Opinions on 1979 23' hardtop.

[largoman]

Hello all,

I have a deposit down on a 1979 23' sceptre cuddy with a supposedly factory hardtop. I can't take posession of it until "Isadore" blows past since there is a hold on new boat insurance policies until then.

A local Seacraft dealer took it as a trade-in a few years back and sold it to a local marine mechanic who is now selling it. This dealer didn't have many specifics about it but speculates that is was some kind of special order as it is the only hardtop he had encountered.

It has what are supposed to 2 1989 Jonson 150's on it, though I can't tell the year for sure. They seem to run ok (for now), the compression check ranged from 95 to 90psi on one and 80 to 90psi on the other. Lower unit oil appears pristine on one and very slightly off on the other.

I had a local fiberglass guy look at the hull and transom after reading the many bad transom posts on this site, and he thought it was solid. The exceptions being the hatches which are soft and need to be redone (the floor around them seems solid) and various cosmetic dings/gelcoat cracks.

Looks like I can get if for around 5K plus another 1K to get all the fiberglass work done.

Does anyone have any information or opinions about this type of sceptre in general or about any of the specifics I mentioned.

Thanks in advance, Largoman