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Beautifully Restored Celebrity Bow Rider - $7,500 (Vestavia)
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Except for a few trips to my Vestavia home for Spring/Fall servicing I have always kept it in a a completely enclosed storage bay at Lake Martin, where it is now, winterized and stored until Spring.
I drove to Elkhart, Indiana a few years ago to buy this boat because Celebrity (before being bought out) had always built a high quality boat with plenty of freeboard and lots of teak detail. I'm only selling it because my grandkids are now bigger and my latest project is a 23' Chaparral. The selling Indiana dealer had taken this boat in trade needing an outdrive, and they let it sit outside for a couple of years which caused some minor floor damage, primarily around the seat fasteners.
The boat cockpit and ski locker now have a new floor under many layers of hand-laid fiberglass. The stringers, bulkheads, and transom were repaired or replaced as needed, but were already in remarkably good condition. Almost all the wood in the side panels and seats is new, and the restoration included brand new premium Corinthian Marine carpet on the floor and side panels.
This Celebrity is now fitted with Smart Trim Tabs to help when towing tubes, especially when the 42 gallon fuel tank, with a new sending unit, is nearly full. I installed them using optional trolling adjusters so they can be easily raised to clear the trailer bunks and to restore the original planing characteristics when not towing. The starboard adjuster lever assembly can be seen in the 8th photo as part of the top strut mount at the transom - just manually flip the lever up to lift the tab for original planing, or down to lower the tab and increase transom lift for a quicker hole shot or better slow speed planing.
We mostly just do tubing with the grandkids, so it gets pretty easy duty, but shortly after I purchased the boat I installed the 4 bladed aluminum prop I bought for tubing, and checked performance. Memory tells me that, using that prop and being alone in the boat, the speedometer topped out around 47 mph at 4100 RPM. Mercruiser rates this engine for 3800 - 4200 RPM at full throttle. A good stainless 3 blade would probably take that up to 50+ MPH.
The V8 Mercruiser engine showed around 600+ hours elapsed time on the meter before I removed it about 70 hours ago to use the dash panel location for a new Humminbird depth gauge. The boat contents showed signs of past fishing use, so it's unknown how many of those hours were just "key on" for a radio or idling or trolling.
Although it already ran great, since I was restoring the boat, I removed the engine for an internal inspection and preventive maintenance. I spot checked some of the main and rod bearings using plastic gauge and they were in excellent condition. They visually looked fine and still measured within new factory clearance tolerances. I preemptively installed a new factory oil pump, new factory original Mercruiser/Mallory distributor and coil, and spark plugs. Compression is good, and uniform for all cylinders, in the170-175 psi range. The oil and fuel filters are new, and the engine was filled with new Mercruiser Quicksilver 25W40 engine oil.
While the engine was out, I also removed the exhaust "Y" pipe assembly from the transom and completely resealed it with new O rings, seals, and exhaust shutters (see photo). The exhaust manifolds and risers were removed and leak tested, although not under pressure. They were reinstalled with new gaskets.
The upper outdrive system got a new gimble bearing, drive shaft water/grease seal, shift cable with bellows, bell housing shift linkages, and trim/limit sending units with new through-transom wiring and seal.
The used replacement lower unit got a new complete intake water pump assembly, a full set of BRAND NEW (not aftermarket) MERCRUISER OEM FACTORY GEARS AND BEARING, SHIFT FORK, CLUTCHES (see photo), and was filled with Quicksilver SAE 90 high performance gear lube. Everything was installed to factory tolerances using the appropriate gauges, tools, and techniques. The gear faces were "blued" using machinist lay out fluid, and inspected for proper engagement and wiping action. All reassembly used new seals and/or gaskets.
The engine was properly re-aligned during installation.
The outdrive is now set up with a low restriction exhaust tube rather than bellows. It gives the engine a little more aggressive "sound". The drive shaft bellows was new just prior to the restoration project.
The upholstery is original to the boat and in very good condition with a little sun fade ( it was a Great Lakes boat so not too bad), and it does have a few small nicks and cuts after several years of service, but I believe it is real leather, much thicker and higher quality than today's vinyl products. Not shown in the photos, but the seats open up to lay flat and are supported for sun tanning or snoozing.
I have configured the bimini top to easily drop, as shown in the first photos, for highway towing, but it is easily raised and supported, whether stored in the protective boot or opened up, for boating use as shown in other photos. The actual boat hull is about 19' long, but close to 20' when including the teak ski platform. It is comparable to what they advertise today for 20 foot models, but much deeper than most new ones in this class.
THE TRAILER SHOWN IN THE PHOTOS IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE SALE. If necessary I can deliver to you within a reasonable distance, or we might be able to work something out with temporary use of the trailer.
The sales transaction can be made in person with cash at the secure commerce location adjacent to the Vestavia Hills police department where you can see and inspect it before payment. There are banks nearby. If you are not local we can go online and use PayPal to protect both of us. If you wish to perform sea trials we can discuss the logistics for that. I have already had the scammers contact me multiple times, so I am very careful about how we proceed.
If we use PayPal I will probably retain possession of the title until PayPal completes transfer of the funds to my account, at which time it will be released to the buyer
When contacting me I prefer that you either email or text me. I frequently don't carry my phone since I'm retired, and my hearing is not especially great these days, so please be patient. An email is more likely to receive a quicker response.
Thanks for looking - it's a nice boat and about as new as you can find in a vintage classic. It gets lots of compliments, and I know you will enjoy it.