This this boat looks to me like the Bossman Skimmer Skiff Lodge edition. The guy selling it tells me that it has been sitting in his yard for 7-10 years but has never been in water. Says he has the new cushions, and all wiring and steering cables are in place. He says that the guy making them in this area went out of business many years ago and he got the leftovers. Said he thinks it is supposed to take a max 70hp motor.
So, can any of you guys tell me more about this? Was this guys design maybe purchased and used by Bossman, or was he maybe cloning their design?
He doesn’t have a motor for any of them or a way for me to take one out on the water.
That being the case, what would be a fair price, or is this something I should run from as fast as I can?
I haven’t gotten inside the fence yet to see about hull ID or VIN.
I did just get some info though from Bossman. They were very helpful.
About 5 years ago they purchased the design or company from Morgan, who was building them here in Flagler. Prior to that they were selling the Morgan Skimmer but were not happy with some of the build quality and they supposedly were built with marine plywood so could have rot issues, etc.
I’m going to see if I can take a look at one although my concern level has gone way up.
Would be interested to hear what folks think one would be worth as-is.
The hull looks decent but the the deck looks like crap so does the center console. If it could be bought cheap enough it would be a cool boat for a project. I would gut it and have a new cap built for it with walkable gunnels.
that's one ugly boat! and I don't think ive ever seen a console like that either. Looks like the whole top half of the console is on a hinge and only held down by rubber latches. and how many holes do you need in a skiff? 2 on the port midship, 2 on port sponson, 5 on starboard sponson
Yeah, I don’t know enough to know what is odd and what is normal... the holes in the side at the back corners of cockpit are weird. Initially thought those would be self bailing scuppers but don’t really know how those function.
I went by and got behind the fence to look at it. I like the layout a lot. Very roomy but really ugly. Appears all wired and ready to go. Has bilge pumps in place, nav lights in compartment. Bottom looks untouched and everything appears solid. The console is hinged and I’ve seen some others like it in pics online. Easy access to wiring and battery compartment.
Deck is solid and non-skid bu5 ugly, the hatch covers are kind of crappy. It has no hull ID, VIN or any other markings on it.
Yeah, the whole issue with no hull ID, etc is one of several concerns. Haven’t checked yet about how I could get it titled but the home built route is what I thought may have to happen. I think there is then some sort of certification you have to go through if it’s over a certain length though.
The guy who showed it to me is the middleman/caretaker for owner. Apparently he has a few... I told him I couldn’t offer more than $1,700 given the issues and unknowns, and even then I needed to first do some checking on the title, a trailer and motor.
I’m bad about liking to have a project but I have enough projects right now and I really would like to start some fishing down here. If I’m smart, I’ll drop this and move on to a ready-to-fish boat. There’s a Scout 162 SportFish not far from here that seems to be a reasonable price which I may go take a look at.
I've never seen an ugly boat. They all have potential even the rebuild on here that had worms. I like the idea of a hinged console. I have to stand on my head backwards to work on mine
Talked myself out of it. Found a cheap Key West right down the road and it will hold me over until I can fish the area some and decide what I want and need.
Appreciate everyone’s input.
Key West 1520 Explorer. The one with the side console.
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