$1800 nightmare

[rrt2b2010]

I paid $1800 for the boat and motor.. now the motor is toast.. 30 minutes on the lake and the motor is done. Mechanic said the compression is almost non existant. Any suggestions as to what I should do now? Do I keep the boat and wait until I can repower it? I had plans on removing oxidation from the hull, new interior and floor repair.. Do I continue to work on these side projects to keep my sanity? I am really heart broken about this but it was my first boat purchase and I needed to learn this lesson (I guess) now I will be better educated on future purchases.. But will say buffing the exterior and removing oxidation help keep my sanity or should I scrap the boat and take it as an $1800 loss..??? Suggestions please

 

[bayspeed]

Re: $1800 nightmare

May i ask what type of boat this is? (Make,Year)

 

[DC20]

Re: $1800 nightmare

We need more info. What kind of boat, motor, is there a trailer?
Of course pics would be great.

 

[coolbri70]

Re: $1800 nightmare

you could get a manual and some wrenches and see for yourself if its really done, low compression could just be a head gasket or set of rings away from being back in business

 

[Mikeyboy]

Re: $1800 nightmare

Without more info it's hard to say. It really sucks that your first experience has started off so badly. I can relate sort of. My first boat I got for about $400 and put about $600 into it before getting it on the water for the first and only time. The floor turned out to be rotten, the motor ran real rough and was extremely hard to start and could probably have been tuned to run better but on my first time on the water about ten min into the day the tiller handle broke off in my hand. It sucked but I learned a lot as far as what to look for and to do more research before buying. As coolbri said just because a mechanic said the motor is toast doesn't mean it really is. There are a lot of mechanics that don't like working on the older motors and will just tell you it's junk so they don't have to work on it. Even if it is junk that's no reason to toss the hull if it is in good condition. If the hull is in marginal shape than you may want to cut your losses, but without more details and preferably pics it's hard to say for sure.

 

[roscoe]

Re: $1800 nightmare

Any suggestions as to what I should do now?

Do I keep the boat and wait until I can repower it?

I had plans on removing oxidation from the hull, new interior and floor repair.. Do I continue to work on these side projects to keep my sanity?

I needed to learn this lesson What lesson did you learn?

But will say buffing the exterior and removing oxidation help keep my sanity ??

Lots of questions, and a dozen more in the other threads you have going.

Keep it all in one place.

Your Force is not a short shaft motor, as they did not make one in that hp.

Could be a headgasket, $50, and a water pump, another $40.

Could be a rebuild, $300-$2000 depending on the damage and who does the work.

The tilt and trim unit stays with the motor, so the Force tilt will not work on the Johnson (or any other) motor.

The controls and cables are motor specific as well.

No, working on the hull will only drive you mad.



Did you mix the appropriate oil, in the correct ratio, into the gas tank, before you used the boat?

Have a competent mechanic pull the head and assess the damage and cause.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: $1800 nightmare

if you have $1800 in a boat motor trailer I'd guess the motor isn't worth fixing. And if you haven't rebuilt one before, don't think you can with a manual and a set of wrenches.

However how can we give you advice with no specifics but "boat" "toast" and "done"?

 

[BonairII]

Re: $1800 nightmare

You're obviously frustrated and disappointed(and for good reason). Take a breath and try to relax.

You need to post what motor/yr you have....and what exactly happened to make your motor "toast".

 

[rrt2b2010]

Re: $1800 nightmare

The boat is a 1989 maxum 18ft.. The floor has some soft spots and the interior needw replaced. I purchased it knowing it would need some work.. (STUPID NEWBIE) When I started the motor, it turned over so fast and smooth.. I was very impressed. But when I got it in the water it was not spitting water.. but I read that the that motor did not have a traditional tell tale. so I was not concerned. I noticed that with 4 adults on board I was barely able to get upto 30 mph.. The motor did run great but after I shut it off it got harder to start. then it just died. would turn over fine but would not fire. the motor is a 1989 Force 85HP.. I have a buddy that is a certified mechanic and he told me to bring it to him so he can open it up and assess the damage. He said it may not be as bad as I think. I will post some pics when I pick up the boat this week.. I appreciate all of your input.. This is a crappy situation..... I am not jaded

 

[coolbri70]

Re: $1800 nightmare

did you mix 2 stroke oil with your gas? put a few drops of oil in the cylinder and do another compression test"wet test" if the compression increases its likely to be the piston rings, compression aids combustion it may be firing but not igniteing, a match tossed into a can of gas will go out, the slightest spark near fumes, kaboom! w/ the given info my guess, it overheated, probably need waterpump and rings + gaskets maybe machine work , bearings. just a guess cant be sure without opening it up

 

[Alumarine]

Re: $1800 nightmare

If it's an 18 foot fiberglass boat with an 85hp, it's probably not going to go faster that 30mph with 4 people in it.
I'm surprised it went that fast.
That would indicate to me the motor was probably running "ok" for a bit anyways.

 

[rickryder]

Re: $1800 nightmare

And with a soft deck I would think the foam has some water in it making the boat heavy.... plus the rotten stringers bulkheads and transom....that could be possible also....

If you want to keep her and rebuild we will help ya out! Start with the motor to see what that wil cost to get running....then we'll look at the hull to see what that's all about... Good Luck

 

[nlain]

Re: $1800 nightmare

You bought a project boat, project got a little bigger, sounds like the friend can help you out with the engine. Let the friend have the engine to work on in his spare time, no rush cause you are going to be rebuilding the boat, right. There are a lot of folks in the restoration forums that will gladly help guide you through the restoration.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: $1800 nightmare

Sucks right now, but use it as an opportunity to learn. Not just throwing it away and learning not to do that again, but tearing into it and learning boat restoration. Sounds like you bought it knowing you'd have to put some work into it. That situation hasn't changed, you now have the opportunity to learn a bit about motors (could be helpfull if not lucrative later on) as well as boat work. Let's see some pictures and get started on the resto. You won't get your money back out of it, but you can sure have the pride of rebuilding it and the enjoyment of using it. Good luck.

 

[Philster]

Re: $1800 nightmare

I'll guess she overheated. Runs okay, gets hot then loses power.

When you boat the boat, did you change the water pump/impeller?

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: $1800 nightmare

89 maxum with an 89 force, both in bad shape, and an underpowered boat--I think I wouldn't put any money into it. If the motor can be fixed for <$200 I'd fix the motor, run it this summer, then decide in the fall whether you want to redo the boat or start over. If you really like the boat, instead of putting $600 into that motor, buy a used motor w/ higher HP for $1500 (I don't know the boat so I can't say what HP).

the primary question is your objective--do you want to be boating this summer, or working on the boat this summer while others are boating? I think boating's more fun than working on them.

Don't beat yourself up for being new to boating. The same thing could happen with a $10,000 boat. You're lucky; you got in cheap; you can get out cheap, if you act now.

while you're chewing on it, go launch the boat and see how it floats empty. if it floats low, your foam is saturated. That would be a deal breaker for me.

 

[rrt2b2010]

Re: $1800 nightmare

I love this forum... Very helpful.. the boating community is an awesome place to be... Do you think an 1989 maxum is worth restoring? Deck, stringers, interior? I would rather not put wood back on the deck. maybe using something else. I know that newer boats have more of a plastic like floor in them. Duckhunterjon is right about the learning experience. but I am wondering if restoring a maxum boat is worth it because im already $1800 in.. or is it like restoring a PINTO ?

 

[rrt2b2010]

Re: $1800 nightmare

No.. I didnt change the impeller or water pump because the guy took the boat out the weekend before I bought it.. I guess the pump and/or impeller failed between then and the week I bought it..

 

[rrt2b2010]

Re: $1800 nightmare

Can the bulkhead be rotten in a fiberglass boat? I know about the stringers and transom but had no idea about the bulkheads..

 

[bashr52]

Re: $1800 nightmare

Don't beat yourself up to bad. I bought my boat 2 springs ago for $1000. 1980 Imperial with a 75 horse chrysler. I noticed one soft spot in the floor when looking it over, and the starter was burnt out so I couldnt hear it run (first and second mistakes). Boat had paperwork trailer didnt. The seller was there with 2 of his buddies and they all swore up and down they had just run it the previous season until they flooded it and burnt out the starter trying to get it going again. I had just sold my old boat, had money in my pocket, and the other half liked the look and style. The plus was new paint and interior.

Long story short, the overheat buzzer had aparently been going off at some point, and to fix it they simply disconnected it. I spent the money on a new water pump, head gasket, and rings before finding out, the block go so hot it cracked between the bottom 2 cylinders. I ended up getting a good 85 horse top end off ebay, swapped over my new headgasket, and I was up and running. Still going strong today with great compressions.

Then I got into the floor and found EVERYTHING rotten all the way down to the stringers........... Looked to me like the boat had been sink once before......

Basicly I missed a whole summer of boating just chasing issues.