I love boats..... but they're expensive and they suck. for example- I bought an old POS 21' Starcraft center console2 years ago and spent ALL of last year doing the re-build. was down to the bare hull and started fressh. new wiring, composite framework. custom console, new stainless fuel tank, Taco leaning post and brandy-new HDS7 gps/ff unit. motor is an ol' Merc 150 balckMax that runs like hell- pushes it way past 50mph.



SO- this year I put the boat in and the prop spun the second I throttled up for the first time. :fury:
second time out the motor overheats (even thogu waterpump and thermostats are new). :fury:

now the Lowrance unit has $hit the bed for some unknown reason and will be gone 4-6 weeks for warranty.......:fury:





so yeah- boats suck:wall::wall::wall:

Break
Out
Another
Thousand
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Yep. You bought a project boat and were hoping that after two years of hard labor you'd earned a reprieve.....

Yep. You bought a project boat and were hoping that after two years of hard labor you'd earned a reprieve.....

This.

And stainless tank? Good luck with that. A well known classicmako guy sold his boat, around 2-3mo's later the stainless tank parted at a weld.

Stick with aluminum and coal tar epoxy em.

I feel your pain.
7 months of LONG days replacing my deck that snowballed into a whole lot more things done.......
Prior to haul had a fuel truck at my house to fill my tanks with diesel and been dealing with clogged filters as he pumped dirty fuel into my tanks.

I feel your pain.
Prior to haul had a fuel truck at my house to fill my tanks with diesel and been dealing with clogged filters as he pumped dirty fuel into my tanks.

OUCH, there seems to be a lot of that going around with diesel. :confused:

That sux Bob, I've been through it too.
Then my buddy bought a new boat so I sold my Seacraft, I still miss it, but I don't miss fixing it all the time.
You can fish without the Lowrance.

Yesterday on the way offshore after running about 45 min in buddy's new 32' regulator with new 350Hp yamis humming along nicely at 4500 rpm boat loaded to the gills with gear and 3 anxious anglers on the owners first day of his summer vacation....the engine hum changes pitch...I looked at the gauges and the starboard engine drops about 300 RPM for about 8 seconds then Wham! GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG !!

all stop on that engine.

Got back to the dock on the port engine got the gear off and had the yami mech pronounce it DOA. ( connecting rod broke after becoming hydro-locked somehow) what's another 30K ? Yeah, there is the warranty but ever try to get someone to work on your boat over the 4th of july week on MV? You stand a better chance of getting all Mass Dem's to vote republican in the next election.

Boating...whether new used ugly or pretty has a load of problems associated with it. This stuff happens to EVERYONE who uses a boat with regularity. That is why when it all comes together and you have a great day on the water you have to savor the moment...because it doesn't always go that way.

I'm smirking right now.... I can't help it....boats spawn love hate relationships... I remmeber a "disagrrement" I had with my first wife... I don't remember the entire context... it had something to do with fishing... but my parting shot to her as i walked out the door ( to go fishing) was " I had a boat a long time before I had you... and I'll have one long after you're gone"... well I still have that same boat.. she' locked up in a psyc ward in California.. that "event" happend close to 20 years ago.... the irony of it is... every mechanical thing on the planet wears out, breaks or makes your life miserable... it's more pronounced with boats because we depend on them to escape from the other things in our lives that break down (including relationships)... one thing I learned many years ago when i first started messing with boats ( somewhere around the tender age of 12).. you need a back up for everything... I run a 18' center console.. have done so with the same boat since 1980... I'm the ONLY one that has ever worked on it. I have two GPS ( one also doubles as a spare fish finder combo) units... a fish finder.. as configured if eithr unit goes down.. I have a spare...I replaced the engine last season... I replaced it with the same exact motor... I have a spare power head "in stock" in 3 hours I can be back on the water... I have a spare lower unit... 3 spare props and a spare trim motor ...I replaced the electric
trolling motor a few years back but rebuilt the original and keep it in the rafters on the garage....I have complete ignition system "in stock" just in case... nothing short of a sinking will keep me off of the water for more than a few days.... obviously, not everyone has the ability or the time ( or space) to keep "stock" for their boats( I'm betting there are plenty here that do)...sometimes even when you do things "by the numbers" things go wrong... most of whats fgoing on with your boat is pretty trivial and fixed fairly easily... not that it's not aggravation..take a deep breath and keep your chin up... better days and weather( I hope) are coming!

OUCH, there seems to be a lot of that going around with diesel. :confused:

not just diesel.. there seems to be a run of bad gas at some of the marina's as well.. according to several people I have heard (read complain) talk about it last week... I haven't had a problem( I'm clunking myself up side the head for luck).. but my fuel ( gas) tank is only 30 gallons.. and I watch/check the fuel flow restricter gauge and sediment bowl daily...This months weather hasn't helped...

How restores work, after I'm done this season I already have my fall/winter/spring work list:

Pull engine for new engine mounts.
Paint entire bilge.
Strip cap of brightside and shoot with awlgrip or alexseal.
Remove thru hull transducer, cut out old start battery box, put 1kw ducer there.
New raw water intake and raw water strainer.
Strip and paint any engine bits that could use it while its out.
Build doghouse off of console. (most likely ridiculously expensive because I want to keep it light as possible, nidacore sides, balsa roof)

Wanna run a restore? Be ready to keep restoring. :hihi:

How restores work, after I'm done this season I already have my fall/winter/spring work list:

Pull engine for new engine mounts.
Paint entire bilge.
Strip cap of brightside and shoot with awlgrip or alexseal.
Remove thru hull transducer, cut out old start battery box, put 1kw ducer there.
New raw water intake and raw water strainer.
Strip and paint any engine bits that could use it while its out.
Build doghouse off of console. (most likely ridiculously expensive because I want to keep it light as possible, nidacore sides, balsa roof)

Wanna run a restore? Be ready to keep restoring. :hihi:

Man does that sound familure.. "wanna restore.. be ready to keep on restoring"... no truer words were ever spoken!!!!!!!

Oh yeah, forgot, switching to hydraulic steering. Have the ram and pump sitting here, just need to measure for hoses. That was a steal. $100 on the ram $75 on the pump, just had to strip, prime, and paint the pump. :hihi:

seems my problems are small by comparison...... woulda been nice to catch at least one fish outta the friggin' thing first though


boats- they're expensive and they suck.

there--- I said it again.

I am not going to jinks myself and say anything :uhuh:

boats- they're expensive and they suck.


totally don't suck.
love my boat to death.

swapped transmissions last year (blown pump seal in a 71c, just traded it out for a reman instead of rebuilding) myself. was an entertaining job. 2 4x4's supporting the transmission and the back of the 350. i bled doing that one, alot.

i could keep going on what i have done to my mako but it would go on for volumes. :hihi:

Wanna run a restore? Be ready to keep restoring. :hihi:

Genius.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I have aspirations to be a boat guy someday, you guys are making me reconsider!

Genius.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

There is a lot of truth to this....

I bought my latest boat and knew from the moment I bought it (it was my 5th or 6th boat) that it was going to be a multi-year project . Most of the stuff either didn't work or didn't work correctly. When I got it to a certain point I would seriously use it but I knew I would have to keep going with it. Just keep chipping away at the endless list of stuff you want to do to it. I worked my butt off the first year to be able to use it the next summer.

When I am done...really done with it, I will sell it and move on, having enjoyed it for the last few years. Will I get all my $ that I put into it back???? NO but when you factor in the enjoyment I got out of it I always seem to come out ahead.

I am already looking at the next boat (project), it will be a kick ass sport fish express or possibly a big trawler. I would like work on another boat like mine but there are so few I would have to overpay to get one. I feel I have made mine the best one out there. That is a cool feeling.

I enjoy working on boats. I like fixing stuff that does not work right. Adding new stuff, making it better than it was, safer than it was. I like learning new repair skills. I think I enjoy this as much as fishing at times...esp in the winter when I can not fish and my boat is within eyesight every day all winter. I would much rather work on my boat than my house. Houses are boring construction. Cars are cool too but they don't float.

Boats are a PIA but they are really cool. They have so many specilized systems to grasp. I just like being on boats as much as I can and helping others from my experiences (good and bad)


Bottom line....Boats do suck, but they are a blast to be around.

you guys could always buy a sailboat :hihi:

you guys could always buy a sailboat :hihi:

and spend just as much.

since a teenager my buddy has been a mechanic. That's over sixty years and the way he puts it is anything that is put in saltwater has been given a death sentence. the end.

I am not going to jinks myself and say anything :uhuh:

Please don't, you promised me an outing! :)

There is a lot of truth to this....

I bought my latest boat and knew from the moment I bought it (it was my 5th or 6th boat) that it was going to be a multi-year project . Most of the stuff either didn't work or didn't work correctly. When I got it to a certain point I would seriously use it but I knew I would have to keep going with it. Just keep chipping away at the endless list of stuff you want to do to it. I worked my butt off the first year to be able to use it the next summer.

When I am done...really done with it, I will sell it and move on, having enjoyed it for the last few years. Will I get all my $ that I put into it back???? NO but when you factor in the enjoyment I got out of it I always seem to come out ahead.

I am already looking at the next boat (project), it will be a kick ass sport fish express or possibly a big trawler. I would like work on another boat like mine but there are so few I would have to overpay to get one. I feel I have made mine the best one out there. That is a cool feeling.

I enjoy working on boats. I like fixing stuff that does not work right. Adding new stuff, making it better than it was, safer than it was. I like learning new repair skills. I think I enjoy this as much as fishing at times...esp in the winter when I can not fish and my boat is within eyesight every day all winter. I would much rather work on my boat than my house. Houses are boring construction. Cars are cool too but they don't float.

Boats are a PIA but they are really cool. They have so many specilized systems to grasp. I just like being on boats as much as I can and helping others from my experiences (good and bad)


Bottom line....Boats do suck, but they are a blast to be around.

Well said Capt Jim. I have now owned a boat for 6 yrs (my first) and learned a LOT both about owning and running a boat and even more about fixing a boat. I still don't touch the engine (outboard Suz 150HP) but I have now replaced or fixed almost everything else on the boat and happy to say no longer FEAR THE CHALLENGE!

Youve got to pay to play.

Everything about boat ownership is expensive. The fuel, the slip, winterizing, storage, maintence ect. But the days you come back to the dock, deck full of blood, having a beer while washing everything down after an epic day on the water. It makes it all worth it.

I am not going to jinks myself and say anything :uhuh:

:uhuh::hidin::uhuh: