Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

One of the problems with a 20 yr old boat (1992) is the cost of parts/labor for maintenance and repairs. I'm old (well, 63) and absolutely cann't do anything for maintenance/repairs to a boat engine or drive (it has an I/O). I can check to oil and power steering fluid and refill, but that's it! We bought this Celebrity 200 Cuddy Cabin in early 2009 and up til this date have had put in new starter/cables, dual-battery switch, new manifolds/risers, new block (w new plugs/plug wires/belts/tin/alternator and oil. The new block came in this past July. Now we need new Trim Position Switch & Trim Limit Switch and, while talking on the phone, the Mercruiser mechanic ask me the last time we had a complete service done on the outdrive which would include a Transom Seal Kit. This service would be somewhere over $1,000! We have no receipts/info from the previous owner showing anything done to the boat prior to us buying it in 2009.

We really don't want to sell it, but just how much money is finally enough? I've heard people say "having a boat is pouring money down a hole" and I say "owning a motorhome isn't cheap and neither are other recreational things." "Fun" isn't cheap these days.

One thing I do know, we couldn't get a 2000 or newer 20' cuddy cabin boat w/a 5.7L/350 engine for the cost of what we've had repaired on our boat now.

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

It's gotta depend on how mechanical, resourceful, energetic and wealthy you are....how far are you cruising and how much dependability do you want and need. I'm fairly handy mechanically, but when we put the boat on the rive I prefer cruising to working on the boat constantly. Wife and i cruise the St. Johns River in Florida and it would shake her confidence if the boat was not dependable. Maybe start thinking about something newer or in a better state of repair.

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

And at some point in the near future you'd probably be doing the exact same repairs on the newer boat too. It's really a no win situation As long as the bones of the hull, floor, transom etc are in good shape I like to think eventually once you've replaced everything mechanical it will act new for a while again. And just think, it could be worse, my neighbor drag races.

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

sublauxation said:

And at some point in the near future you'd probably be doing the exact same repairs on the newer boat too. It's really a no win situation As long as the bones of the hull, floor, transom etc are in good shape I like to think eventually once you've replaced everything mechanical it will act new for a while again. And just think, it could be worse, my neighbor drag races.

Click to expand...

^^Agree. With everything you have done to date plus the recommended services, you've almost got a "new" boat (mechanically). I would " stay the course" and get some value back out of the boat.

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

I must agree with both of you, "sublauxation" and "Another retired guy", about how much new stuff has been done to the boat, but SOMETIMES the cost of some maintenance and/or repair can seem rather overwelming, but then we wind up having it done. We both love boating, but the launching/retrieving part can get to us also. Unfortunately, we sure cann't afford Dry Storage. We don't put it on the water nearly as much as we should due to adverse weather conditions or sickness. Here, we have all kinds of navigational stuff we've had to learn and still don't know some of it. Took two CGA Boating Classes as well. Back in Colorado we had an '89 Bowrider and took it to a local Reservoir both Saturday and Sunday at times for fishing and "beaching it/relaxing", but boating there sure isn't the same as it is on this St John's River or Intercoastal Waterways. Have only been on the Intercoastal once and, to say the least, that was interesting. Had a couple with us that have done lots and lots of Intercoastal and Ocean boating........big help.

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

It sounds like the mechanic has got you where he wants you.

so, to prevent further economic bloodshed you may have to step up and get more involved in assessing the condition of your boat and understanding what is really needed, versus merely advisable. You may also want to do some of the things yourself, or perhaps find lower cost alternatives.

A 20 year old boat is not that old, but it is getting in the age range where you could point to just about anything on the boat and say that it 'could' be replaced. A newer boat does not relieve you from the maintenance necessarily, it is just a thing about boats.

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

I concur on what tpenfild (Ted) has stated. lt depends upon your abilities as a mechanic and your tolerance / financial situation dicatates to you what needs to be done. My "gal" is coming on 21 years old (over 1300 hours) and I am no where near ready to throw in the towel, yet. But I am willing to rebuild / replace engine or drive if needed. At 62, I am blessed (God willing) with the ability and resources to do this myself, but your situation may be much different than mine.

It is a personal decision as to where to draw the line. If it makes sense for you to "pull the plug", the so be it. Again, it's a personal decision, no matter what anyone else says.

Maintenance is maintenance, never mind if the boat is 3 years old or 33 years old. Frequency just changes (sometimes). Seen some 5 year old boats in worse shape than my 20+ year old boat.

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

With an exception explained below, I think that a good hull is worth hanging on to, if it's good for your use by size, design, etc. and you don't care about appearances all that much. The parts can be dropped in piece by piece. Eventually it will wear you out; the choice is pay the bank on a new one or the mechanic on the old one.

Like cars, you have to assess from your personal standpoint, how important is reliability? A salesman can't be without his car for a day; an office worker can go a week with it in the shop. A single woman driving at night is at greater risk under a break-down than a 30 year old guy commuting daytimes. Do you need to pay for reliability?

Here's the exception: the seals on an i/o scare me to death. My old outboards aren't nearly as liklely to randomly sink like your boat is. We both may be waving at each other for a tow when the motor breaks down, but at least I will be floating.

So back to the cars: old car, mechanic says your brakes may fail and it will cost $1000 to fix them,. You fix them or replace the car. Not so with a weak cylinder, slow oil or radiator leak, etc.

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Something I talked to my wife about..........if people (some do/some don't) would keep the invoices they get from any maintenance/repairs that are done on a boat, for however long they own the boat, and give those invoices to the next owner, it would make it a who lot easier to know what's been done to a boat and what hasn't.
Our boat is a 1992 and the previous owner only told us that the carb could use adjusting again AND that was after I noticed the engine idled rough and then stopped a couple of times during a test ride with him. What he didn't tell us was that he just had the carb rebuilt the month before putting the boat up for sale and that a manifold had a small warp in it. It wasn't until the mechanic (same mechanic he used) told us that the carb needed rebuilding, so we said "ok" and then that mechanic remember he'd rebuild the carb after he took it apart and found new parts in it. He also put JB Weld on the spot of the warp. Anyway, I don't even think we even looked at the engine before buying this boat! We did notice rust color on the manifolds/risers about a year later. We also noticed on an old registration that there was another owner besides him.

As for us, I keep EVERY invoice we get for any maintenance/repair we have done on both of our vehicles and the boat. Yes, I have a folders of invoices for our truck we bought in 2003 (it's a 1997), our Durango bought in 2005 (it's a 2005) and the boat (from when we bought it in 1992). I even have made spreedsheets (info sheets) of all the work (date/milage/work done/where done/cost) for each year. If someone asks me "was that done/when was it done", I can tell them pretty fast! Now, as for the time before Feb 1992.......we have no idea.

We aren't giving up the boat, but it was in our thoughts a few times. Only thing is, when a person looks at the cost of a newer (2000 or newer) boat, similar to ours, it can be/would be expensive. So, a Down Payment plus Monthly Payments can definitely be more than labor charge/parts charge for maintenance/repairs. And, with a new (newer) boat, if monthy payments were there, they would still be there each month even WITH and maintenance/repair costs that would come up. Our boat is OURS, so monthy payments to worry about.

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Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

If you went out and bought a brand spanning new boat it would only be a few years before you are having a lot of these things done anyway. Maintenance on boats is pretty high (not as high as airplanes) and you have to pay to play.

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

The only way to avoid maintenanace costs is to buy a new boat and trade it in when the warranty expires. Mighty expensive way to do it but you cut way down on your issues. It's all a personal preference.

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Boy, you have THAT right (in blue below)!

laserbrn said:

If you went out and bought a brand spanning new boat it would only be a few years before you are having a lot of these things done anyway. Maintenance on boats is pretty high (not as high as airplanes) and you have to pay to play.

Click to expand...

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

In years past I played golf...that was expensive. Then I took up hunting...that was expensive...so I went back to golf...which was now more expensive.

Then, guess what? I took up boating...that's expensive, too.

Once I realized that I needed and benefited from my recreational time that I realized that, whatever it is...it's gonna be expensive

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

For anyone interested, I developed an excel spreadsheet to track just about every aspect of keeping a boat, except fuel. If anyone wants a copy, send me a note and I'll e-mail one to you.
They also include the recommended maintenance intervals (Mercruiser engines), too.

The sheet to track costs expended is really scary to review after a couple of years.

I also have them for vehicles (mine is taylored for my F150), trailers and yes, harleys.....

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

04fxdwgi said:

For anyone interested, I developed an excel spreadsheet to track just about every aspect of keeping a boat, except fuel. If anyone wants a copy, send me a note and I'll e-mail one to you.
They also include the recommended maintenance intervals (Mercruiser engines), too.

The sheet to track costs expended is really scary to review after a couple of years.

I also have them for vehicles (mine is taylored for my F150), trailers and yes, harleys.....

Click to expand...

If I may add something here - for those of you using Apple devices there is a very good app that tracks boat/car/energy costs. If anyone is interested PM me for the name ( No - I have no connection with the developer! )

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

There are lots of way to analyze the cost of almost any recreational activity. For me my 26 year old 39 ft Sea Ray is something I've developed a passion for. Because I can repair virtually anything on the boat (no one touches my boat but me) I can keep the costs inline. My yearly expense (including $2500 yearly fuel allowance) comes in around 10k (belong to a yacht club). If I had to pay for the work/repairs I do myself I would have add 5k per year. The 10k per year is far cheaper and brings so much more enjoyment than having a cottage on the water or taking 2 cruises per year on one of those ships you get sick on. I probably put 5-7 hours of maintenance into my boat for every hour it runs but spend 10-15 hours on the boat at the dock relaxing for every hour it is out of the slip.

For those of you that think it's expensive to own and run a boat think about how customers/clients complain about how much you or your company charges them for what you do. If you could could do what they do yourself, would you?

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

When is enough, Enough?

Compare the boat to the car; and remove the emotional factor from the equation.
Make the cold decision that it is a tool needed to get a job done.
Reasonably safe, Reasonably reliable Transportation!

Assume that if you were to replace the Boat/Car there would be a monthly payment/depreciation involved.
For the sake of example let's use $500 as a number.
Once the Boat/Car has been paid off/fully depreciated, there are no more non-operating expenses in keeping it.
As long as you do not operate it, it could rot under a tree for free.

Now suddenly, there is a maintenance issue that will cost, say $2000.
If you can safely assume the repair will keep the boat/car operational for at least another $2000/$500 = 4 months;
The cost of the repair would be cheaper than the payments on a replacement vehicle.

When the repair cost exceed the monthly payments; You would be better off making payment on a replacement instead of doing repairs.

Again, you need to keep the emotional factor out of the equation.
It is not an investment, it is a liability; It is just a tool!

I tend to keep things and repairing them until they are truly dead. Especially the car.
I ask myself, "If someone else would be willing to buy and use it, why would I sell it?"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Well, like a lot of folks, we don't get our boat out on the water enough, but when we do, we have a lot of fun with it...........as long as no problems show up, like a water leak. However, we have come to find out that boating on the St John's River or Intercoastal isn't nearly as easy as boating on the lakes we did in Colorado. Like already stated, much more navigational stuff to learn here!

For us, like some other boat owners, we have to take our boat in for maintenance and repairs because I simply can't do it. So we have to pay the hourly labor fee and a "jack-up" of parts cost. Do we think it's worth it, yes, when the boat is running fine and we can enjoy being on the water and not encounter something that starts worrying us.

Out of curiousity, I wonder how many of you, if you take your boat to a mechanic for maintenance/repairs, go to the same mechanic all the time? We've been to three different shops and I was told by a Mercruiser Dealer to stay with one. When we had a bowrider in CO, we did stay with one.........the Dealership that we bought the boat from.

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

LuvBoating said:

Out of curiousity, I wonder how many of you, if you take your boat to a mechanic for maintenance/repairs, go to the same mechanic all the time? We've been to three different shops and I was told by a Mercruiser Dealer to stay with one. When we had a bowrider in CO, we did stay with one.........the Dealership that we bought the boat from.

Click to expand...

It sure doesn't hurt to use other shops until you find one you like.

I do most of my boat motor maintenance myself, but there's some stuff I can't do (synchronizing 4 carbs). It took me years to find a reliable shop with competent employees that actully knew what they were doing and they're the shop I use and buy my parts from now. they've earned my trust and steady business.

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

Re: Older Boat Maintenance/Repair Costs..........And, When To Say "Enough Is Enough!"

We've tried two other shops besides our local Mercruiser shop and, even though the Mercruiser shop is higher cost in parts/labor, we haven't had a problem with them............like the two shops with lower labor/parts costs did. I have to continue my statement "cheaper doesn't always mean better" and boy have we found that out!
I'm really big into computers and neither of the "lower costing" shops used them. Heck, the last shop we went to, for the new block install, my wife had to actually help the mechanic/owner do the invoice! To a point, a real nightmare situation for both of us. The first shop we went to for new plugs, oil change, etc, right after we bought the boat in '09, didn't have a computer either. They do now though.

jigngrub said:

It sure doesn't hurt to use other shops until you find one you like.

I do most of my boat motor maintenance myself, but there's some stuff I can't do (synchronizing 4 carbs). It took me years to find a reliable shop with competent employees that actully knew what they were doing and they're the shop I use and buy my parts from now. they've earned my trust and steady business.

Click to expand...