I am about to jump into boat ownership

In the works now is the purchasing of this older Sun Runner 17 foot boat with a 115hp Johnson outboard. I found it while perusing the local Craigslist over the weekend and something about the listing piqued my curiosity. There was no picture, just a description, but the seller has had health problems which is leading to the sales of many items. Yesterday the kids and I went to see it in person and to meet the sellers.

Joan is an awesome person who used to be a teacher locally for many years and she took instantly to my oldest with his smarts. Fred used to be a lawyer in town but his health has him pretty broken down. Their kids are probably as old as I am and their grand kids are all older than my kids so Joan loaded down my boys with bags of books and toys that her have outgrown.

The boat is in pretty good shape considering it is about 35 years old. The hull is in good shape, the interior needs some serious cleaning, it will need new batteries/electrical work, a SERIOUS scrubbing all over, and just general restoration work. Along with the boat and trailer will come a second top end motor, a new 150hp one. Fred said they would motor around Priest Lake at 50mph with the 115hp motor on, so I am thinking the 150hp would turn the boat into a screamer.

I got home yesterday and went online immediately to try and research the boat. There is VERY limited information I could find. BUT I did find that the Sun Runner boat was manufactured in Spokane, about 30 miles from our house. The company was in business from 1977 to 1991 when they were bought out by an east coast company after issues with the bank. Sounds like a seriously screwed up situation and unfortunate because the boats are amazing. Here is the details as told by an old employee.

SunRunner Boats was foound to be in a particular hard spot when the bank that was providing funding called their note when it found out that the owner's were not 'living up to' the contractual obligations (they allowed one of the children to make decisions - a particular no no since the bank had to bring legal actions several years earlier that caused the reorganization of the company.)

Remember this was a family owned and operated business that was grown by the oldest son of the founder of Fiberform boats of Spokane.

The 'Old Man' had sold Fiberform in the '70's and had a no compete clause with US industries for ten years. The oldest son stared SunRunner ran it into the ground forcing the 'Old Man' out of retirement to salvage some investment he had in the company. reluctantly he brought the business back to life grew it from 55 employees and loads of debt to nearly 550 employees when they were forced by the bank to sell.

The buyer was a "rea piece of Work" from back in the New England area and had wreaked havoc on the employees, the asetts and the properties.

THE END

btw The "Old Man" just recently passed away - one of the original pioneers of the fiberglass boat industry.

SunRunner Quality was by far (in my opinion) the best in the industry. From the lay up to the factory and the employees.

The "Old Man" wouldn't rest until he inspected every boat (practically) that was shipped. There were a few (very few) that went out as not as good as "the Olde Man" would have passed on. He took a personal interst and wanted to be known as the finest pleasure and fishing fiberglass boat manufacture around. Hence, the unusual construction techniques he was responsible for. He was a genius and a pioneer in modern boat building.

Hi idea for the dual hull came from a video we had watched at a Marine Manufacturers convention and his desire to make sure that if a boat of his was broken apart that any portion of that boat (no matter how small) would support several people in distress. This was accomplished at an originally high cost in R & D.

Getting the foam core mixture just right so it filled the vooids completely and not de-form the hull was something. We had as many as 50 per cent failure on the first several hundred boats - they were cut up and documented for our insurer so they never left the plant.

He insisted that each mold only have so many plugs pulled from it before it was replaced and these babies were not cheap!

SO, given the unique patented design of the hull and the requirement that any piece float if broken apart, this should prove to be a well worth while boat to restore.

Oh yeah, only $700 too. I just have to wait on him to draw up the bill of sale and find the other paper work, which may take a bit since he is not in the best of health. I am in no hurry though as it will happen when the time is right.

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