Tornado 4.5mtr €1500 ?

andreworiordan · 20 April 2009, 22:08

Hey all, I saw this Tornado for sale today,asking €1,500 euro, maybe €1,000 cash, what do ye think? It has a Snipe road trailer in perfect condition and a old 55hp yamaha, engine runs but hydrolic tilt needs attention, I would say the tubes would need to be replaced at a cost of around €3,500, she is rough and ready, just looking for your thoughts! is it worth the money/hassel, I have a boat in the water so im in no rush to do it up, maybe spend those sunnny evenings doing her up... Im into my SIBS however She will be my first RIB! was hoping to use it to go out taking photos and for general running around. Thanks guys!!

also does anyone know the specs of her? max engine/weight all that fun stuff?

was thinking maybe a 60hp 4-stroke...

Downhilldai · 20 April 2009, 23:13

New toobs, new hull, console and outboard, service the trailer and she'll be fine.
The fuel tank looks pretty good.

IBWET · 21 April 2009, 08:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by andreworiordan

Hey all, I saw this Tornado for sale today,asking €1,500 euro, maybe €1,000 cash, what do ye think? It has a Snipe road trailer in perfect condition and a old 55hp yamaha, engine runs but hydrolic tilt needs attention, I would say the tubes would need to be replaced at a cost of around €3,500, she is rough and ready, just looking for your thoughts! is it worth the money/hassel, I have a boat in the water so im in no rush to do it up, maybe spend those sunnny evenings doing her up... Im into my SIBS however She will be my first RIB! was hoping to use it to go out taking photos and for general running around. Thanks guys!!

also does anyone know the specs of her? max engine/weight all that fun stuff?

was thinking maybe a 60hp 4-stroke...

You want to look at some of the amazing build threads here to see if that's worth it,the picture of the hull (remember you've only posted one angle) doesn't show any real digs it's minor scratches, it's filthy,if your lucky he is just one of those people who don't see putting it right as easier than selling it. You say you've got the time...
Unless there is something fundamentally wrong with it and no one without direct experience on a forum can tell you that,it looks superfically, a goodun..., what's the worst case senario,you've a reasonable trailer, engine parts etc to sell if it all goes t*t's up ...

Poly · 21 April 2009, 09:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by IBWET

it looks superfically, a goodun...,

christ, your glass must always be half full!

Quote:

what's the worst case senario,you've a reasonable trailer, engine parts etc to sell if it all goes t*t's up ...

I would have though it you stripped it and split it you would be able to recover most or all of your EUR1000 if necessary. Engine (either with PTT repaired must be worth about half that - and probably the same split into gearbox/leg/powerhead etc, the trailer must be worth at least a few hundred, and the hull with a bit of TLC would get a couple of hundred on ebay).

I'm not convinced those tubes are unusable? they look as though they hold air - a good clean might just save them.

There are some horrible looking bits (translucent brown "goo" roughly where the water line would be on the hull are they just dirty or has someone done a bodged repair with car body filler.

if i was looking for a 4.5 m MAJOR project, and it was local to me it would definitely be attracting my interest.

Tim M · 21 April 2009, 10:13

I wouldn't want to pay more than about £650 for that. It looks like its got potential though if you fancy putting some time into it!

Poly · 22 April 2009, 08:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim M

I wouldn't want to pay more than about £650 for that.

Time depending on how you look at it - thats 33% less than the asking price or "only £200". If you are looking to restore and resell £200 will make a significant difference to your product, if you are doing it for your own use its not really a deal breaker. I wonder also if there are more boats, and therefore also more wrecks around in your part of the world. On the other hand if the OP is in a more remote location with fewer potential projects appearing near him - it would be easy to accrue £200 of travel costs just visiting potential projects - never mind towing home, ferry fares etc.

bedajim · 22 April 2009, 09:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by andreworiordan

Hey all, I saw this Tornado for sale today,asking €1,500 euro, maybe €1,000 cash, what do ye think? It has a Snipe road trailer in perfect condition and a old 55hp yamaha, engine runs but hydrolic tilt needs attention, I would say the tubes would need to be replaced at a cost of around €3,500, she is rough and ready, just looking for your thoughts! is it worth the money/hassel, I have a boat in the water so im in no rush to do it up, maybe spend those sunnny evenings doing her up... Im into my SIBS however She will be my first RIB! was hoping to use it to go out taking photos and for general running around. Thanks guys!!

also does anyone know the specs of her? max engine/weight all that fun stuff?

was thinking maybe a 60hp 4-stroke...

Going to take some work but at the right price and do you have somewhere to do it?

Jim

andreworiordan · 22 April 2009, 16:33

I can work out of a boatyard, I heard about a 4.2m Flatcraft for sale, might be in better condition, have not seen it yet thou, I hope to check the tues on it soon, see if they hold air

9D280 · 23 April 2009, 14:29

That's looks spookily similar to mine - tubes look in a similar state, but like Polwart says, if they hold air and you don't mind it looking like a dog until you clean it - my toobs were painted & looked worse than that - I managed to make it look reasonable just by removing he flaky paint.

That engine is a really simple beast to work on. Mine died through a lack of an anode on the clamp, and the whole thing turned to cheese so when I went to replace the thermostat, I discovered just how bad the corrosion actually was. Assuming the anodes are in OK nick and it passes all the other usual "pre buy" tests, I have a pile of unused spare parts I bought for mine but never fitted at reasonable price if you decide to go for it....

(search the sales section for the part numbers!) They are slightly thirsty engines if you run them wide open, but they go well considering the age of the design. Plenty of spares for them too, and share most of the leg with everything up to a 90, so parts are easy to find. I took mine to bits sold it to pay for the Merc

As for the PT unit, chances are if the motor sounds a bit intermittent a couple of replacement brushes or springs may be all that's required. Form memory the brush springs are about £10....or £2 if you go to your local motor factor!

Alternatively it may just need topped up with fluid!

I can reccomend that trailer- I have it's successor (i.e the same one but with a Mersea trailers badge on) under the Humber - singlehanded launch / recovery is a stroll......