So, I doubt I'll get a boat this summer, but probably definitely next summer. In the meantime, I am going to start compiling a knowledge base for myself.

So I am curious, a boat like this

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/boa/141770332.html

or generally any boat like that. Is it a roll of the dice how much of a money pit it could be? Is there a chance you could pick up something like that and not have to spend but maybe a G a season to keep it happily running?

For someone who is just wanting to cruise the lake on the weekends, with enough power to do some not too serious skiing behind it, how much money should I look to spend if I am apt enough to tinker with little problems, but not apt enough to really dive into serious troubles?

3/14/2006 10:41:13 PM

Nothing like a 17 or 18 year old boat to be a fucking money pit.

I don't know anything about this particular make, but older used boats need some close scrutiny.

What kind of outdrive (inboard/outboard) is it? Which engine? Has it been run exclusively in fresh water, or has it seen salt water use? Does it have a closed cooling system with a heat exchanger, or is the engine cooled with raw water? Does it have tilt/trim (most do)? What kind of condition are the outdrive gimbal and boots in?

Hull condition: has it spent any serious time in the water without being pulled out? Blisters in the 'glass? One of my favorite nightmares: transom rot. Not as big of an issue with stern drive boats as it is with outboards, but still an issue nonetheless.

Marine hardware is expensive, and refitting a boat with some age can get to be right costly.

In short, a boat is a black hole in the water that you dump money into.

3/14/2006 10:52:29 PM

If you want an all purpose relatively low maintenance boat, then buy a single ply fiberglass hulled skiff, something like a jones bros skiff. They are fairly cheap, and not a whole lot of things can go wrong with them. If you start getting into things like upolstered seating, through hull passages (inboard/outboard types), etc, your maint. costs increase wildly. A 15-17' fiberglass skiff w/outboard will easily pull a skier, provides a decent fishing/cruising platform, and are easy to find. (2-6k)

If you have extra money lying around, buy a boston whaler, aquasport, or something along those lines. These boats are basically a single layered hull still, but are pretty much indestructible. They also come with more bells and whistles. (5-10k)

Pretty much any OMC product made from up until the early 90s is fairly durable if the motor was well maintained, and will last forever if you take care of it. Yahama was good until the late 90s, dunno about more recent models, and most of hondas stuff is pretty good. Force 5, mercury, mercruiser, suzuki, etc I wouldnt touch with a ten foot pole.

3/14/2006 11:24:02 PM

A boat like that can be relatively cheap to own, but there are a lot of things to consider. ZX gave some great points. There are definately outdrives that are notorious for problems and should be avoided, but I don't really know enough to say which ones.

The engine is just like a car engine. If it was treated badly it will show with age. If it is treated well that will show too. Do a compression test just like a car. Look for oil leaks in all the same places as a car.

I wouldn't touch an older I/O that was run in saltwater, but that's just me. If it has a painted trailer and they put it in saltwater it will almost definately show rust and possibly signs of repainting. Some record showing that the oil was changed at least once a year would be good too and most owners shouldn't have a hard time pulling that up.

You'll want to check the stringers for rot on any inboard or I/O of that age. The stringers are the beams that run lengthwise up and down the boat. The engine will mount to them. Take a socket wrench and check the motor mounts to see if they can be turned. If water has seaped (SP?) into the stringers through the motor mount bolts and caused rotting it is going to be a big repair. Cutting out the rotting wood and replacing will make you wish you never bought the boat.

Another big spot for stringer rot is where the swim platform bolts to them on the outside of some boats. Sometimes if the boat sits in the water for extended periods of time you'll get rotting back there and it's a sign of major problems down the road. Just walk away from it.

Walk every foot of the floor and bounce a little on each step to check for soft spots in the floor. Cutting out a floor and replacing it is no fun.

Expect to spend some money on it. You wouldn't buy a 1988 truck and expect everything to be perfect would you? For reference, my parent's boat is a 1989. Last summer I replaced some cracked trim with new teak pieces ($20), put on a new blower ($30), new battery ($80ish) and had to pull up the runners on the trailer and bolt them back in a different spot because the wood was rotting around the bolts. We use that boat a lot though and the only times it has left us stranded were when the battery died and we thought it would be ok "for one more weekend."

Other than that, we didn't spend any cash on it last summer and very little the summer before. Steering cables go bad, outdrive seals fail, starters break, batteries die, etc; but a well-taken care of boat isn't that expensive as long as you don't let the problems pile up and then try to do them all at once.

Don't forget to factor in the cost of winterizing it if you don't plan to do it yourself. I don't really know how much that is because I've never seen the bill. Maybe a couple hundred bucks including an oil change, but that's just a guess.

[Edited on March 14, 2006 at 11:51 PM. Reason : s]

[Edited on March 14, 2006 at 11:52 PM. Reason : .]

3/14/2006 11:49:02 PM