Used Ranger Fix-Up?

[Musky_Madness]

How hard would it be to fix up a 2000 Ranger 518svx boat with a 200 hp Evinrude on it? The carpet looks shot and the fiberglass fenders show cracks. Is it possible to put a new gel coat on the boat to shine it up a bit? The boat has tons of potential and I would love to get a great deal on a legend but would it be worth it? I'll call the guy soon to see how much he's asking.

[Steve Bakken]

To re-clear the gelcoat on the whole boat would cost more than you might save on the purchase. Some people have used clearcoat paint, but the sun still breaks down the gelcoat and then the clear de-laminates. What we usually do for finishes like that is to determine if there is any clear left on top of the metallics and then give it a good aggressive buffing with some marine compound.

[Musky_Madness]

There is no metallic flakes on the paint job. It is a plain color (yellow & red). I would be interested in doing the work myself and would try and get the materials on my own.

[bassNspear]

buy a new boat. After all the time that you are going to put into this boat, your going to be spending alot of money.

But if your willing to take the time and redo it, and spend a few bucks, then your going to be ok.

[iffwalleyes]

Quote:

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buy a new boat. After all the time that you are going to put into this boat, your going to be spending alot of money.

But if your willing to take the time and redo it, and spend a few bucks, then your going to be ok.

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Easy for you to say since you sell them .

My personal feeling is if you buy a boat had have to start working on it right away it might just be a sign of things to come. I found a boat last year that I was certain I wanted till I had someone else look at it and we started to put the pen to the paper and come up with what it was going to cost to fix everything. So I did was bass-n-spear suggested and bought a new boat go figure .

[Steve Bakken]

Unless the gelcoat is in really bad shape, you'd be surprised at what a good buffing will do.

[Valv]

Most of fixerupper boats will be a good deal if you do labor yourself.

I sell many of them and the biggest mistake people do is buying a repairable boat then take it to a shop to fix it.

At $ 75/hr minimum and up, it won't take much to get a huge bill.

Usually parts have minimal cost, is labor that is expensive, if you can do it yourself it will probably be a good deal.

[delmuts]

the carpet can be replaced. the cracks on the fenders? are they stress cracks or all the way through? i would find some one that knows fiber glass and have them look at it. they can tell you what you would be dealing with , and if it is worth the effort.del

[Surface Tension]

Like Steve said, you'd be surprised how a buffing will bring back the shine. You'll be taking off the dead finish.

A 2000 boat shouldn't be in that bad of condition if it were taken care of. No doubt it sat around without a cover, what else was neglected. I'd be concerned with the hull and outboard. Get underneath and check for any chips or cracks. Use a rubber mallet and tap every inch of the hull and listen for soft spots.

It could be the right boat for you if your up to fixing it. Make sure you get a good deal because of the owners neglect.

The cracks in the fenders might just be in the finish.

[Musky_Madness]

WOW! Thanks for all the responses. I tried to contact the guy the other night but the either A) the phone number isn't working or I was so excited I copied it down wrong? I'm thinking it was probably ( so I am going to try and swing out there today and take another look at it and hopefully get a hold of the guy. Hopefully I can get a hold of the guy and get this thing out on the water to see what the motor runs like and see what condition the trailer is in when the boat is not covering it all. Thanks again for all the input. I would think a good buffing could help get the shine back and read a lot on the web about getting some 3M products that can restore the fibergalss and get that shine back to it. I'll have to keep looking into it and plan on putting in some newer electronics in it as well.

[Musky_Madness]

I got a hold of the guy and he's asking $14,900 for it. I went and looked again the other day and the carpet wasn't as bad as I thought. I looked over the hull and the hull was in good shape, no scrathces or pits in the fiberglass. It looks as if it was just always outdoors and received a lot of sun with the upper part of the boat and carpet being faded. I would think we could add some polish and buff it up a bit. The trailer has a little rust on it but I can live with that and paint the rust spots. I'm thinking no more than $14,000 though. Seems a little high at $14,900. It was previously owned buy a female and then this guy bought it from her. Any thoughts?

[ChuckN]

Steve,

What products in particular do you recommend for a buff job to restore faded gelcoat?

[ironman]

who sells gell coat and how is it applied?

[Steve Bakken]

At the factory, gelcoat is applied first. It's sprayed against the mold and then overlayed with the fiberglass matting. Naturally that's not duplicatable in a shop, so the gelcoat is applied over the original and then sanded and buffed to blend it into the original. There are a few companies that supply it directly, however I dont think that they sell retail. To get gelcoat you'd probably need to check with a dealership.

ChuckN, sorry I missed that last post of yours. 3M has a gelcoat compound called Finess-it that works really well, however it's really agressive so it leaves swirls. You'll need to step up to a regular buffing compound and then finish off with a polishing compound

[Superduty]

In this economy you can buy a nice used boat that won't need fixing up for $14,900. I would shop around. A friend of mine has a 2000 ranger 518 with a 200 evinrude.(also an old flw boat) He would run barefoot through broken glass to find someone willing to pay $14,900!

[solbes]

I understand getting excited about owning a Ranger. I would be too.

Is the 200 hp Evinrude also a year 2000? I'm just wondering if this is a ficht motor from the OMC owned / pre-Bombadier days. But I have no idea if they also made non-ficht motors during that time. If it is a ficht, the blown engine problems are something else to consider in your decision.