78-79 Double Eagle

[Sitkaspruce]

A friend of mine is looking at his first boat and we went and looked at a 78 or 79 Double Eagle, 17.5' w/ a 84 110 Johnson. It is in good shape with new (3yo) canves, a VHF, Sounder, a couple of manual Strongarms, a new kicker bracket and a heavy duty trailer. The motor ran strong, but he will get a compression test this week to check it out. Then off for sea trials...

His questions are....

Are there any history of tramsom problems??? Hull Problems??? It has a new (3yo) fibergalss floor that has me worried as it has no plywood in it, just fiberglass. It does have some give when walking but seems strong enough to hold up people when walking around.

How about the motor??? Any thing he should be aware of??? Hours are unknown

There is no marine surveyors up here, so getting one of those would mean a trip down Island. Not sure if he want to do that.

Cheers

SS

 

[danthewire]

Look from the rear of the boat right hand side up high,the serial number will be stamped on the rub rail last 2 numbers are the year.Check and see if you can get the stainless trim off where the motor sits on the transom sometimes they leak between the fiberglass and the wood and rot from the outside in.The plwood on the transom was not encapsulated in the late seventies, the stringers were.Also check for stress cracks where the upper hull and transom meet,right where it rolls up,right at the motor,if its spidered its been pounded hard.Some of older hulls{77} pounded in a short chop.Take a hard rubber hammer and tap on the transom,it should have a solid sound if it has a thud sound the wood is on its way out.Does it have flotation between the deck and hull?Does it have deck plates to check and see?Some types of foam will waterlog over time,the boat will weigh a ton if it does.Shake the boat on the traler hard sometimes you can hear the water sloshing around.If there is no flotation in the bottom,and the hull hasn't been painted if you have access between the hull and deck,wait till dark and drop a trouble light between the two, turn it on and go look from the outside you'll be amazed at what you will see.I rebuilt a older Double Eagle just passing on what I found.If it checks out they are good old boats.Can't help with the motor.Dan

 

[Charter Tofino]

Is it a good deal? I know alot of older Double eagles are way over priced. Seen 1970s 17.5s with no resotoration work and old power for 10k+. Great boats but not worth that

 

[Sitkaspruce]

quote:Originally posted by kelly

Is it a good deal? I know alot of older Double eagles are way over priced. Seen 1970s 17.5s with no resotoration work and old power for 10k+. Great boats but not worth that

The asking price is about 1/3 that price.

Thenks for the info Dan

I will pass it along

Cheers

SS

 

[tortuga]

If the transom is not rotted buy it.
I had my transom redone when I bought it 12 years ago and the boat is in great shape today. It's no small job to redo the transom though. You can drill a small hole 1" deep from the inside of the lower transom and catch what comes out. This will tell you the condition of the wood inside. I also removed the foam under the deck because it was waterlogged.

 

[Rum Buddies]

quote:The asking price is about 1/3 that price.

Even at that price I can't imagine a DE from the late 70's being worth that. I've seen DE from the 90's with decent power for around $5000 on a trailer.

A lot of boats on the market these days for dirt cheap, I'd tell your friend to not rush into anything and keep looking.

 

[scott craven]

If that 110hp Johnson is the V4 , they are good motor's
make sure compression is close to equal in all cylinder's.

 

[Karma-Kazi]

The boat should be great, my grandfather owned a 79, and had no problems with it, second most seaworthy boat ive been in, Second to my 18.5 double eagle.

And the 110 johnson, i have never owned one, but i had a 40 johnson 1987 and it ran like a top, and still does, never any isuues other then fuel filters!

If the price is right, and the compression test comes back good, GRAB IT!!

-Steve