my 86 42' excalibur eagle

[Chris]

You really need to examine all the facts here.

It's not what you have in it now, but what you'll have in it when you're done. If you sit down with a piece of paper and a pen and you're really honest, you may see that what you'll have when you're done with it is a 50, 70 or 70 thousand dollar investment into the boat. Or more. And being what it is, you'd never be able to get anything near that out of it.

You already found one motor issue. Chances are the other one is not far behind. And that means that virtually everything attached to them is close to the end of its lifespan. The drives probabaly need to be gone thru, as most likely do the transmissions. My guess is that wiring is 25 years old. Every nut, bolt, pump, alternator and so on are probabaly getting up in age.

With TRS drives, you're just not going to see much over 70. Even if you bought the power to make it happen, the rest of what you have won't take it. It's big and wide and heavy and was never intended to go very fast. You'll spend more getting it to go fast than you would buying something else. It's a performance cruiser. If you like cruising iin the high 40's and low 50's and an occasional blast into the 60's, but all the while enjoying the ride provided by all that heft and the space that caused all that heft, then this is a good boat for you. If you want to run fast, be willing to trade ride, space or alot of cash. Alot. Plus, with $4 fuel on the water, that monster is going to eat you up.

Just don't make the mistake that so many do- failing to plan and underestimating the final cost. You don't want to be another $30K into this thing only to find out you're $30K short. Now you're stuck- in too deep to quit but it makes no sense to continue.

[Scarab KV]

Chris makes a very good point. He's stating facts that everyone has been trying not to be too blunt about. There's only so much you can expect out of the project before you exceed what the boat was designed for. The cost of restoring and re powering your boat will far out way any value it will ever hold.
Case in hand...My 86 KV was restored to remarkable condition by the previous owner for a four year stint in a poker run series they were involved in. Total project over four years was 300k. This involved completely gutting the boat except the cabin and starting from scratch, blue printing the hull, new paint and graphics, new bolsters, new interior, Lathem hydraulic steering, stringer work, new transom, Gaffrig gauges, custom motors, new rigging, rebuilt drives and trannies, Gil exhaust, etc, etc, too much to list it all. Now this number is high cause the work was farmed out and motors and drives were gone through at the end of each season. Had this been a one time re & re that wasn't farmed out, it would've easily been a 150-175k project. No matter how much money was thrown at it and how nice it turned out, it was still only worth what the market deemed it. In 1999 I purchased the boat in "Better then new condition" with only 20 hrs on the motors and drives and sitting on an almost new Myco. Asking price.....75k

btw...keep in mind, these are numbers from 10+ years ago.

[42JOHNNY]

I agree this boat will never be a fast boat, it was not what I was looking for when I found it.
Both 502's were pulled and tranny's.
the one 502 had a bad bearing... why??? don't know.
Trannies looked/felt good as the drives said the mechanic.
I got a new crank and sent the block to the machine shop, had the heads done.
It is sitting on the stand.
The other motor pulled out looks great, no issue's with bearings.
it also sitting on stand.
I could put both back in the boat for under 5 grand, the bores look great as do the pistons,rods ect. so just freshen up is needed.
I just wanted roller cams and lifters.
Was planning on getting a couple sets since people say with the gen 6 they are the way to go.

Then lost my job and now she sits.
If I had the roller cams/lifters/rockers, we would probably not be talking about this right now.
I would be getting the motors ready to install and even if the cabin is not done, I could still use the boat.
the outside upholstry is in good shape and could still work for a season or two.
The generator runs fine, but never tried the a/c. But the guy I bought it from said it did and so far everything he has told me was correct.

How someone puts that much money in some boat is beyond me.
Sorry, but I can put this boat back in the water with what I planned on doing for under 20k.
I have quotes for the outside interior/cabin/installing motors back in/paint cost/already bought new fenders for trailer/bought material for head/otherthings to.
No, it will not have a flashy paint job, or top of the line interior or motors.
(I have painted many cars/trucks, even thought about roller/brush on awlgrip)

But If I want to go fast I would just by a hydro(had one)
I was looking for a cruiser with some cool power (thats why I bought the 8-71 blowers)

I did not pull the motors and will pay for someone to install, but other then that everything else will be done by me. so I just need to keep it, and finish it or move on to something else

well see..

Johnny

[TCEd]

Cruiser and fast are words seldom used together in the same conversation. If you keep it keep it simple i.e. stock power and sell the blowers.

[42JOHNNY]

Cruiser and fast are words seldom used together in the same conversation. If you keep it keep it simple i.e. stock power and sell the blowers.

Already did, sold one blower and traded the other for a nice sanger super jet.

Johnny

[JupiterSunsation]

Yea, but if you had a couple of BBC's setting around and put them in this hull, you could be on the water with a 42' boat for under 20k.
How many 42' boats do you see for this price?
Now even if you bought a couple crate motors installed them yourself, you could still be at a good price..


Johnny

Just for comparison: http://www.seriousoffshore.com/class...age=out&id=389

34 Scarab- turn-key asking 20K. Yeah I know it isn't 42 but a 34 Scarab is a big 34, can be towed by a 3/4 ton truck and the buyer of this rig is going out boating vs. buying a 20K "project."

Unfortunately I think the size of your 42 works against you in this sale. The 42 is a huge boat to trailer (needing a very stout dually+++), you are selling a dream (boat doesn't run) and even done it won't be worth the sum of the parts. If someone knocks on your door with $5,000 in green cash (or more ) take the money before they change their mind!

If you figure the boat will cost 15-20K to buy it will cost someone another 15-20K to finish it (motors, cabin and replace whatever else isn't working). Now you are looking at boats that cost 30-40K or go back to that Scarab idea for 20K (assuming you pay asking price) and now you have 20K to spend enjoying, maintaining the boat all summer!

Good Luck.......and if I recall you had a crazy commute to your job (like 2 hours or something) so losing that job might be a blessing in disguise!

[42JOHNNY]

Just for comparison: http://www.seriousoffshore.com/class...age=out&id=389

34 Scarab- turn-key asking 20K. Yeah I know it isn't 42 but a 34 Scarab is a big 34, can be towed by a 3/4 ton truck and the buyer of this rig is going out boating vs. buying a 20K "project."

Unfortunately I think the size of your 42 works against you in this sale. The 42 is a huge boat to trailer (needing a very stout dually+++), you are selling a dream (boat doesn't run) and even done it won't be worth the sum of the parts. If someone knocks on your door with $5,000 in green cash (or more ) take the money before they change their mind!

If you figure the boat will cost 15-20K to buy it will cost someone another 15-20K to finish it (motors, cabin and replace whatever else isn't working). Now you are looking at boats that cost 30-40K or go back to that Scarab idea for 20K (assuming you pay asking price) and now you have 20K to spend enjoying, maintaining the boat all summer!

Good Luck.......and if I recall you had a crazy commute to your job (like 2 hours or something) so losing that job might be a blessing in disguise!

Yea, losing the job might have been a good thing if I can find one here...
I am supposed to interveiwing in Long Beach this week..
So, if thats the case and I can get this one, it will be farther drive, so will staying in L.A. more..

More then anything else, I am glad the wife was stern on NOt letting me spend savings on my toys, if not we really could be hurting and I would have to sell stuff.

Wish me luck!!!!!!



johnny

[MILD THUNDER]

8-71 blowers, TRS drives, no hydraulic steering, 15k lb boat, was a really bad idea! Sorry...

Forget the roller cams. The 25-40HP gain wont do diddly for that hull. slap some stock 400/420HP cams in the motors, bolt them back in, get the boat where it runs. If you are laid off, now would be a good time to take a few bucks from the savings, to re-install the engines, and do as much as you can putting the cabin back together. A gutted cabin on a eagle is like a bentley with cloth interior. The main reason some guy is going to consider a eagle is the fact they are great family boats for overnighting due to the cabins. Having a cabin thats gonna be a major project to put together would deter me. The Eagles were cool boats in their day.

My vote goes to putting it back together, and cross your fingers for 20k. As it sits now, maybe 10k. Even if it costs you 2500 in misc hoses, pumps, gaskets, carpet, wood, etc, you'd be ahead of the game by putting it together and selling it as a complete running boat. Now, if the motors were trashed, then i'd say sell it as is and cut your losses.

Good luck in whatever you decide....

[TxHawk]

Put it back together as simple as possible. If I am buying a 42' boat for 20k, I am not worried if it runs 55 vs. 60 nor whether or not it has 400HP or 500HP. I am buying a boat that I can take my friends and family on and feel proud of having a big boat.

At 20k, most of the upgrades you are talking about are worthless. It just needs to be complete.

I had big plans for my cabin and am now finishing it nice, but simple. I could never get what I would want out of my boat so I will instead make it up in USE.

There is no use spending any time or effort to gain 1 mph in that boat. I am glad that I converted drives when these things were still worth something since I would never have considered it now. I think you were lied to about speed. Mine will run 80-82 with 700HP's and IMCO's. It only weights 10,500 now.

If you can stand to gamble the money to finish it... try it. I am not sure you will get it back in the sale. Otherwise, start selling parts and ebay the hull at no reserve.

How about insurance? If the buyer requires it, he isnt going to like what it costs.

[PatriYacht]

A straight bottom Black Thunder is one of the fastest really big v's out there. With stock 500's they go 67mph. To get to 80 requires 700+ hp and Bravos with -2 shorties and extension boxes. To get an Eagle there with TRS would probably take another 100 hp per engine. Unfortunately, the drives can't take that much hp. A couple of 550 hp and mid to upper 60's is about all that boat is capable of without really breaking the bank.