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Here goes nothing. I hope this isn't too long of a book for y'all to read. After catching the fever a few years ago for saltwater i've finally acquired a good (hopefully) starter boat. Ended up trading a guy my 14' aluminum jon with Yamaha 15 for this 1972 17 with a old Johnson 115.
I researched all I could before i went to look at it but I will say I'm woefully lacking on glass boat knowledge. According to the guy i picked it up from he just didn't enjoy it like he thought he would and wanted a good duck boat. He said he bought it from the original owner's son who said his father bought it new and only used it a dozen or so times. Was supposedly garage kept between trips. The boat is a little dirty but that's too be expected. I got under the boat and saw no gouges, cracks or waves to indicate any glass work. No blisters on the bottom or the sides of the hull. Moving back to the transom, the motor mount bolts don't appear to be sunk in any and tapping everywhere with the handle of my knife produced a very solid, sharp sound. Up top there are a few what I hope are just stress cracks in the gelcoat.
Most of the screw holes around rod holders and other things have small 1" or less cracks. The only ones that really concern me are where the transom meets the gunwale (correct term?) in the back corners of the boat.
I bounced the motor some and picked up on it best I could and the transom didn't seem to move any so I hope I'm lucky. The deck itself seems pretty solid except for up on the casting deck. I've read these old Mako's have thin decks up there and are prone to delamination? There are a few small cracks around the base of the console but being as the deck feels solid I believe those are just non structural stress cracks from age.
I also didn't note any smell of fuel from the hatches so hopefully my tank is still ok. All that to say I look forward to tending to these cracks over the winter and repainting the old girl. I'll be asking lots of questions and I appreciate yalls help in advance!
I researched all I could before i went to look at it but I will say I'm woefully lacking on glass boat knowledge. According to the guy i picked it up from he just didn't enjoy it like he thought he would and wanted a good duck boat. He said he bought it from the original owner's son who said his father bought it new and only used it a dozen or so times. Was supposedly garage kept between trips. The boat is a little dirty but that's too be expected. I got under the boat and saw no gouges, cracks or waves to indicate any glass work. No blisters on the bottom or the sides of the hull. Moving back to the transom, the motor mount bolts don't appear to be sunk in any and tapping everywhere with the handle of my knife produced a very solid, sharp sound. Up top there are a few what I hope are just stress cracks in the gelcoat.
Most of the screw holes around rod holders and other things have small 1" or less cracks. The only ones that really concern me are where the transom meets the gunwale (correct term?) in the back corners of the boat.
I bounced the motor some and picked up on it best I could and the transom didn't seem to move any so I hope I'm lucky. The deck itself seems pretty solid except for up on the casting deck. I've read these old Mako's have thin decks up there and are prone to delamination? There are a few small cracks around the base of the console but being as the deck feels solid I believe those are just non structural stress cracks from age.
I also didn't note any smell of fuel from the hatches so hopefully my tank is still ok. All that to say I look forward to tending to these cracks over the winter and repainting the old girl. I'll be asking lots of questions and I appreciate yalls help in advance!
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