have a 1981 34ft Californian with the 85hp 4-236 Perkins engines. Great simple engines. I have had the boat for 6 years and live on the West Coast. If you need parts you can get them at TAD for perkins engines, perkins diesel, perkins marine, perkins parts, perkins generators, perkins service

akguit said:

Hi Everyone, I am going to make an offer on a 1982 34' Californian. Cosmetics inside and out are great. It has aluminum windows all round which are in perfect shape (no signs of leaks) 2 central A/C units, limited electronics. 2 radios (one doesn't work) 2 GPS depth finder chart plotters, but again one doesn't work. For some reason they wouldn't fire up the engines or gen set till sea trial. The fuel tanks are aluminum. I have read quite a bit about people having to replace fuel tanks, but I thought that was mostly black iron tanks.

The asking price is $54,900. I know it's difficult to say without seeing the boat, but any insight on what I should be looking out for problem wise, and what might be a fair offer. I would welcome any advice from Californian owners. Thanks.

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Please check my ad under classified. I have a 81 34LRC for $39,500 with the larger perkins turbos so you don't have to "ride the elephant" if you don't want to. You could get her to Fl and still save over the one you are looking at. Just saying

Hello Californian owners, I have two, 34 ft sedans up here in Juneau. I need 6 foot of the original rubrail. Taco Industries doesn't offer it and I can't seem to find anything close, so perhaps someone has upgraded. I don't need the insert, just the vinyl base. Thanks.

navoelckers said:

Hello Californian owners, I have two, 34 ft sedans up here in Juneau. I need 6 foot of the original rubrail. Taco Industries doesn't offer it and I can't seem to find anything close, so perhaps someone has upgraded. I don't need the insert, just the vinyl base. Thanks.

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Welcome aboard. Hamilton Marine used to have a wide selection of rub rails. Haven’t checked them for several years but it might be a place to look. You also might get more responses if you start a new thread dedicated to this issue.

navoelckers said:

Hello Californian owners, I have two, 34 ft sedans up here in Juneau. I need 6 foot of the original rubrail. Taco Industries doesn't offer it and I can't seem to find anything close, so perhaps someone has upgraded. I don't need the insert, just the vinyl base. Thanks.

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Wish I knew this a few years ago when I replaced all my original rubrail. Good luck in your search!