I have a regent princess which is a 17ft cuddy. My hull is identical in almost every way to a baron 17ft cuddy that was produced,makes me think they may have been built off the same moulds, I've seen quite a few around but don't know the name of the model pretty much the same boat with a different badge in my case. Rate my regent awesome in terms of a dry ride and handling some chop, for a small 5.2 glass boat it rides more comfortable than any modern plate boat i've been on up to 6.5meters and is alot more drier with decent chines and a much more flared bow. I've had it out in pretty stiff conditions and it can be a bit hairy tracking in a large following sea(20knots+)

Pretty sure regents where built down in rockingham and they were built very heavy with alot of glass.Mine is an 1981 so they are getting pretty old and tired. No ply wood under my floor so rot wasn't an issue, but last year i had to pull the floor back to bare hull and rebuild the lot. the ribs, stringers and deck were all made of fibreglass from a mould, i started to get cracks on the underside and on cutting out the floor found the ribs and stringer for almost the full length of the hull had delaminated from the hull but were still bonded to the deck so with every wave the hull was taking a knock. thats the main thing i'd be looking at. but in my opinion they are a great performing hull just gettin a bit old now.

Edit: that one looks in pretty sweet condition cosmetically for a 30 year old boat, thats how mine looked about ten years ago! I bought mine in my late teens so you could imagine it had a good few years of hard knocks too before it needed some attention.

Not sure on the hull but the motor should be the same as volvo B20 engine that was in volvo cars . Overhead cam and alloy head with fresh water cooling . Good engines and you should be able to get one from wreckers or recon shop and just bolt on all the externals .

 I forgot to add he has a Volvo engine out of a car that will apparently fit so must be a B20. Boat and trailer is licenced....Do you think shes worth $6500??

Age of boat is not everything , depends on condition etc  . A bit like buying a car , there are some mint condition older cars but how much would you pay for one .  For a boat without a going motor it sound a bit on the high side . You are not able to sea trial so it would pay to have a professional give it the once over . Would cost a few $ but could save you in the long run .

Agree with the above $6,500 sounds high with no working motor, Has the boat been sitting out in the weather for the last 7 years or in the shed -

I'd guess its worth about $4,500 -$5,000 depending on the condition.  The arse has dropped out of the boat market at the moment it's a good time to buy but be prepared to wait and look around and don't give them what they are asking as most are asking more than the current value. It possible they paid more than they are asking but thats the current market.

Don't forget the condition of the trailer - has it been sitting there for the last 7 years as well - would say the bearings would need replacing - does the trailer have brakes -  doesn't look like it (not sure of your laws in WA but consider you may be faced with an additional expense of fitting brakes to make it legal to tow).  Rollers - do they need replacing?  Winch cable rusted? do the lights work??

Saftey gear (i'd guess the flares if any would be out of date).  Any electronics if any I'd guess would be older models - would you then need to upgrade or buy a sounder/GPS if none fitted.

Battery/ies - 7 years old - will need replacing

As you can see above you have to question what will it cost to get this thing back on the water with everything you will need.  It may be a hell of a lot cheaper in the long run to buy another boat for $8,000-10,000 that comes with a working trailer, motor, saftey gear and electronics or keep looking for a better one in the same price range if you have a limit.

Hope thats of help

Paul

I have done a project boat before ( Bertram 20ft ), would have benn better off buying a boat that was in good mechanical condition to start. If you pay 5K for the hull, I bet you will be in for 10K by the time you finish and thats if you do most of the labor yourself. I wish you good luck, most of us have to learn the hard way.

http://wa.gumtree.com.au/c-Boats-Jet-Skis-boats-jet-skis-other-20ft-PACEMAKER-BOAT-FOR-SALE-need-gone-ASAP-ATWELL-AREA-W0QQAdIdZ320186812

http://wa.gumtree.com.au/c-Boats-Jet-Skis-boats-jet-skis-other-penguin-huntress-cabin-cruiser-W0QQAdIdZ311511216

"it has a new v8 holden engine"......."mortor 1980 mercury outboard"...WTF!

with two engines!!!!!