Help with GB 32

[jdaker]

Well, off the sailboat, knees have had it! and the wife wants a boat you don't have to sit on an angle to enjoy a glass of wine. We are in our late 60's and Looking at a 1979 GB 32. I am planning a survey for sure. This boat has a Lehman 120 1150 hours..fresh water only! Would like to hear from owners or anyone with survey experience with these boats, Seems in great shape and well cared for over the years.. what issues come to mind that I should pay attention to...If in great shape and passes survey, what would be the approx. value..or what should I expect to pay..
thanks folks.
any tips and help will be appreciated.
Jim

 

[High Wire]

Welcome aboard!
We chartered one for a week and thought it was a nice boat but just a little small for us. Be sure that the Vee -berth is big enough for you. The 32 does not have a vee filler as I recall. My wife did not like climbing the ladder to the FB.

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard. With any boat of that age there are some things to look for. Soft deck cores, wet stringers and rusting fuel tanks are the big 3 in my book. Most anything else is not too bad to repair. Get a good surveyor. Make sure you can get insurance on the boat due to it’s age. Some insurance companies won’t insurance boats that old. Good luck, hope it works out for you.

 

[Giggitoni]

Welcome aboard. With any boat of that age there are some things to look for. Soft deck cores, wet stringers and rusting fuel tanks are the big 3 in my book. Most anything else is not too bad to repair. Get a good surveyor. Make sure you can get insurance on the boat due to it’s age. Some insurance companies won’t insurance boats that old. Good luck, hope it works out for you.

^ Good advice. Decks, fuel tanks, and window bedding are the first that come to mind. Check them out well. Go to Yachtworld and look for prices for comp boats. The current prices are all over the board; any where from $40k to $160k. It depends on condition as well as geographic location. Good luck!

 

[firehoser75]

The other issue (possibly related to the "soft decks" point) is the problems with screwed down teak decks. If the boat has them (most GB's do, unless they have been removed and "redone"), there are thousands of screw holes into the decks, all potential leak points. If they are not leaking now, there is a lot of maintenance to ensure that they don't leak in the future.
Freshwater boat is a big bonus, but check out the Leman carefully. Seems low hours for the age of the boat, and sometimes, sitting is not good for a diesel. Other than that, good engine, run in fresh water should mean it has "aged" well??
Pricing is somewhat a local issue, coupled with availability of competition, and condition/maintenance of the boat, so very hard to determine without some investigation. Contact a local broker as well as search local listings yourself.

Good luck

 

[PM]

The others covered it, mostly. Watch for leaks in the decks and check the fuel tanks. They are the right age for failure.

About that engine..Barely broken in, it should run well over 5,000 hours, maybe twice that many. 32 feet is a little on the small side, at least for me but G.B. is a great boat. Depending on the size of the sailboats you are used to, you might find close to twice the room on board.

Welcome to the dark side,

pete

 

[jdaker]

Thanks

Thanks everyone...I see the pattern. Decks and tanks and a good survey.
Makes sense.. glad to hear about longevity of the Engine.
Will get back after the viewing.
Jim

 

[SoWhat]

Bring a very bright LED flashlight. Also buy a borescope with extension. Carefully check tops of tank and also take a look down fill pipe. Substantial rust on top would be a $25K discount. If the inside bottom of the tank isn't shiny, a more thorough assessment is warranted.

Lehman engines are simple, realiable, and easy to repair and maintain. As long as exhaust is not pouring smoke out, you're oK.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Re the fresh water bit ......
Salt is an excellent preservative. Boats in seawater usually rot above the WL and boats in fresh water rot sooner below the WL.
Generally speaking and there are lots of variables.

 

[rgano]

Re the fresh water bit ......
Salt is an excellent preservative. Boats in seawater usually rot above the WL and boats in fresh water rot sooner below the WL.
Generally speaking and there are lots of variables.

But it's a fiberglass solid core boat.

Re the engine, if it checks out ok, and you have no evidence of it being done, pull the injectors and have them serviced, and you will never have to worry about them for another 2000 hours or so. Also, the exhaust elbow would be replaced at about five year intervals. Look on its bottom side for any rust streaks - that's where they rot through. The Simms injector pump requires an oil change every fifty hours. I installed a petcock in place of the drain plug on my two 120s to ease the process - drain and dump in two cups of 30 weight oil. The engine runs best of straight 30-wt, NOT multi-weight and not synthetic. While you have the injectors out, re-torque the head bolts (105 Ft-lbs). All this is in the owner's manual. Should you have issues finding one, I have in electronically. A potential problem with these engines, although I have not personally heard of it happening) is for the lift pump diaphragm to split allowing fuel to pour into the sump with all the attendant issues. The pumps are cheap; so I just replaced them about half way through my 29-year ownership of my two wonderful engines, but some have replaced them with an electric fuel pump and plugged the hole in the side of the engine left by the removed pump. Freshwater-kept does no meant that the two oil coolers and the heat exchanger are sound if original. Remove and test them. Change all the hoses unless you know they are recently changed. I went blue silicone on mine. The fan belt one these engines normally encircles the shaped hose between the coolant circulating pump and the expansion tank meaning you have to remove the hose dumping a lot of coolant to change the belt unless there is a spare belt already in place and wrapped up with zip ties holding it in readiness. There is a modification kit available from American Marine, the Ford-Lehman people, to replace the coolant filler neck which allows for the double-acting radiator cap necessary to have a coolant recovery bottle on these engines - I absolutely loved this fix the pesky issue of having to pull the cap to check the level in the expansion tank. It made it much simpler to monitor any excess coolant usage.

Just s couple of minutes of mind dump.

 

[refugio]

I suggest you take a little more time and look at a few more vessels. As has been mentioned, the ladder to the fly bridge of a GB sedan will have increasing challenges. Also, these boats are not well configured for Florida - all that painted wood is going to fair very poorly there. I don’t recall seeing a GB32 with air conditioning - which I assume you will want. These vessels are more suited to cooler northern climates.

 

[Tator]

Four of us took a GB 32 woody to Alaska in '90 from Seattle. First time we'd been on a boat of any size. Great little boat! Would have liked door to outside by helm.

Tator

 

[Cigatoo]

The 32 is the prettiest GB. My opinion. However we went with the 36 for the aft stateroom. Makes all the difference.

 

[gregoryfloyd]

I'm a little further down the same path you're on. In our 60's, sold our Sea Sprite 34, bought a 1977 GB32, great boat and the experience proved we wanted a trawler....but too small inside. Sold the GB and now have a Sea Ranger 45 raised pilot house. You've been given great advice above on what to look for. My advice is be prepared to move up in size by not over paying for the GB. Maybe its all you'll need, but we love the 45's spaciousness, its single engine and near standup engine room. One more thing, I brought the GB to Maine from Rhode Island and it really jumps around in any seaway at all.