# Bayliner - Good Years - Bad Years?



## Doghouse

Look at a 19' walkaround.

Did Bayliner have any bad years with their stringers or transoms?


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## ESOX

HMMMMMMMMM it might be easier to ask what good years Bayliner might have had.


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## Doghouse

not a response I was looking for.... That few huh...


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## Beave

What hull? The trophy? I've physically looked at about 40 boats in the last 6 months, and it took me about 8 of them before I started focusing on pretty much exclusively Bayliner Trophies and Sea Ray Amberjacks. I can't afford a Grady or a Tiara/Pursuit, and I found that for the money the Trophy really is a good boat. As a company Bayliner has a bit of a bad rep. One that's in many ways deserved. They built a lot of sub-par boats in the 80's and 90's. Bayliner specialized in being an entry-level boat with a great price point. To do that they had to shave corners in some areas. A lot of their boats suffer from the problems you'd expect on an entry level boat. Electrical wiring and fit-and-finish left something to be desired. What I found with Bayliner is that Trophy hulls are different than the Cierra and other Bayliner hulls. Bayliner knew their fishing hull would be subject to more abuse than their "floating motorhome" models, so they built the Trophies accordingly. What I'm looking for in a 10+ year old boat is hull integrity, and I've yet to see a Trophy that wasn't physically run into something with a bad hull. IMO everything else can be replaced. Rotted out stringers or transom and most boats aren't worth the cost of the repairs.

If you like the boat get a survey done. Salmonbum recommened a guy from the Detroit area to me, and I was very impressed with the job he did. The $200 I spent on the survey saved me $1500 in repairs on one boat I almost bought. I'll PM you his info if you want it.


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## Doghouse

Thanks Beave for the info.

You are right to take the extra steps as once you hand over the cash, it is your baby. In all fairness some of the boats I have looked at, even the owners were aware of the problem!

Yes it is a Trophy Hull. We keep going back and forth between glass and aluminum (never owned a glass).

I sent you a PM as well.


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## Beave

No problem Doghouse.

In my mind the cutoff from aluminum to glass is right around 20 feet, so I understand the dillema you're facing. If you really want a Trophy in that size range take a look at this one here:

http://adcache.boattraderonline.com/6/0/9/74703109.htm

It has electronics and I believe comes with a pair of cannon downriggers. The broker told me the owner would probably take $10,500 for it. I've been hoping for a 23 or 24' boat or I'd probably have taken a drive over to look at it.


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## TONGA

yea Bayliner was once known for making some of the worst boats,but they are now owned by Brunswick,, quality and customer satisfaction is supposed to be light years ahead of the old blue tubs that you would see listing in the canals.
Every Trophy owner I have talked to says they are a decent boat,,just keep in mind your still not buying a Bertram


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## SalmonBum

The hulls themselves I have seen very little problems. What you do need to have is a screwdriver on hand at all times. As mentioned above, they did cut corners on trim and whatnot. I had one for 5 yrs that I beat the you know what out of. The hull took everything I gave it, But little things like "cosmetic" stuff I was fixin all the time. That didn't bother me. It was all I could afford at the time and it got me on the water every weekend. If put in a situation where funds were limited, I wouldn't hesitate on buying another one. Its all about getting on the water. That is what is important.


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## double trouble

i run with a guy that has a 1996 20 foot trophy with a 120 force motor. we have trashed that boat on many occasions.he bought it new and charters with it too.this year he changed the spark plugs for the first time (not kidding). the boat is solid ,reliable and seaworthy. I would recomend ay trophy that year or newer. be very careful of trophy's or thompsons in the late 1980's vintage.bayliner used very cheap materials (like wiring, vinal,fittings)and those force engines had carb and ignition problems.thompsons went under because of rotten floors and stringers.you are right about bayliner hulls.stay away from ciera's .they are thin and cheaply built.even the bayliner salesman i talked to at the boat show admits that the company made junk for a while ,but has turned it arround in the last decade.just don't buy the blue tub.


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## andy capp

My friend has an identical boat for sale. 19 bayliner trophy walkaround. Its fairly newthough and has an I/O.


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## Doghouse

We have looked at a couple Bayliner Trophies in the mid 80's. One had the Force (which I never have liked) and the other is an I/O.

I dont have a problem with the cosmetic. It is the transom/hull/stringer that I am more concerned with.

For the Thompson's, I have heard more than one occassion (from actual owners) the problems with rotted stringers and transom's.


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## SalmonSlayer

So a 1984 Trophy 24' would NOT be a good investment? Based on posts here, this would be the time frame to avoid.


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## double trouble

its all relitive to what the asking price is and how much work you want to do on the boat and what has been done already.cheap hardware, fabrics , electrical problems,do not nessessarily rule out a boat but be forewarned. i can think of a few other brands that i would rather have in that year vintage.a buddy of mine bought a 25 foot cruisers inc.without trailer in that age range for 10 grand. other than new boots for the drive, the boat has been pretty good. if you can get that bayliner surveyed and buy it for 6 with a trailer, than you might be o.k. look at the big picture. older gas hog boats are a dime a dozen and owners are going to be dumping them this year.make real cheap bids or find the perfect one. low hours one owner who is meticulous with his boat.then you might have to pay more. just don't jump into this bayliner unless its a huge deal and you can have a bunch of cash for repairs squirreled away. good luck . i know how tough a decision it is. i waited almost 2 years till i pulled that trigger myself and i did pretty good.


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## Beave

I wouldn't personally buy a boat that old with an outboard, but that's just me. Outboards aren't ideal for big lake trolling in a boat that big to begin with, and fixing them is a lot more difficult. The nice thing with the old Merc and OMC I/O's is that parts are everywhere. If you're mechanically inclined and like a project you can swing a new V8 into one pretty inexpensively compared to the cost of re-powering with a new outboard.

I've been looking at A LOT of Trophies Ben, and plan to buy one sooner or later. PM or email me with questions on the specific boat if you'd like. There's a good chance I've looked at the same boat you are. If you're looking at a Trophy made in that time frame it's probably a solid hull. I'm not really of the opinion Bayliner made bad trophies with the exception of the year or two right before Trophy became it's own company and they were cutting corners to save money.


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## Beave

A few other things on Trophies in that time frame:

The 21' Trophy is basically the same boat as the 24'. They took 3' out of the hull between the doghouse and the cockpit area. Everything forward of that is the same. The 4.3L V6 will push the 21' trophy along just fine, it's underpowered on the 24'. 

Hardtops... People love the hardtop but it's not tall enough. If you're taller than 5'3" you'll eventually hit your head on it. Bluebook says the hardtop adds about $1000 to the resale value of the boat, realistically I'd say it's more like $1500-2000. The hardtops fly off the market a lot faster too. I'm neutral on whether or not I want a hardtop. You'll be hard-pressed to find a 24' Trophy with a V8 and a hardtop for under $12,000 if it's in good shape. The only "plus" about a hardtop IMO is that you can mount a rocket launcher and planer reels to the hardtop and don't need a radar arch The softtop with all of the canvas has quite a bit more headroom though, and can be folded down on a nice day. 

1987 or 1988 (I can't rememeber which) Bayliner switched from Volvo to OMC and Mercruiser engines and outdrives. The Volvo boats have a lower resale value than the 1988 and above boats. The Volvo engine is built on a Chevy V8 block so parts for those aren't too expensive, but the outdrives are pretty unique. They're supposedly very solid, but parts are more expensive when they break and a lot of marine mechanics don't want to mess with them. The Volvo name scares people away, so even if they're solid boats they'll sell for less.

I'll agree with Double Trouble that $6K is a good deal on a 1984 in that time frame. Trailer, electronics, boat condition, and engine hours will be big factors in the cost. Depending on engine hours and how it's rigged it could be worth more or less. The good thing with 15+ year old boats is that resale value is much more a function of boat condition than age. If anything it's actually going back up as the cost of a new boat of the same size is now $50-80K. If you buy one and keep it clean you shouldn't see much depreciation in a year or two if you decide to sell it.

I've been looking mostly at 1988-1992 vintage boats. For a 24' boat in that time frame with a 305 and either a hardtop or full canvas I'm expecting to spend a little more, but I'm looking for a turnkey boat that's ready to put some riggers and rodholder on and go. The best boats I've found come from Lake Erie. There's apparently a huge population of people in their 60's and 70's over there that bought these boats 20 years ago, took meticulous care of them, and then proceeded to put 20-30 hours a year on them perch fishing. Now they're getting sick of them them and looking to sell.


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## SalmonSlayer

Wow, thanks guys! The boat I'm looking at comes loaded with accessories, hardtop w/rocket launcher, navigational equipped and coast guard approved. The asking price is 10grand though. A little steep from what y'all say. Oh yeah, it is an I/O with a 270 or 280 Merc.


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## double trouble

remember that a boat that sat in a slip is usually more beat up than a trailer boat due to the years the hull sat in water and the humidity it faces daily.10 grand is not a bad asking price for a pristine example,but it sounds like this boat was used for great lakes fishing and we all know we trash our boats on a regular basis when we fish. if the hours are over 1000 then that boat is priced too high even if was owned by your mothers great uncles friend.


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## coverdog

Doghouse said:


> For the Thompson's, I have heard more than one occassion (from actual owners) the problems with rotted stringers and transom's.


That would be because the moron that designed some of them had all the water that got on the deck drain into the bilge instead of overboard. My neighbor had water up to the spark plugs on his I/O one time because his bilge pump quit while it was tied to the dock. No boat should drain water into the bilge.


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## adjusted3

Hi Ben

I am curious as to the 24' bayliner that you are looking at. Shoot me the name on the back of it by PM and who the owner is only if it is a local boat. The reason I say that is that I know most of the Bayliner Trophy owners in this area and maybe able to help you on some history of the boat your looking for. 

I owned a 86 21' hardtop for several years. Was a great entry boat like Dave said. I had zero issues with it except for that is was severely under powered with a 125 volvo-penta engine and a 270 outdrive. Top end was about 17-20 on a good day. But, I pounded this boat hard and it never failed me. The one you are looking at should be a blue hual or have blue stripes on it. I think that the switch over came in 85 to a white/tan boat. History has it that locally here, Wolf's flooded the market with these 21 and 24 footers at a great price during those years and many of them are still around. 

My 21 had sleeping for 3, (a V-berth and a coffin berth)a standup head, ice box, alochol stove, sink with a 5 gal water holding tank, trim tabs, but no shore power. I added that myself. With the high gunnells, it was great for having kids on board. When I bought this boat 9 years ago, I invested a bit over 7500.00. I kept it for 5 years and sold it for 6000.00 if memory serves me, but it needed an outdrive boot as I had it drydocked for a year and it rotted out. Not bad for 5 years of use.

I know bayliner gets a bad rap, but these boats are exactly what Dave said, they are an entry level boat. What ever you buy, have a survey done. Well worth the 200.00 and if you do buy it, the survey just adds value to when you go to sell it providing you maintain it well. 

Good luck

Mark


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## Beave

Bayliner was sort of like GM in the 80's. They built some absolute garbage, and they built some good, sturdy, reliable vehicles that could've used a little more attention to fit and finish. Bayliner was also the biggest boat maker at the time (may still be), so they have very good brand recognition. For everyone who will tell you never to buy one, there are just as many people who have owned a Bayliner or known someone who owned a Bayliner and had a good experience with it.

One reason I like them is that for the price you get a lot of boat and functionality. They also have good resale, especially the hardtops. I've now lost count of the number of times I've called on an ad that's new on boattrader or in the paper that day to be told the boat sold that morning already.


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## callie

I've had my 1985 90 Force, runabout for almost 20 years and I have really had zero problems. I converted the old lady(the boat) into a fishing boat dream, but she still has the get up and go to pull 2 skiers and/or 3 tubers


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## Jumbo

I have 1999, 2002 , 125 Merc., 9.9 Bigfoot Sail Power (long shaft), it holds it own out there, jiging, trolling, drifting, I don't beat her up tho, speed kills in more ways than one, bang for buck $$, it works for me, and I catch a few fish, 6'4'' and can stand up straight with a hat on in side the cockpit with out bumping my knoggen :tdo12: , just ax them , have some class, and by the glass, it's a better ride in the ruff stuff, just don't go W F O on the throttle, so as to fish another day, want to go fast, look at a Ba$$ boat :corkysm55 that's my story~~~~><>...Jumbo.! :chillin:


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