Gerrit's Blog: OCC Boat Auction

Having grown up with on an old 13' Whaler, I've always wanted to own a 15' Whaler. The ride on the 15 is leaps and bounds better and the larger motor makes wakeboarding a breeze.

In my recent OCD online deal searches I happened to stumble across (don't ask me how) the Orange Coast College (OCC) yearly boat auction up in Costa Mesa, Ca. While browsing for deals I noticed the list mentioned a 13' Whaler but the corresponding picture really looked like a 15'. I called OCC twice to try to find out any more information about the so-called 13' Whaler but nobody was able to shed any light. I wanted to see if it was worth my while to drive an hour north to check out the auction. If indeed it was a 15' I was in business since it had no motor (as I'd like to repower with a 70HP Yamaha and add a center console). The auction flyer also mentioned a 17' Whaler with a 40HP (yeah, 40HP). The 17's usually run a 90 or 100 on average. I started thinking that the 17 might not be a bad option. After a talk with the wife it was decided. I would head to Costa Mesa in hopes of coming home with a boat.

After they opened the gates at 8am I made a quick scan of the yard to find the 13/15. I circled the yard twice but was unable to find my boat. Then out of the corner of my eye I spotted a group of boats roped off from the rest of the lot. I quickly tracked down an OCC employee and they explained that those boats were put aside for some OCC sailing instructors and that they weren't up for auction. Now to track down the 17.......

Turns out the 17' had a 90HP Yamaha on the back and not some measly 40. It didn't have a center console but the seating arrangement looked pretty accommodating and it quickly began to grow on me. A quick scan of the boat revealed that the boat and motor were from 1990. An 18 year old Whaler is no big deal but an 18 year old outboard might be on it's last legs if it hasn't been cared for properly. The boat needed a new trim motor, new cables, new gas tank, full tune up, etc which I approximated at $2000 just to get it running. After a quick consultation with my brother in North Carolina, I had decided that $4000 would be my limit since I had no idea how the motor had been treated or if it even ran.

Long story short, it sold for $4600 and while I was bummed I wasn't hitching up the boat to my car, I think it went for more than it was worth. Will I continue to look for a boat? Yes? Do I have a place to put another boat? Not really but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I have already put the OCC auction in my calendar for next year as there were some screaming deals ($800 for a turn-key Etchells on a double-axle trailer!?!?!). More pictures and comments below....

The 17'.