Advice on a Zodiac F470

[Jasonk]

Posted this in the wrong area the first time, I’ll go delete that!

Went for a ride on my buddy’s, had a good time. Seems like a good play boat that could take our 7 person family up and down river to get to some beaches in the summer.

Looking for advice on this boat in particular. The 25hp motor would likely only be used til the end of summer, I’d search out a 40hp over winter. I’d ditch the seats and wood floor too. My concern is the cracking and fading on the rubstrake which is grey with splotches, I’ve never seen one that’s not all black.

Anyone with more than experience than me have any thoughts on this boat?

Thanks in advance.
Jason

https://portland.craigslist.org/yam/...162170202.html

[Squid Boat]

Looks like a nice boat, I would rub a spot on the rub strake with solvent to see if its paint.



Cheers

[SoCal Hurricane]

They are great boats indeed. This one in particular is a 1992 - it’s quite old. The older rub strakes turn grey and tend to look like old bubble gum that is cracked and ready to fall apart. You could always replace it for about $500 in materials - this includes the glue.

Consider the next size up as well. The FC-530 and 580 are much more family suited. They have the room to hold all of your stuff and allow for some extra elbow room. The 470 is just a really small boat once everyone is crammed in there.

As for the engine; get a 4 stroke. Stay away from the old 2 strokes. You can’t use them in the lakes or rivers here in California. Find a 50-60hp one and you can’t go wrong. You’ll never regret having more power when you need it.

Aluminum floors are the way to go. Wood floors don’t last and cost a lot of money to build if you do it correctly.

Hope this helps... PM me if you want to learn more. I’m in SoCal.

[SoCal Hurricane]

Some additional feedback here after revisiting the photos in the CL posting....

It appears that this boat has a roll up floor under the sheet of plywood. Is this correct? If so, is the roll up floor the old one with wooden slats, or the newer one with the aluminum slats...??

The boat itself was outfitted for the current owner. If you’re going to rip all of that out and start over, I’d purchase a newer boat (2005 or newer). His boat looks very well kept for its age in the pictures though.