Niko Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Come one....come all.....cause I'll be buggered if I know. Looking to pick up a new hull and trailer, and I think I happened to find one. Plan on putting my motor on her and give her some TLC. However, I don't know who made the hull. Basics are - about 20-30 years old - 17 ft - small space up in front of the driver with an access for anchor - fairly high gunwales Their is a sticker on her saying "Navigator Hire Cruises PTY LTD" but am thinking this may be original owners of the boat rather than the make of the boat....but I have been wrong about many things my wife tells me so I could be wrong here. Anyway, she in original condition as far as I can tell and in pretty good nick. Any questions will try to answer and thanks for any attempts to enlighten me about a potential it. Thanks, Niko Hope the picks work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warnie Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Niko I am sure some Fishraider will be able to confidently identify the hull for you but in the meanwhile i will throw my 2 cents worth in with calling it for being a "Steber" Cheers Warnie.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewieslayer Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 nauti glass is my call my dad had one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamtime Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 nauti glass is my call my dad had one That would be my pick, my dad had one also powered by Chrysler That would have been circa 1985? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray R Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Hi Niko , I would like to suggest that it is an early model Cruise Craft, maybe a Reef Raider or Reef Finder. Cheers Niko and good luck with your search.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewieslayer Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 That would be my pick, my dad had one also powered by Chrysler That would have been circa 1985? my old mans one had a 70 johnson on the back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niko Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 thanks for the suggestions so far....seems like I am getting somewhere. Niko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a boat Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Hi Niko, that is a Nautiglass. Good old boat with the only problems being spongy floors and transoms. Give the hull a good once over checking the strength of the floor and transom. The engine were fine for their day, it will be early 1980's and in fact the engineering that went into the early Mercs were superior to the others with the only problem being the alloy that they used-it did tend to have corrosion issues. That said anything after about 1980 ran SST shafts and were better. Get the serial number if you like and I can run it thru the system and see what year model it is. The other issue with that Merc is they are quite maintance heavy. If that engine is running the original crankshaft seals, exhaust plates and water cover jacket you need to look at giving it a good once over which can unearth expensive problems. What are they wanting for it? Cheers, Huey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niko Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 (edited) Hi Huey, Thanks for the info....as always a valuable source. I have a late 80's yammie that was reco a few years ago that is in good condition on my current boat which I will be putting onto this one if I buy it. Tested the transom and there was no flex at all in it but I will be giving it a thorough going over. Given your saying the nautiglass have a reputation I will have an even closer look. I was going to check the serial numbers as I want to put this motor on my boat and sell them off as a package...will let you know when I get it. My mate who owns this is a mechanic so he has taken care of it but it is looking a bit rough on the outside. The motor rocks a bit on the mounts so will need to get that sorted. Also he hasn't used her much in the last few years. She kicked over and had no noticable issues running but I will be taking her on the water to test. Also I've never been on a boat with such a deep v up front and want to see how she handles, particularly at rest in sloppy conditions. In relation to the spongy floors and transom....were they more susceptible to rot etc or just naturally like that (if that makes sense)? She is looking like a nice solid boat that would be great for inshore and some of the local reefs on a good day. Also...right now I'm looking under $4000 but I might get him drunk and then start talking about prices..... Thanks again everyone....any more info on her would be welcomed. Niko Edited October 21, 2008 by Niko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewieslayer Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 The old nauti glass not a bad boat.When i was a lot younger and we had family holidays down lake conjola we would take the nauti glass and pack it with camping gear,bikes,Well cut a long story short. All the weight in the boat made the centre roller on the trailer punched a hole in the hull.Easy fix so from then on did not over pack the boat never had any over problem.Another thing they all leak water in the hull from the battery well after rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a boat Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Hi Niko, sounds like a good plan. Nautiglass were a little bit more suspect to rotten floors and transoms than some other glass boats. That said if it has been looked after and the engine mounting bolts were sealed from new than at $4K it is priced OK. If the mounts are a bit loose, it is quite a time consuming job to replace them. the powerhead, gearbox and midsection need to be removed to replace the top and bottom mounts. if you are doing the work yourself the parts cost will not be that bad, but if you had to pay someone it will cost more than the engine is worth. Cheers, Huey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niko Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 Thanks Huey for all your help. Funny thing is I've been trawling all over the net and haven't found anything that looks exactly like her. There a bunch of nautiglass out there but nothing quite like her. the seafarer has a similar design but don't have flat sides. Looks like she is one of a kind. Niko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niko Posted November 8, 2008 Author Share Posted November 8, 2008 Hi Huey, Sent PM re: engine details. Any help you can given me on the year/model of the engine would be great. Thanks Niko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWANNABROCK Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 My dad has same looking boat with "Navigator Hire Cruises PTY LTD" sticker on it as well. his has a 55Chrysler on it.Which has blown up,waiting to repower it when he decides how big and how much he want's to spend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niko Posted November 9, 2008 Author Share Posted November 9, 2008 (edited) Wow.....here I was thinking that she was unique. I test drove her yesterday and the motor she has is clapped out...barely got her on a plane. She was pushing alot of water (like she was really front heavy) but I'm thinking when I get my motor on her she should be better. How did your fathers thing go? I'm thinking of putting in my 80hp yammie on it Niko Edited November 9, 2008 by Niko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWANNABROCK Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 It went ok,nothing to write home about,best thing was blowing the chrysler up.boat is pretty stable,an 80hp would be great. it handled my dad,brother and myself (all big bloke's)out of crowdy head on a not so perfect day pretty well. what size motor is on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamtime Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 The boat my dad owned was a 4 metre job with a 25Hp Chrysler. It suited him as most times it was only himself and mum fishing. The 25Hp seemed to manage okay with the two of them. After spending his life at sea, then living on the Georges River, he was quite depressed when he moved to Kincumber - until he bought the boat. Sadly though he died a few years later (1987) and I brought the boat back to Sydney for mum, and put it with a dealer at Bankstown to sell it. Can't remember what price it went for though. Too long ago. That time I was the owner of an 18 foot Milligan Nipper with 2 x 50Hp Mercury on the back. Now that was one great boat. Cheers Mariner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niko Posted November 9, 2008 Author Share Posted November 9, 2008 It has a 70 Mercury...not sure of the year but should find out about that. The current motor is not the best and it also had a whale tail on it which I'm not a big fan of. Aim to put an 80hp on it if we end up picking it up. Thanks for all the info guys it really is useful finding out bits and pieces of older hulls I knonw little about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shooter Magavin Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 She looks identical to a boat I purchased of ebay 9 months ago for $3,600. The rego papers list her as a 4.7m Navigator (The sticker on the side is slightly faded but I can make out the Navigator part). We have a 2002/3 90hp Yammie on the back and she get along at 37 knots. They are great boat in the chop and very capable running into the sea although tend to the dig the bow a little in a following sea. The flair in bow seems to keep the spray down and away from the cockpit and prevents the sea running over the deck and up the windscreen. They are quite a narrow hull with a deep v compared to boats of similar size manufactured nowdays, at rest she is a little unstable but this is the trade-off for her softer ride in the chop. Still fishable with three in the boat. The transom on mine is solid although the hull lay-up in some sections is on the light side. I have only seen one other boat similar to mine and now yours has turned up. I'll post some pics after the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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