Well, I took the plunge. I came accross a deal that showed up twice now on ebay that just seemed to call out to me. I went and bought me a money pit fixer upper. :hammerhea
It's ok, it's just what I was looking for, something with good mechanicals but in need of cosmetic work. It definately needs plenty of cosmetic work too. It's a '73 Kona 21ft mini day cruiser that I got for the bargain basement price of $1860.
The engine is an Olds 455 which, of course, is not the best choice but has been rebuilt with what appears to be all 'the right stuff'. The jet is a 12jc with the jetovator which is good enough for me, don't need the full on hydraulic place diverter for now, this will do just fine. I've disconnected the drive coupler and fired it up and it runs great. Needs some carb tuning though and the throttle cable and pedal are missing so I need to pick those up somewhere. Still debating pulling it and opening it up to see if the oil restrictors have been installed. The jet will need some bushings in the pins, some cable adjustments or replacement, and the impeller is not in the best of shape, but she'll make the boat move and that's all I need for now.
The hull is in pretty good shape with the original gel coat still trying to stay alive. The top surfaces are kinda rough and will need some repairs here and there, holes, scratches, etc. The underside is in really good shape and doesn't look like it spent most of it's time beached. All in all, I'll just clean it up and runn it for now, I've done a little buffing on it and it will look pretty good after some elbow grease. The worst pat is the floor, it will be replaced this winter.
The interior is just done. It's not even original to the boat. The previous owner bought the boat with no interior so he boght a used, ugly brown interior froma nother boat and mickey moused it in. It will be the biggest priority obviously.
Anyway, I'm pretty happy with it and it should be fun when I get it cleaned up for next season.
Here's the dreaded before pics. :jawdrop:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...t/100_0394.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...t/100_0396.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...t/100_0397.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...t/100_0400.jpg
That's Anthony (Flip) in the first pic, it's all his fault.