Pacemaker

[LENZ]

I have a friend looking at buying a 1973 pacemaker I think it's a 60-62 footer and he asked me if I knew anything about them. I know nothing about the quality of construction or the type of ride. Does anybody out there have any experience or knowledge of the Pacemaker?

Thanks Lenz

p.s. I'm not the "friend" who's looking to buy, I'm a Happy Hatteras owner and always will be..

[SKYCHENEY]

Send a PM to Airpilot. He has a 60C now, but he also owns a Pacemaker. I'll bet he could give you a little insight.

[Bill Allen]

Pacemakers were built right up the river from where I keep my boat. That vintage was built by the leek family, now building ocean yacht. The pacemakers were a "good" boat without any glarring flaws. They're a dated hull but I've always known them as a basically decent boat. Of course like any old boat condition is everything.

[Red Hatt]

My father had a 47 Pacemaker that he bought in 1974. Nice boat great lay out but he had a hard time keeping up with the rotting wood.

[BUSTER]

Is it wood or glass?Seems that is around the transition year for the big boats.I don't remember a 60' in wood but I do the 53' and 57.They were good boat even in wood,but you had to keep an eye on those steam bent ribs particularly from the engine room back. Tony

[Pete]

There maybe a big difference between the fiberglass Pacemaker 32 foot sedan cruiser I bought new in 1973, but I was definitely not impressed at all. My next boat was a Hatteras as have been all since. BTW, in 1972 Pacemaker rebranded their all fiberglass boat with the Pacemaker logo, having used the Alglas brand during earlier years.

I believe the Pacemaker of this era was a price boat. I had looked at Trojan, Chris Craft, Viking, and Pacemaker. I would have prefered any of the alternatives, but affordability was a major restriction in the decision. So what specifically did I not like? The stringers are exterior plywood with glass over. The stringer cut outs are raw. The struts have plywood load distribution plates glassed in that would not stop leaking for me. Lots of chopper gun glass and lots of spider surface cracks. Even in a total glass boats, the windows were wood framed and on the inside of the fiberglass exterior. Add in engine stringers that did not allow for proper shaft alignment, the main bulkhead installed such that it caused the starboard hull side to bulge out, household electric panels, and very poor gelcoat. Add to all this freah water leaks, lots of leaks. That was my experience, and I may have had the only less than superb quality boat. My bottom line suggestion is a tough/comprehensive survey, just like any aged boat, with a focus on anything made of wood or attached to wood. Hopefully my experience will give some areas of focus.

Pete

[Finalee]

I too owned a 1974 32 Pacemaker. It was my my first big boat. It had water leaks that destroyed the Galley cabinetry. At the time she was 10 years old. The front windshield leaked until redoing it. I hit a sandbar coming from Harrahs Atlantic city and the impact cracked the stringers the engines were mounted on. It was fiberglass. At the time I thought it was a good boat. After owning the 43 DC Hatt I know better. Of course the Pacemaker only cost me $17k. The hatt at that time was $140ish.

[Angela]

Early on while boat shopping for what unbeknownst to me would be my prize Hatteras, I was naive and before I became hell bent on, "It's got to be a Hatt!", I did consider some Pacemakers. Pretty boats, great (if not perfect!) layout for my intended purpose, but rot, rot, rot was problematic in every one of them, especially in the transoms, even in the fiberglass versions - many had wood transoms. Seeing what I did, I crossed them off my list and put them in the file of a boat I'd never own, along with a few others.

When the topic of Pacemakers comes up on the dock from time to time, I hear the same complaints about them.

[Jaxfishgyd]

Man did that title scare me....

NEVER say "pacemaker" to one who has had a heart operation.... ;]

[BUSTER]

Early on while boat shopping for what unbeknownst to me would be my prize Hatteras, I was naive and before I became hell bent on, "It's got to be a Hatt!", I did consider some Pacemakers. Pretty boats, great (if not perfect!) layout for my intended purpose, but rot, rot, rot was problematic in every one of them, especially in the transoms, even in the fiberglass versions - many had wood transoms. Seeing what I did, I crossed them off my list and put them in the file of a boat I'd never own, along with a few others.

When the topic of Pacemakers comes up on the dock from time to time, I hear the same complaints about them.


You are right about that. Wood has an average service life of about 20 years,if owners are not dilligent in maintaining and replacing it....oh well,we all know what happens next.

[Bill Allen]

Pacemakers made wood boats early on. When fiberglass was tried they named them alglas to distance the name Pacemaker from the new fangled material. When it became aparent fiberglass was here to stay they branded them all Pacemaker. The wood boats went by the wayside I've walked through their old plant and a lot of the platforms and stuff were still there they were quite the builder. They were sold to a california company I think 79 or 80 and built for a while Jack Leek stayed with the company until near the end then opened Ocean down on the river near the old plant. Their wood boats were built quite competivlly. Theres still many old alglass's in New Jersey as well as many othe fiberglass models. I owned a 79 33'. A very nice boat the mold was sold to Egg Harbor and became the 34 Golden Egg. Many of the other molds were sold to other boat builders and became "new" boats. Many of them are now very dated designs, I looked at a M.Y. before I bought my Hatt even the broker said I'll show you the pacemaker but once I show you the hatt (43 dc) you won't be interested in the pacemaker. He was right I bought the hatt and never looked back. Bill

[LENZ]

Man did that title scare me....

NEVER say "pacemaker" to one who has had a heart operation.... ;]


Thats pretty funny Charlie! Sorry..

Lenz

[LENZ]

Thanks everybody for the great info!! I have my friend coming into my office tomorrow so he can read all these threads himself. I don't want him to think I'm one sided or anything like that. (even though I am!)

Lenz

[SKYCHENEY]

Thanks everybody for the great info!! I have my friend coming into my office tomorrow so he can read all these threads himself. I don't want him to think I'm one sided or anything like that. (even though I am!)

Lenz

Yeah, and none of us are biased here either. :D

[bjw]

Since you mentioned that they now make Ocean Yachts, does anyone know any information about their motoryachts? We have a friend looking at a '90 model in Florida.

[Boatsb]

The leek family sold Pacemaker and started another company called Flexible Fliers, I mean Ocean yachts. They are not the same company. Do not take the relationship that the same owners had both companies at different times as a statement of quality.

[drburke]

Hey LENZ,

Is the Pacemaker your friend is interested in the wooden hull in the
San Francisco Bay/Delta area? If so, I can speak some to the condition since
it used to be in a slip directly across from me.

DAN

[(Nobody You Know)]

The leek family sold Pacemaker and started another company called Flexible Fliers, I mean Ocean yachts. They are not the same company. Do not take the relationship that the same owners had both companies at different times as a statement of quality.


I have done a moderate amount of yacht brokerage over the years. "Ocean" seems to come across overall as a middle-of-the-road quality boat, to say the most.

[Bill Allen]

Now Ocean especially the early boats were promised to be very fast boats for their size and they are. They did this by hull design and keeping the weight down. The people who bought them, mostly S.F. owners ran them fast and hard. They could run fast why slow down, many of the models became "flexible flyers" as the stringers broke lose from the hulls. They are "pretty" boats but NOT very tough boats. Most local surveyors take a very dim veiw of them. I actually have a dock mate that owns a thirty eight that has the bottom actually seperating from the boat. The bulkheads are lose and it's been repaired before. I love to look at them, but own one, I'll pass. Bill

[Boatsb]

I did some blister repair on one and while grinding saw the oil pan. Just think of it as a Sportfish light.

I have also repaired numerous 31 berts with the stringers shot ( rot and stress ) and bulkheads torn loose from pounding but they were older and repairable.