I am looking at buying a 1965 Chris Craft Commander 38' to liveaboard. The inside is rough and old, but live-able. The decks need refinishing (fiberglass mostly some wood) It smells ok. Engines are Crusader 350's I am not an engine guy. The engines start and run, however one engine needs a new manifold ( $1500 ???). This is according to the owner. We like the boat for us to start our liveaboard adventure. It has been 30 years since I owned my own boat and that was sailing. So, I am considering us new to the power boat club. Asking price seems fair if the survey does not turn up anything major. I am here to connect with other Chris Craft Commander folks who may know of common problems I may run into with this boat. Any advice good or bad is greatly appreciated.
The surveyor says he will do a compression check on each engine. The Boat Yard has the mechanic that worked on the boat to get it running for current owner. The current owner is the son of the last owner who died. Who bought it to fix up. It in fact has been sitting for years. We have scheduled a survey. I will definitely talk to surveyor to verify all he plans to check. Hoses, electrical, hull and throughs, plumbing...
We plan on having the bottom painted and the throughs replaced if nothing else comes up. I am nervous about after all that,,, suddenly needing another 10 or 20k, that would be scary and drain us. We need to get on the boat enjoy it and settle in for 6-8 months before we can even consider spending that kind of money. Are we crazy? Crazy in love with the idea of liveaboard boating!
Thank you Lee! The heads and valves are being redone, so hopefully all will work out well. I am looking forward to 3800 RPMs with no major blow by this coming spring!