Anyone like Boating?

For some reason, i want a boat. Froggy (fit_is_slo) recently picked one up and now the fever has hit me. Anyone hit the lakes/oceans on here? What are the typical costs to maintain a boat? What are the proper steps to get a boat registered? I am fancying this one...

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/boa/1867182424.html

i love boating. i don't love paying maintenance and repairs on boats.

i have been watching the really good deals on PWCs for sale on cl lately, but i have also heard that some lakes won't allow two strokes at all eventually, which makes me think there will be a lot of worthless jet skis soon.

I love it so much I made a career out of it, tax dollars pay for my fun though so I don't have to deal so much with the money pit aspect of it...

I love boats. I'm on the Atlantic, just north of the Keys, so boaters paradise. That Bayliner is an inexpensive beginner boat. Fiberglass is done with a chopper gun, all componants are low end. Not something for running over to Bimini. (Many have done it, some did not return). Could not tell what the power was. Stern drive is heavier, more complex, but I prefer the auto based engine. Two strokes are woo-woo stuff to me, but are lighter and quite popular. All can be serviced with good documents in hand. Be very careful checking the wiring and electrics. If this is a strictly freshwater boat, much better. Salt water corrodes anything and everything. Take a Coast Guard course. Then take it again. Make damn sure you have good batteries. AAA won't help, and marine tow services are way expensive. Learned that the hard way. Mandatory to stay on top of service. Cleaning after going out is a sunburned pain, but must be done. Flush the fuel system very carefully, clean the carbs. I could go on and on. Now I want a boat again.

In reply to cwh:

that part of the atlantic is amazing, my parents have a 43' Mainship that they keep either in Delray Beach, or west palm. they just got back from a trip to Bimini last month.

its great fun, but that boat costs them at least 500 bucks in maintenance or repairs just about every time they go out to it.

Boat == hole in water you throw money into.

Also remember that a real ship can run you over, never see you and not even scratch the paint on the hull.

Have phun with it, though, if you want to put the money and time into it.

cwh wrote: Now I want a boat again.

Awesome info. Thanks! I don't know if i am ready for the expenses that having a boat entails. Guess it would kinda be like racing more or less. Just the upkeep and preserving the boat. I might just keep saving and wait until winter when the prices dip a bit and pick one up then.

I was considering a lake runabout myself - I see ski/family type open bow boats all day long in the decent/cheap price range. I thought it might be cool to pick one up - use it for the rest of the summer and chuck it on craigslist to dump it before winter.

The best boat is your neighbor's boat.

Boats are like pools and kids...

... the best ones are your friends...

...they deal with the upkeep, you just go over and play with them every once in a while...

In reply to DukeOfUndersteer:

Looks like the perfect boat for a beginner.You will get to meet a lot of people (people that tow you in-people that sell parts-mechanics-new friends (when it does run)-you will learn how to control your anger(hopefully)-I could go on but I think you get the picture. Good luck + have fun

They are fun, but it would be a lot less expensive to get one of your friends to buy the boat instead...then they'll be responsible for its maintenance, and all you'll have to do is show up with the beer.

Go for it!

I love boating. Cheapest way to do it is with a cheap fishing boat. About the only "cheap boat", but thats probably not what you're looking for.

Unless you have a place to store it in the water, I'd look for something that is a little more trailerable, but thats just me. Lots of good things to be said about that boat, but I don't like bayliners. I've been on Sea Rays and Bayliners on the same day in the same water, both less than 3 years old, both in excellent condition. The Sea Ray felt rough in the waves, but solid; the Bayliner felt like it was going to fall apart.

Just my .02

Your question is almost unanswerable, because of the many types of boats out there. Wood, fiberglass, aluminum, inboard, outboard, open, closed, etc, etc, etc.

On the cheap and easy end is the simple aluminum skiff with a little portable outboard. It has no maintenance. Flashlight up front, little outboard plunked on the rear, and away you go. Small ones can be carried well by two people, and fit into the back of pickup trucks. These boats sit abandoned in the back yard for years, and work perfectly when picked up and tossed into the water.

Wooden boats, you don't have enough money for one. I do love them myself, but they take maintenance, lots of it. For wood rots, enthusiastically. And if it's not rotting, it's shrinking. Then the boat leaks when placed in the water.

Fiberglass sounds great, but there's usually wood behind it, rotting with enthusiasm. That boat you linked, I bet it has a rotten transom. Put in inboard motor in there, and they really rot. For what better idea than to cut a hole in a fiberglass panel and let water into it edgewise.

If it's got wires, and that linked one does, they fail with remarkable speed on boats. A fuse, a switch, the wires themselves, it just doesn't matter. The same switch that works for 15 years on your car will die in 8 months on a boat.

So if you're still with me at this point, talk some more about what you think you want to do with a boat. Then you will get better more specific responses.

A friend that raced sailboats in the great lakes told me "Stand in a cold shower fully clothed tearing up 100 dollar bills and you have simulated owning and operating a boat"

In reply to foxtrapper:

Yea, dont know where to start when looking. Froggy's is a little bass aluminum boat, he picked up dirt cheap with a little 2 stroke 7hp outboard on it - hours of fun in the water! I am kinda looking for something a bit bigger so the girlfriend and daughter can come enjoy with me. I would have to take a real close look at the linked boat and have some money in the bank, ready to invest in wiring, hull repair, motor upkeep.

i would love to get a sailboat and start learning how to sail too.

After you get over all the good advice here (and most of it is right on) go over there and lowball the owner terribly. He probably has not gotten any decent offers , may be desperate for any money. As always, make sure the title is in hand and in his name. Take cash. You might get lucky, if not, you saved a bunch of money. Also, before all of this, check out the trailer. They break. Bad things then commence, especially at 60mph. Springs, lights, hitch, chains, etc. If it was a salt water boat, you will see it immediately. Caveat emptor.

of course if you cannot trailer it.. you are stuck renting a slip for the season.. those get expensive in a hurry too.

I grew up around boats.. I occasionally come very close to pulling the trigger on a GP14

We just took my buddies free Bayliner Capri open bow on the water this weekend. (yes, someone gave it to him gratis) It overheated and almost caught fire, but up to that point it was a blast. We drank some beer, lounged in the sun, swam, and let it cool down. Then we motored home. What's not to like?

pinchvalve wrote: We just took my buddies free Bayliner Capri open bow on the water this weekend. (yes, someone gave it to him gratis) It overheated and almost caught fire, but up to that point it was a blast. We drank some beer, lounged in the sun, swam, and let it cool down. Then we motored home. What's not to like?

The "almost catching fire" part is problematic, more so if no one is around with a helping gaff hook.

Boats are fun. I generally prefer sails over motors though. Either way, I would not want to pay the upkeep on one. I've played with them a fair bit, but always on someone else's dime. Boats are one of those things that is more expensive than racing.

There are ways to do it easier or cheaper, especially if you're into sailing. Small sailboats (Lasers, FJ-16's) are a hoot. If you join a boat club or yacht club, you can usually check them out for a reasonable monthly fee. Alternately, rich guys with racing boats are regularly looking for folks to help crew/sail them.

For all the "boats are basically the worst of old British and Italian cars except they float" horror stories listed here my uncle owned a small open bow with a mercury inboard that went to local big lakes & off to Canada 3 weeks a year where we camped on the lake and needed it to get food. It ran all season every year for about 25yrs. It always started and ran. He did flush it all out and keep it in a garage but if he even knew how to change the oil I'd be surprised. It was ugly tan/green but it could pull 2 skiers, fish w/ a family of 6 and haul groceries across the lake all summer.

I see this same type (not brand... I don't remember what it was) of boat with a trailer sitting on lawns all the time with numbers like $1600 on them.

Crew on big sail boats is like crew on an independant race car. Miserable hard work, no pay, great times. Sailboats feed you better.

I like boating, but I like sailing better. Cruising along with no noise except the water going by the hull, no exhaust smell and it's free power. Most any yahoo can cut a check and skipper a motor boat, sailing you have to work up in steps. More work, more rewarding.

I'm partial to Dutch Barges.

http://www.bowcrest.com/

http://bourgogne-marine.com/

Froggy II would be an excellent start. Make no mistake, a 12 or 14 foot aluminum boat with a 7-10 hp outboard on the back will take the three of you out on the water very easily. They are a lot more weight and material capable than many people think. An excellent starting point and backup boat. Wonderful for those spur of the moment trips onto the water. All the more so if you like exploring smaller water ways.

Sailboating is wonderfully romantic in the movies, on the water, it's much less so. Some years ago I raced in the Catalina fleet. There's no breeze when you're underway, so you bake. It's slow going, even when it's fast. And if it's fast, it's only in the direction you don't want to go. It's very involving to sail, and not at all relaxing.