Topic: Who knows anything about boats?

[Retro Rocket]

Gday Paul,i'll add my 2 cents worth. My dad worked in the boat industry all his life and i have worked, skied and fished for most of mine. Aluminium boats are lighter and more fuel efficient and need smaller engines to move them BUT, they ride extremely hard when compared to fiberglass boats, they are also wetter to ride in because most don't have the flared style of bow common on "glass" boats so when it gets a bit rough "tinnies" {aluminium boats} can be a very wet experience as well as bashing the #$%* out of you on the way home. The benefit of fiberglass is that they are dryer boats due to hull design and ride a hell of a lot softer that tinnies. I have a 15 foot Cruise Craft made in the 70's and i have done the repairs to it by myself and it isn't hard especially for someone with your obvious skills. The thing to look for in a Glass boat is the floor for soft spots because if the water has damaged the floor then the under floor stringers { wooden supports} are more than likely shot and while not impossible are quite a job to fix. The next thing to look for is the transom { back of the boat where the motor sits}, check it for signs of rot or soft spots because once the water is in it travels through the plywood rather fast, once again fixable but a reasonably big job, i have done both the floor and the transom on mine. I disagree that fiberglass is difficult to fix actually i find it rather easy. I would avoid any tinnie with rivets, Dehavelland used to make riveted hulls and after a short time they leak like a sieve, believe me i have owned a couple {they were cheap}  Hope this helps and feel free to ask any questions. Seaweb has also some good experience with boats so maybe PM him to join the discussion.....

Mick

[seaweb11]

One point of note for you Paul is maintenance, it costs me $1500 every year to have my engine serviced and the gaskets replaced, probably less if you are only running fresh water through the motor as opposed to sea water though.

Will you pay me that $1500.00 instead?   

What gaskets?  I pull my plugs at the end of the year pour a bit of oil down the spouts and rotate the motor a bit.
Add stabilize to fuel tanks and she starts every Spring. 90hp Johnston.  Did the same for years with my 115.


P.S. An $800.00 boat is as good as a free one.

[Stev-o]

Have to disagree about the maint needed on a fiberglass boat. I am on my 6th one over the course of 20 years and not one has needed any maint more than cleaning!
I live a mile from the lake and am out nearly every weekend and 90% of the boats here are fiberglass.

http://oregoncoast.craigslist.org/boa/1836712850.html


This posting seems to be a good boat, a starter on an outboard is a simple change, about 4 bolts. If I am correct, that is a Glastron boat, very good reputation and used in many of the Bond movies!
Starters can be rebuilt too.

[333]

Wow.  It took till the end of the first page before someone mentioned licensing.  I don't want to sound preachy, but take the class.  We are talking about vehicles that can easily achieve "killing" speeds, on water, where there are no lines to tell you where you should be, in vehicles with no brakes....  You see where I'm going with this.  BoatUS has the online thing to get on the water, but take the class.  I took the Power Squadron course.  It was 8, one night classes, where I learned a fair amount.  And I too, have been around boats most of my life.

And FWIW, I'm partial to wood.  But then I'm old school.

[MickeyX]

Well, I kinda assumed that Paul had looked into it already, given that he was at the stage of plunking down hard earned cash for a boat. I just let him know it was a requirement. Although, I suspect most of the boaters I see out on the lake don't have one. It's not hard to tell who doesn't know how to pass an oncoming boat or how to anchor correctly, etc. That's why I'm glad I'll be on the edges, back in the low areas they can't go, fishing my little guts out. 

[MickeyX]

btw Paul, here is one of the places you can take it online. http://www.boat-ed.com/Oregon/index.html  I'd prefer you went with an in-person class, but you have to do what you can with the spare time and $$ you have. The important thing is, take it and learn the rules.

I would also ask the guy I was buying from if they could go out with you the first time and show you the boat and all it's quirks. things like side slipping into a dock, getting on and off the trailer, where the drain plugs are, trimming the prop so you aren't nose up or down when at different speeds and loads. The seller should be able to demonstrate most of these things to you.

One of the most overlooked part of buying a boat, the lines and side bumpers. Those are kind of expensive to replace (compared to your price limit) but also tell the tale of how it was treated at the dock and loading/unloading. Some people are harder on their boats in those situations than out on the water.  

[GammaFlat]

...where the drain plugs are...

I don't bother with drain plugs... you just go fast enough so the drain hole becomes a "water letter outer" -Curly

Seriously, everyone I boat with is kindly informed that reminding a boater at the time of launch about the drain plug is never a nuisance.  It is always a welcome reminder.  Thankfully, I've never made that oops. 

[seaweb11]

Question?
How can you tell if fuel has been pre mixed already? Looks, smell?

[MickeyX]

hehe. Twice my brother has gone out with his FIL (FIL's boat) where he has not put the plug back in. The 1st time, they didn't figure it out right away, they were looking for a crack or leak. That one didn't go so well. It's a good thing they can both swim.   The 2nd time they were still at the dock and took on some water but could pull it back out in time to not be totally under. They were quicker but still not too bright.  

[Retro Rocket]

Question?
How can you tell if fuel has been pre mixed already? Looks, smell?

I just smell it Derek. I am not sure what colour your gas is but 2 stroke fuel usually {i Aus} has a darkish blue tint to it, kinda dirty looking and it has a smell of its own. If you get some normal fuel and some 2 stroke sided by side you will see a big difference.

Mick

[Stev-o]

Question?
How can you tell if fuel has been pre mixed already? Looks, smell?

Color

[seaweb11]

Yeah, the color blind guy again

I have 5 gallons of new fuel in a can, I just cant remember if I added oil.  I guess it goes into the truck

[scunny]

Yeah, the color blind guy again

I have 5 gallons of new fuel in a can, I just cant remember if I added oil.  I guess it goes into the truck

[scunny]

had an old Lada Niva that used to get all the old and stinky fuel, ran like a charm on it.

[paulages]

looks like i started a good topic.  

mickey- yeah, i found a few online courses. you don't really need a license in oregon, just a "boater education card," which has only been necessary for people operating boats over 10 HP since last year. i'll take the online course when i get a free few hours... who knows when that will be.   a first-time boat buyer actually has 60 days to do so, so i'm not too worried.  i'm more concerned about knowing what the hell i'm doing than the legality of it.

[Spanner 1]

65HP Outboard on a 16ft. boat = 31 m.p.h., downhill on the lake, wind behind ya, at least that's what mine does... 1970 boat; 1969 motor

[seaweb11]

13 1/2 ft + 90 hph = more fun than you can imagine, or handle

I poured the questionable gas into the truck, went and got another 5 gallons and mixed it proper
It's to expensive to make a mistake.

[Retro Rocket]

My boss has a 17 foot ski boat with a 250 HP motor on it.....yep its fast....

Mick

[Hush]

I've got my "Inshore Skipper's" ticket which really just means that if something goes wrong I get to take the blame cos I should have known better.
Took me 9 weeks of 2 hour sessions every Thursday, even had to swap shifts to attend and pass.
The one great thing for us Kiwis and Ozzies to remember is when approaching another boat always pretend you are in America and pass down your left hand side, I'm always humming that old song "never wanna go to America" as I enter or leave the channel to remind myself
Port to port (my port side should be on the same side as the approaching boats' port side) and how do we remember which colour is port? Port wine is always red! That makes starboard green!
Quickly runs outside and checks under the boat cover.....yep still correct...phew!

Of course all that goes out the window if the approaching boat is over 500 tons.....yep just give way to the big fellow....size rules on the ocean.

[333]

13 1/2 ft + 90 hph = more fun than you can imagine, or handle

I poured the questionable gas into the truck, went and got another 5 gallons and mixed it proper
It's to expensive to make a mistake.

Wasn't there someone that could have looked at the gas and told you what color it was?  Innocent bystander?  Homeless dude?

[seaweb11]

13 1/2 ft + 90 mph = more fun than you can imagine, or handle

I poured the questionable gas into the truck, went and got another 5 gallons and mixed it proper
It's to expensive to make a mistake.

Wasn't there someone that could have looked at the gas and told you what color it was?  Innocent bystander?  Homeless dude?

 It was new gas from last week, I just couldn't remember if I mixed it. A little lube won't hurt anything if it was mixed. My truck has had a few of these fuel additives over the years

[Spanner 1]

Calm down everybody.

[Hush]

I had a fault with my automatic oil feeder on my 40hp Evinrude last year and the boat guys said just add a cup full of two stroke into your tote tank and give it a slosh around, even if the autolube system is working perfectly the extra oil wont hurt it none.
Fault was in the low oil warning system, it was telling lies.

[Stev-o]

Calm down everybody.

WHY?

[seaweb11]

Yeah, I missed that as well