I am in the same mindset. If I start getting issues with my hull leaking, I will get it repaired.Quote:
Originally Posted by fisheatingbagel
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I am in the same mindset. If I start getting issues with my hull leaking, I will get it repaired.Quote:
Originally Posted by fisheatingbagel
kc55 i understand your problem with the survey amounts. we have had 4 surveys for 3 different boats we've bought in the last 5 years all of which we had to pay the full cost. i would "never" buy any boat without a out of water survey.before you sign on the dotted line,check for insurance. one had 290 hours on it and a ton of blisters. we fixed them and bought it anyway( at a reduced price), another reason for the out of water, most insurance companys wont give you full covereage with out one.it just pays to be safe and spend the money.try to get the marina or broker to pull it for free, mine did on the last one.good luck
Well, we are pretty bummed, but who knows he might still call.
Thanks for the replys, I know we did the right thing, but I still want to just buy it. We won't of course, without the out of water survey. I still think the boat is OK, just can't take that big of a gamble.
We had the insurance lined up with an in water survey, the financing is in place and we had done our homework on expenses (slip, gas, maint. etc) so we are nubes but we did a little homework. We are now actively searching for something else. I looked at the pics Fish put up and it made me want a KC just that much more! Great job on that, I like what you have done.
I will let you know what happens, we are already houseboaters in our minds.
KC55 (still just a fan)
The rear door is the one I put the piece of aluminum in to essentially extend the top of the channel - so it doesn't overflow before it has a chance to drain. So far it's been working...
This may be the last post in this thread for a while. We are going down tomorrow to look at a non-KC houseboat. I know, it makes me a little sadtoo, but we think we are looking at a real potential candidate. Its aluminum hulled but its no KC ;)
I will start a new thread here in Vintage Houseboats if it looks like this one is the real deal. So yes it is an old boat, we can't afford the new fancy stuff, but I am not complaining. I'll let you all know how it goes.
KC55 (gonna make my name seem kind of odd if I get this other boat)
KC55, you are like the guy who tatoos his girlfriends name on his chest, then looks for another girlfriend! Hope you find one with the same name! Enjoy your search!
ha, ha...good luck - hope this one works out!
Too funny. You can't hate on true love... shore do like me some Kingscraft.
Thanks for the well wishing guys.
KC55:cool:
Well, looks like that one didn't make it. I am a little vague about the boats I am looking at because I don't want to affect the different owners ability to market their boats. The reasons a different boat doesn't work for me doesn't mean it wouldn't be a good boat for someone else. Enough said about that.
I hope anybody that knows of a Kingscraft (44' or longer) will let me know. We will consider trashed to treasure.
By the way, this weekend I heard of a device (cant remember the name) that monitors the condition of stray currents in the water near your boat. If this rings a bell with anyone I would like to know what they are called or who manufacturers. I have tried several google searches and cant come up with anything.
Later
KC55
We have looked at one other boat, a Kingscraft of course, and are going to look at a different one Thursday. I tlll you, when we have purchased a boat, I will have a bunch of things to tell about all of the neat and different things I have seen on the various boats we have been on. One of the best things in all this is the people we are meeting. The KC owners, former Kingscraft employees, Harbor Masters, and all of the various boat owners on the many docks/marinas we have mentioned are all great folks. If you want to meet nice people, just walk on to a dock (with permission of owner/manager of course) and start telling people you are looking to buy a certain type of boat. Everyone knows someone who has a boat to sell and wants to know your boating experience, where you are from, and what you have looked at. We have been offered tours of boats from complete strangers, been offered cokes and beers, and been given phone numbers and recommendations for many different boats. Boat owners are friendly, open, fun and most of them seem to own dogs!
I will give some updates when we have looked at the these last ones, I am truly hopeful one of these will be our boat. My wife is at the point she doesn't want to get her hopes up because we have come so close and then have to spend another weekend OFF the water. She is being a trooper and we are figuring this out together.
Again, please let me know if you know of a KC for sale (44' or longer). I dont have anything against the shorter KC's, I love looking at them. We drive around to marinas and marine service centers just to see if we can find old KC's (and Marinette houseboats) just to look at them and compare the differences.
Best wishes and fair sailing,
KC55
PS can you believe we had a weak moment and actually looked at something besides a Kingscraft? :confused: I hope you like your boat as much as we plan on liking ours.
Well, if anybody is still reading, the KC we looked at Thursday was not a good value. There were many pluses but they were outweighed by the minuses. It is interesting how many people will give you a description and pictures but reality doesn't match reality.
We had started to reconsider the 44'ers and found a whale of a del on one but then we talked to a guy (whose opinion we value) and he said the early (70, 71, & 72) 44' KC's tend to be bow heavy. I had never heard this, but this was a former owner and hardcore boating type. We are in pursuit of two different 55's right now and I may know something for sure by Mon. evening.
If you have replaced your plastic window tracks on your KC (past or present) with the three track aluminum Marinette tracks, please post here and tell us your experience. I am thinking I will be looking at this project on either of the two boats we are looking at now.
We have really had to expand our geographic horizon to continue to pursue our boat. I never dreamed we would be this involved and persistant in finding a boat.
By the way, we went to look at a 18' deep V inboard w/sterndrive Starcraft runabout today. It needs work but we made an offer (which they are considering), and we hope to be able to get it as a "yacht" tender/taxi/playtoy/dog-business boat. It's a 1975 aluminum boat, I hope this is a good choice.
Well, all for now,
KC55
Was the KC in Cincy white with red stripes?
"he said the early (70, 71, & 72) 44' KC's tend to be bow heavy"
Not true if equipped with twins. The 44's were a well balanced boat in all lengths. The 44 was/is the most popular length. Truly forever boats. We owned 2, a 47 and a 48.
There are a larger percentage of KingsCraft still in use than any other brand. This is due to their aluminum construction and quality of build. They are the #1 prospect for rebuilding/refurbushing. Another fact is that their style is timeless.
OHB , you seem to know alot about the kingscrafts, i saw one in michigan for sale a couple years ago. it was advertised as a 63footer. i called the guy and his wife said it was indeed a 63.have you ever heard of one before? thanks
JTAlberts - Yes the cincy boat was the one with red stripes. Nice boat but issues and price ruled it out for us. I would have made an offer but I didn't want to make the very nice owner upset. There are some real upsides to that boat if you can get it at the right price. I was salivating over the 20kw diesel genny. There are 2 44'ers in the same marina, I asked a local guy to try and get me the owner's numbers so I could call and talk with them.
OHB - I will definetly bow to your experience owning the Kingscraft, I love them, I was just going by what a marine professional had told me. I am glad to hear you step up and set the record straight. I will probably put them back on my possibility list. I saw a 47'er listed and called them the same nite, it turned out to be a 44', I was really excited to go see it. I hope I run into one of the rare ones someday.
I am out of state looking at a couple of KC's, I really have high hopes this time. Maybe I can even find one that will make my name (KC55) make sense. :)
Best wishes,
KC55
What issues did you see with the red one? I am just curious as I saw the large price tag and figured it was pristine. I had actually talked about looking at it.
I don't know of KingsCraft houseboats over 55'. However they built some cruisers that might have included a 63. I heard talk of a streched 55 but I always thought it was a rumor. They also built commercial and military speciality units.
A close friend of mine has a beautiful 36' cruiser he bought new in 1973. It is in Mint condition and shines like a new penny.
The only downside to most KC's is that there is not enough hull depth for a cuddy.
KC
Don't be so quick to drool over that diesel gen. Diesel gens are not ignition protected and should not be installed in a gas engine room. I have a friend that had to replace a diesel gen with gas on a newly purchased boat when it failed survey and was uninsurable because of the diesel gen not being ign protected.
Good luck with your search and don't settle for a glass boat like a Gibson. You will be sorry later if you do. I would listen to OHB's advice, having owned 2 Kings and a Plucke he knows what he is talking about.
if i can remeber the sight i saw it on i'll forward the pic. i know it was in michigan though and if i'm not mistaken it was harrison twp.it did however look like it had a extension welded in ahead of the engine compartment.thats what puzzled me at the time it looked so much like the 55 but you could see something different. now i have a winter project.....finding it againQuote:
Originally Posted by OLD HOUSEBOATER
Many details to follow probably Wednesday. I am Happy. I know I have a lot to learn. But that is why I'm here. I will have some info that will be of interest to Kingscraft fans, brochures etc.
I am posting this from my phone so I'll make it short.
see you soon
KC55
We finally got it done! We are the proud new owners of a 1974 55' Kingscraft Houseboat. We are the 3rd owners, the second owner had it for 25 years and the first owner custon ordered it from the factory. It has 2 factory installed marine air units, central vacuum, and a flybridge. She's powered by twin Chrysler 318's through Paragon V-drives into bronze screws. The owner had a current survey (April 2012) and we did a 3 hour sea trial Sunday. Monday the marina hauled her out and power washed the bottom. The hull has a Devoe paint and anti-fouling finish. I am very pleased with the hull condition, a few very small areas with mild pitting, but overall excellent condition. The anodes (magnesium) are in good shape and will easily last another year or two. The downsides are that the genny (Kohler) is a little tired (uses a fair amount of gas and I believe needs at least a carb rebuild), the windows are stock (the plastic tracks need a LOT of cleaning and work) and starboard throttle cable is stiff. The engines start right up when cold & idle smoothly. The boat ran and steered very well, the genny didn't flicker for over three straight hours and the sea trial had zero issues.
It came with tons of documentation (brochures, blueprints, original pricing sheets, and more) and papers for all of the systems. As I get the opportunity (and figure out how to do it) I will post scans of the documents and pics of the boat.
I didn't even know they offered factory marine air, the roof is smooth and didn't have to have roof AC holes filled in. The neat thing about this we have the 1973 Basic price list with option pricing. Turns out the 55' came standard with 2 custom heating/cooling units ($1325/unit option on all other models)
We are planning on storing it on the hard (right terminology?) for the winter and do a few interior changes.
We are happy with this boat, I hope we feel that way a year from now (I don't think my smile will fade by then)
Gotta go,
KC55
That's great news KC55 (and you can continue to use your KC55 name!)
I'm curious to see the documents that came with your boat - mine came with zero! What condition is the inside? Has it been remodeled recently?
FWIW, I wouldn't worry much about the Kohler - they are bulletproof for the most part. Does yours have the stainless steel exhaust? Mine does not, and apparently Kohler isn't performing this recall anymore, at least according to my local Kohler dealer.
BTW, where are you located?
Fish
I think your Kohler dealer is full of ****. If you go to Kohler's website the recall and service bulletin info is still there. I can't believe that Kohler would take a chance on another wrongful death lawsuit by stopping the recall. You can call Kohler for info. 1-920-453-6309
Take a look at the "Cable oiler " sticky in the Maintenance Thread.
If the structure is good, everything else can be replaced! Glad you joined the KC family. I have relatives that go to Madison a couple times a year. Hopefully I get the boat finished this winter and we can make a trip down river.
What's funny is when I first contacted them about it, they acted as if the bulletin was still active. Later when they hadn't done anything and I contacted them again, they claimed there "was no open bulletin on it".
We have lined up storage for the winter that will allow us access, electric, and close proximity to our home. I plan on building a set of stairs for ease of access. I can pull my truck up close to bring supplies and get rid of trash.
I read the sticky on stuck cables, thanks, I think that is exactly what it needs.
I will post the documentation from Kingscraft as soon as I get the space. I really cant believe some of the stuff, for example, coastal cruisers up to 75'. Carpet and interior color scheme choices. Original sales brochures. It is like icing on the cake.
We are located in Madison, IN. It is a small, historic town on the Ohio River half way between Louisville, KY and Cincinnati, OH. We had debated taking the boat to a lake in Indiana or Kentucky but decided to stay right here on the river.
We had made offers on 3 boats, a 55', a 44', and the 55' we bought. We also went to see 2 other 55's, 3 44's, and 1 35'. Some of these were boats for sale but not advertised that I found by going to multiple marinas. I called probably 10 other KC's, most off of Craigslist and a few from diligent internet searching. We traveled to 5 different states and stopped at many back yards and storage lots. Every KC we saw was interesting and exciting for me. I have tried to save every picture of a KC I could find on the internet, this was to have ideas for different layouts (and decorating ideas for my wife). All of this doesn't count the scores of first, steel hulled houseboats, and then fiberglass (especially Gibson, Harbor Master, and Burnscraft). I loved seeing these boats (and there are some beautiful ones) but when I went into the first Kingscraft and crawled through the hatch and saw the aluminum joists/stringers and felt the aura of permanance and concern for quality I was not only sold but hooked. If you are considering a KC, wait for your boat. It will come. I appreciate all of the boats I saw during this search, but I know I made the right choice for me and my wife.
In two weeks the cleaning, repairing, and redecorating begins. I have not been excited about a home project for a few years, but I am on fire to get started on this. I hope you all will be free with advice, suggestions, and help.
If you can't tell, I'm on cloud 9. My wife is excited to pick out paint, curtains, furniture and etc.
Hopefully my next post will have info on where to see pics, docs, and info on our boat.
KC55 ;)
I was worried for a while my name wouldn't make sense....OH YEA
good for you kc. you will love doing the renovations, its a blast. take your time and do whatever you want, you have plenty of time...again, congrats
KC55,
We cruised to Madison last year and really enjoyed the town. I like the idea of being on "the river", as you can go anyway from here (in theory). Lots of interesting places to hang out. We are in Louisville and our favorite spot is at Charlestown State Park on the Indiana side of the river, just across from 12 Mile Island. Rose Island is another favorite hangout.
Let me know if there's anything I can help you with. I'd love to come check out your boat sometime.
We want pictures!
Congrats, KC55. We have a 1975 44' KC on the Ohio in Cincinnati. We bought it in 2007. We love the boat. Ours has twin 318s and a 7.5 Kohler generator. There is a local guy in Cincy who works for the Kohler rep and does marine generator repair on the side. He works on a lot of the boats at our harbor. He did the recall repair on ours last year. If you are interested in contacting him, let me know.
Ed
Here is a link http://imageshack.us/g/1/9821252/ to some pics, please let me know if you can see and if the quality is OK.
Ed K - Thanks, I look forward to meeting you. I'll PM you. I want to see your boat.
JTAlberts - Hope these will do till we can get some really good befores :cool:
These two weeks are going to crreeeeeeeep by
PS and these http://imageshack.us/g/1/9821535/
the boat looks great kc, the only problem i see is that you need to stop that big i just bought my dream boat smile before you hurt yourself.....lol
Well, I got a scare for a while today. My Ins agent calls this morning and says my coverage has been refused. I was not a happy camper, and I let him know it. He had forgot to ask me a question on the application (we did it over the phone) and he said that I was being refused. Not having years of experience, it is hard to get a policy where they don't charge you 2 arms and 2 legs. Seriously. After a flurry of calls and many apologies they were able to work things out. When buying the boat, I thought I had done everything right, current survey, sea trial, out of water inspection, getting insurance bound on the boat, lining up transportation, not to mention doing my homework before hand. The 2-3 hours of calls and waiting and uncertainty was upsetting. I know there will be ups and downs, I just didn't think I was going to completely have the rug pulled out from under me so soon. My wife suggested to let things work out, it was good advice. I will count this as a learning experience.
I'm supposed to go and test drive a 18' Starcraft tonight. I hope it goes well, I like the boat.
I'm still working on the brochures and factory documentation, I'll post it as soon as I can.
Still smiling
KC55
The KC is supposed to get picked up in Minn. on the 30th or 31st. We are hoping to see it no later than Fri. It will be good in that my wife has not laid eyes on it yet and we can get started on making it our own. We are truly looking forward to this.
The Starcraft we were supposed to test drive the other day fell through (when I told the guy I was going to have a mechanic check it out, he decided he wasn't interested in selling it anymore). So, we kept looking and today we made a deposit on a 18' bowrider Ebbtide with a V8 Mercruiser motor. It is an 87, but I thoroughly checked out the hull, floor, and transom and it is in excellent shape. The sale is contingent on a sea trial (do you call it that for a runabout?) we will have within a week.
I am still trying to figure out the best way to show all the papers and documentation I received on Kingscraft boats with our HB purchase. I am leaning toward getting a website to just record our story and make Kingscraft information available as I uncover it.
When the KC (Empty Nestin') gets here I will let you know. This will be a long week
BUT FUN!
KC55
did you buy it in red wing mn.?
42gibson - No, it was not that one, it was the other one on Craigslist up there. Unfortunately I found out today my hauler is stuck in Nebraska trying to get another boat out of the water on a snow covered ramp. I will probably not see my boat here at home in Indiana until the end OF NEXT WEEK. Oh well, if I had wanted nothing but fun and relaxation I wouldn't have bought 2 boats. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by 42gibson
I'm still smilin'
KC55
lol, i have 2 houseboats. 1 wrecked ,the other still in the water till mid november. trust me, you have plenty of time this winter to get everything done. you'll love doing it. maybe by the time its gets here it'll be warm again.
KC55,
What do you think of the idea of collaborating on a website dedicated to KC houseboat information, documentation, etc. I am willing to help in whatever manner to make it happen. Let's see what JTAlbert has to say about the idea. There are similar sites dedicated to specific boats; Marinette, Chris Craft Commander and others.
I have pretty limited documentation, but would be willing to scan and post what I have. I have fairly comprehensive docs on Chrysler engines and the Kohler 7.5 generator set.
I'm up for it.