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Old 05-08-2014, 06:29 PM   #1
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Discouraged

I thought it was the boat....1987 Cape Dory 28 Flybridge. All good until the engine survey and sea trial...then...the green monster reared it's ugly head from it's cramped quarters in the bilge and blew up the deal. Where do I start? Exhaust elbow and hose, not bad. Leaky turbo gasket, ok, I can do that. Raw water pump, getting worse. Leaking heat exchanger, uh oh. Blow by...epic fail. I'm trying to get my deposit back for the slip I reserved. I don't want to look at boats anymore.
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Old 05-08-2014, 06:42 PM   #2
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1987 and you expected no issues? Price out a new boat, and all of a sudden those problems are "free".
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Old 05-08-2014, 06:47 PM   #3
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I expected issues but where I come from 2500 hours on a diesel engine is almost new.
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Old 05-08-2014, 06:58 PM   #4
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Don't get discouraged. Take it slow and steady the right boat will pop up when least expected, whack you in the head and whisper in a sultry voice "Buy me, Buy me." It'll turn out ok.
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Old 05-08-2014, 07:09 PM   #5
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I dont understand why this is a deal breaker. Try (multiple times if you have to) to get the owner to lower his price or fix the issues. 2500 hours may not be a lot of hours, but 27 years old is old engine wise. They also seem like a lot of DIY projects as well (not sure about the blow by).
I'm replacing the HX in my (new to me) boat and it has the same amount of hours in it and its not even leaking. Preventative maintenance.
You need to expect to invest work on any used boat you buy.
Maybe you should re-categorize your 'discouragement' as 'reality check.'
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Old 05-08-2014, 07:22 PM   #6
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I think the blow by is the killer. I agree that all else is fixable.
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Old 05-08-2014, 07:30 PM   #7
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I think the blow by is the killer. I agree that all else is fixable.
It's something I know little about. Sorry slowandsteady. We have all been there before. If you can't make the deal happen then you are better off and another boat will come along.
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Old 05-08-2014, 07:31 PM   #8
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Richard, you kiss a few frogs to find a Princess. That engine has too many issues. Keep looking, follow your TF name.
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Old 05-08-2014, 07:34 PM   #9
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I agree with Bligh. If you love the boat for other reasons and really want it, you could do as suggested. You could try to price out the repairs if the owner does not want to fix anything and use that information to re-negotiate. Don't be discouraged though, as mentioned the right boat, if it is not this one, will come along.
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Old 05-08-2014, 07:48 PM   #10
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Greetings,
Mr. s. Don't give up the ship. Well, maybe that one. There should be a sticky someplace that outlines the steps in a boat search. If I were to have an inclusion in such a "list" I would state: "Don't get emotionally involved". It's only a collection of sticks, plastic and as you found out sometimes, cast iron ready for anchor duty.
Here's something to cheer you up.


er...wait, what?
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Old 05-08-2014, 08:04 PM   #11
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Think about it this way......you'd rather be temporarily discouraged from what you learned about the boat than permanently depressed from what you didn't.
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Old 05-08-2014, 08:26 PM   #12
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I'm going to throw out some unsolicited advice. I like the Cape Dory, but it is dang small for the equipment that is in it. The 200hp green monster (if it is 200hp) is right on the edge of getting to semi-planing speed of abt 15kt. Engine should be bigger or smaller.

Hull speed on the 28 is just painfully slow.

To the OP, consider broadening your search to larger DE boats, like 35' or so. Basically all the same hardware, but not crammed into such a small space. A 35 with 300hp will cruise all day long happily at 17kts, and more room to do fun boat things. It will probably cost you more than the 28, but you will get that money back on resale. And if you don't sell it, you will get payback in enjoyment.

A Bruno or Duffy or whatever with a 3208 Cat or 6b Cummins is a sweet rig.

Volvos are not horrible engines, but age catches up to them and then the parts prices KILL you. No one rebuilds small Volvos due to parts prices.

Regarding blowby: If engine starts cold ok, runs ok, minimal smoke and no funny noises, it can run that way for a long time. Also, some mechs flag normal blowby as not normal, so a bit of skepticism of the monster's condemnation is healthy.
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Old 05-08-2014, 08:39 PM   #13
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Thanks for everyone's encouragement (and video!). It wasn't so much that I was emotionally attached to the little downeaster as much as the timing was working out, a slip 5 minutes from my office was all mine and it was a local boat, on the hard when I found it, hull surveyed well and the engine survey was the last step and it was mine. For every questionable power plant there are 50% positive opinions and 50% negative. Either it's a POS or it goes 10,000 hours before an over haul, go figure. It's all in the previous owner's knowledge and care, IMO. Yes, the search will continue, and I am open to one up to 35', the 28 was on the bottom of my range. The other window open on my browser is YW....
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Old 05-08-2014, 08:41 PM   #14
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The engine is basically worthless so get the seller to face reality. Get a price that will allow a repower. If you can do a lot of the work yourself you'll have a great boat when done ....... assuming the boat itself is much better than the engine.

Gotta get a real low price thoug and the repower doesn't need to be a new engine either.
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Old 05-08-2014, 08:57 PM   #15
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I like the Cape Dory 28. I think it looks...proud.

I think all of the TAMD 41s are getting a bit long in the tooth and many will require repower soonish. I'd spring for one of the cheaper Chrysler gas powered ones and repower with more horsepower (grunt grunt) for cheaper and use the savings for fuel to go fast and wake slow trawlers.

Wish there were more of them on the West Coast.
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Old 05-08-2014, 09:04 PM   #16
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Negotiate with the seller for a discount on the boat.


I bought a boat with high blow by on one engine and negotiated the seller down by the price of two new cummins reman engines...installed.

Now I have a boat with two brand new engines
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Old 05-09-2014, 05:27 AM   #17
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Hull speed on the 28 is just painfully slow.

If ICW travel is contemplated the boat will be fine as it should get to 6K , and will collect at the bridges with all the rest of a gaggle.
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Old 05-10-2014, 12:20 AM   #18
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When you finally find the right boat you will be very glad you passed on this one. When you find the right boat, you will know.
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Old 05-10-2014, 05:17 AM   #19
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All the >problems< described are from a basic lack of maint.

You would be redoing them anyway in time if the boat was 100% .

The blowby is the only real hassle , BUT how much hassle?

First it could be stuck rings from some doofus starting the engine and ideling it once in a while..

Sometimes one can get lucky and a few hours at high load will only cost a few gallons of diesel and an oil change or two, with very modern high detergent oil.

IF this does not help, blowby will lower fuel mileage a few percent and use more oil during operation.

SO WHAT? Oil is cheap and so is fuel for the usual 200 hours a year most recreation boats get used.

Perfect is always nice , BUT the cost of operating less than PERFECT may be surprisingly small , compared to the hassle/cost/risk of an engine rebuild.

RELIABLE , is a different desirement , yes the boat should be as reliable as can be done , but catch up maint and a bit of slobbering does not make the boat unreliable.
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Old 05-10-2014, 07:12 AM   #20
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Quote:
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Richard, you kiss a few frogs to find a Princess. That engine has too many issues. Keep looking, follow your TF name.
Ditto

Last few years, I looked at many boats that had a multitude of issues.

I realized that while I wanted to work on the boat myself, I didn't want it to become the end all and for it to become the never-ending project.

The good news is that I found a boat that was well maintained and interestingly enough, the prices were all nit that different.

Keep looking, keep the slip.

Richard
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