1978 Guardian Half Cabin

 Hi all I recently purchased a boat, i dont know much about boats and prices but i jumped in blindly... i probably should have opted for a pre purchase inspection but my eager personality got ahead of me as it was always a dream to own a boat...

i purchased a fiberglass 1978 Guardian Half Cab with a yamaha saltwater series 130hp engine with 72 running hours on a 7.4m dual axle trailer for 13k.

Issues with the boat are that there is apparently rot in the transom only minor at this stage according to the service mechanic and he reckons it will last 3-4 years.

Soft floor which is getting softer day by day and i think it will only just see out the season.

there is less then a cup of water out the bung after each trip but the bilge which sits above the lowest part in the hull pumps out dirty brown water which i think comes after rain or water through the deck.

My question is did i get ripped off? 

should i repair the floor and transom or sell the hull and find a new one?

any rough estimates on pricing and any recommended repairers !

 

Thanks all for reading and hope to hear back from you sorry if i am missing any information and i know its hard without physically seeing the boat. thanks.


Faulkner Family's picture

Posts: 17830

Date Joined: 11/03/08

 Get hold of Greg at GT

Tue, 2020-01-21 18:36

 Get hold of Greg at GT fibreglass. Did a great job on the transom on my swiftcraft and was a lot cheaper than any others I spoke to. Don't have the number but just Google 

..Hope this helps

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RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together

carnarvonite's picture

Posts: 8619

Date Joined: 24/07/07

Motor

Tue, 2020-01-21 18:37

 Sounds like you bought a near new motor with a bit of fibreglass attached to it.

The Guardians are quite a good riding hull so pulling the deck up and replacing it may be worth the trouble if you are handy with tools etc but if you have to pay someone it may turn out an expensive exercise

Brock O's picture

Posts: 3155

Date Joined: 11/01/08

I have the same..mine is a

Tue, 2020-01-21 20:33

I have the same..mine is a 5.7m with an old Johnno on it, I had a budget of 10k at the time and picked this at 6k as I liked the high sides and the bit of room up front.

My hull was flooded for some time before I found the actual bung at the bottom of the bilge tank leading to the hull, it had a floor crack near the steering wheel board plus a few holes from the old seat poles were the water entered during wash down and from dive gear etc....so I know the colour of the water you mention...Tannin!

Its from the wood floor, the internal bulkies are glassed both sides to the top as I found out after putting a few inspection covers in my floor ....my floor still feels ok even with my 100kg bouncing around.....I've had it fully loaded with 3 blokes and 6 dive bottles in some rough chop and its still going strong.

Get a price for the transom, minimum get it checked once a year or repair if you can....Mine is beaten to shit but I love it :)....I'ts all I can afford atm so I fix it as I go!

Posts: 1097

Date Joined: 19/06/14

Do it yourself !

Tue, 2020-01-21 21:24

If I can do it then so can you . If you can use a pair of scissors , a fin roller , a paintbrush , a jigsaw and a grinder you can successfully rebuild your boat from scratch . Using epoxy resins , biaxial matting and marine ply correctly will have you a bullet proof vessel that will make you smile from ear to ear as your pounding the crap out of it in shitty conditions. Look at what you've bought as an Investment in your boating future ! . There's a guy on YouTube called Andy , he's got a channel called boat works today. Start watching and learning .

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 My wife understands why I clean my rods n reels in the shower....

 

quadfisher's picture

Posts: 1145

Date Joined: 28/09/10

Alot of sinkers?

Wed, 2020-01-22 13:56

 I am sure If you get to the stage of floor work etc you could get some foam floatation in there too mate , cause most of those older boats 

 have none and I get nervous when I hear about another older glass boat gone missing.

 Not scaring but informing , so you know to take advantage of adding any safety factor you can , and in the mean time before you spens another cent on the tub 

 grab a wearable inflating lifejacket and cable tie a P.L.B  too it .Good luck, theres thousands of older boats out there catching fish safely every year. 

 

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quadfisher

Faulkner Family's picture

Posts: 17830

Date Joined: 11/03/08

 I got that foam stuff myself

Wed, 2020-01-22 07:57

 I got that foam stuff myself for t hat reason . Safety . Also got done at G T fiberglass when i got the transome done

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RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together

Swompa's picture

Posts: 3753

Date Joined: 14/10/12

 Good Hull. I would suggest

Wed, 2020-01-22 08:20

 Good Hull. I would suggest getting the arse done professionally and do the deck yourself and fill it with Foam and you will be sorted for 10-15 years.