BenKey Posted October 7, 2005 Report Share Posted October 7, 2005 Does anyone own the proverbial "bottomless pit to throw your money into?" A boat? Well, I never thought of this boat (the 2nd one I've owned) as that, but as they get older (bought this one brand new), things just seem to come one after the other. My boat is a little over 5yrs old. It's a 19' Astro X-1850 Bass Boat, w/175hp EFI Mercury motor. I haven't had a lick of trouble with it until now. Mostly my fault. All those months my truck was down, it never got cranked - bad thing to do. So, it sat for about 18months before I got it up here in VA with me. I started out needing two new tires (boat trailer tires tend to dry rot easily). That cost $243. Then my fenders had rusted out (normal thing) and had to get two new ones - $52, plus $75 to get them line-x coated, so $127 total. My onboard battery charger gave out. There is a Bass Pro here and since it was a BP brand they refunded me the cost ($135), but then I had to pick a different one. Ended up getting one that costs $339, or $204 net to me. Then I had to buy two new racheting tie-downs for the transom, $50. A new winch and strap, $30. To top it off this week, the motor wouldn't start. The fuel had gummed so bad that it had to be taken in and serviced and only cost me $21 in parts. Too bad the labor was over $400. Not to be left off, all 3 batteries were dead. One is the normal group size (24) and the ones for my trolling motor are the next up group size (27). I wanted to get all gel-cells this time and that came in at very cheap $430. So to sum it up, in 3 wks time: Motor - $434 Baterries - $430 Tires - $243 Charger - $204 Fenders - $127 Winch - $30 Straps - $50 Total - $1,518 Just hope the wife doesn't notice the reduced amount in my savings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwalls54 Posted October 7, 2005 Report Share Posted October 7, 2005 Yeah sounds like fun, How you like that Bass Proshop off of Power Plant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimB Posted October 7, 2005 Report Share Posted October 7, 2005 I know what you mean Ben. Check on the need for winterizing them in Va. also cracked blocks suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolBlueSS Posted October 7, 2005 Report Share Posted October 7, 2005 Yikes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PewterC3 Posted October 7, 2005 Report Share Posted October 7, 2005 no worry of a cracked block like an inboard....outboards drain when you pull them out of the water unless something changed? just need to charge and disconnect the batteries, put sta-bil in the gas tank, and fog the motor if you choose and it's going to be down for a while. one thing everyone probably knows on the tires but I will throw it out there for whats its worth....if you park a vehicle/trailer with the tires on the ground (dirt/grass) they will dry rot much quicker then when parked on cement. put cement step blocks, boards, river rock, anything under them but bare ground when it's going to be there for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PewterC3 Posted October 7, 2005 Report Share Posted October 7, 2005 oh... but yes...I've had several myself and boats get to be more of a money pit the older they get. My dad has a '92 or '93 Carver36 ACMY. Lets see....if I were to guess he's put close to $5k a year in it in the last 3 years he's had it...at least! That's not counting his slip and fuel costs. And it costs over $500 to fill it up. Things from $2000 dollar refrigerators and A/C units...to bilge pumps and bottom cleaning. If one of the twin 454's go's out... the whole flybridge has to come off to get them out as they sit under the "salon" or living room. That's some $$$$$$$$$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rays B4U Posted October 7, 2005 Report Share Posted October 7, 2005 B - Bust O - Out - A - Another - T - Thousand! I have one too! I bought a SeaRay 200BR brand new in 1995 and still only have 100 total hours on it! Got it all ready for use this spring and didn't put it in the water once! Now I get to go and winterize it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posi12Bolt Posted October 8, 2005 Report Share Posted October 8, 2005 <------ Money pit owner here too!!! but its fun!! 1972 Nordic Jet 18ft. thats my son on the right and my nephew on the left! but when your on the boat.... you see things like this.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevygal Posted October 8, 2005 Report Share Posted October 8, 2005 I hear ya. I sold my 97 Champion bass boat last year. The boat was awesome. Only trouble I had with it was a small leak from the livewell intake tube. The engine was a 97 Johnson 175 Fast Strike. Great engine until the powerhead blew. It was all due to a teeny tiny hole in the hose that connected the water separator to the gas tank. Every time I'd pump the primer, the bulb would get firm but then a bit later it would be soft again. I guess gas wasn't making it into the engine fully and one day on Lake Winnipesaukee, I was doing about 65 and suddenly, just slowed right down and died in the water. Had to use my trolling motor to get back to the ramp. Got the engine rebuilt but cost me $6,000. Ran great after it was fixed but it soured me. I kept worrying it was going to happen again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC3 Posted October 8, 2005 Report Share Posted October 8, 2005 OK well. that made my mind up... I was looking for a cheap boat to start with, but I'll pass now.. Looks like the cheaper you buy, the cheaper you get, if you know what I mean.. I was looking at 7500 to buy a boat, but if it's gonna cost me 1500 a year to fix it, then F that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevygal Posted October 8, 2005 Report Share Posted October 8, 2005 It's not the price. Mine was $26,000; I custom ordered it. And I still had problems. It is always something. The trolling motor wasn't powerful enough so I had to upgrade. I think that was $600.00. Batteries every two years at about $80.00 a piece. Plus oil and gas. One time, some @$$hole hit my trailer in the parking lot while I was on the water. Bent the fender almost into the tire. He didn't even leave a note or a phone number, just took off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BILLS04SS Posted October 8, 2005 Report Share Posted October 8, 2005 I've had boats for 10 years.. trust me.. you will always throw money into them. especially performance boats like cig boats etc... I have a Ranger Bass boat and a 25` baja... Your bass boats with outboards will be significantly cheaper than your Inboard 500hp motor. With that said.. I love boating.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenKey Posted October 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 Took the boat out today and fished a tournament at Kerr Reservior with what used to be my old bass club and also the one I'm getting back into soon. The motor started up great and nearly instantly. Only problem was the "low oil" / "high heat" alarm would go off after about 10 sec of running it. It wasn't hot and my tiny reservior under the cowl is full, not counting the nearly 2 gallons of oil in my tank that it pulls from. Checked to make sure the caps were tight, but didn't seem to make a diff. Not wanting to take a chance, I fished all day just on trolling motor. I stayed within 3 miles of the ramp all day. Glad I have a 74lb thrust trolling motor. Back in the shop it goes Tuesday. The good news was I took second place and got all of my entry fee back and then some. And, if it can be considered a positive thing, I didn't use more than a qt of gas. I guess the $60 I spent to get it 1/2 full can be used another time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevygal Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 What was the winning weight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backinblack Posted October 10, 2005 Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 I've got an 89 Four Winns, haven't really put any money in it at all this year. Some new stuff for the trailer was about it. Athough this winter or early spring the motor is going to need some work, starting to burn oil. Not a big deal though me and a friend of mine will do the work shouldn't cost me too much. I wouldn't be without a boat though I love being out on the water and go every chance that I get. I really don't want to winterize it yet but it's getting very close to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.