Im about to take the plunge and go from a 15' sunbird with no cabin and a single outboard to something that can tolerate ocean waves more and can even be an overnighter, Ive been looking at 20-26 or so foot bayliners (ciera etc), sea rays etc, basically cruisers, nothing younger than 1990 due to budget constraints. My sunbird was a 1988 but after redoing all the upholstery electronics etc it was a great little boat. I dont mind fixing things up + replacing them but i need to know the boat will last before i invest in it.
Now i have tons of questions that I need to figure out.
-i used to keep the 15' and trailer in a garage all the time, no fading or weather issues to deal with. obviously 25' wont fit in a garage, how would i winterize it? does everyone take their larger boats to storage somewhere where theyre inside in 30 degree weather? or it it enough to just winterize the engine (inboard different than my outboard?) and gas and find some kind of thick tarp to cover the entire boat for winter? i take it the shrink wrap thing cant be done by yourself? would this be enough to keep floors from rotting etc and keep moisture out till lets say may each year? what about the trailer? ive seen boats on bricks in front of houses, is it a bad idea to leave trailer/tires out all winter? dont want to invest in new set each year. what are the benefits of having at least a single roof over the boat and no walls like a garage? is it absolutely necessary? i would never leave the boat with nothing on it all year ive seen the fading that causes seems pointless but it would be a pain to cover it after every use for lets say 4 months that its used a year, so just leave it uncovered in the rain + sun?
-which brings me to the engine, my outboards were not very reliable (johnson) with starting etc and i had to switch between them. are inboards more reliable (in salt water)? cant really take off an inboard and put on another one so the only thing that can be done is a rebuild right if theres a problem? i see all these ebay ads saying new inboard or just had it rebuilt or the outdrive rebuilt, it seems like an expensive thing but how often do things go wrong on inboards? (on average, i know things cant be predicted) are we talking every 5 yrs, 2 yrs? are all inboards cooled by fresh water where salt water doesnt go internally? with an outboard i knew where the single gas line was and everything was in plain sight tank inside motor outside seemed safer. the things that im worried about with inboards are seals/water getting into boat, having the inboard leak gas or other fluids into boat, the attachment of engine to hull if fiberglass- rot etc. am i overanalyzing this? are inboards longer lasting like car engines than outboards with less maintenance? are there higher or lower maintenance/repair costs? engine brands to avoid?
i always had a 2nd emergency motor in case main one died, which it did. with inboards a second motor is not really an option i take it and on these boats you go further and out to sea more, what backup can you have if main motor fails? or are the inboards much more reliable?
-the one thing that always worries me with older boats is floors and fiberglass deteriorating, soft spots etc, too bad they cant all be metal hull. if i check for soft spots visually and go ahead and buy lets say a 1987 boat in 2007, how long can i expect it to last ( i assume things like rot in the floors, fiberglass cant be fixed if its large, structural areas)
-what other things should i look for when inspecting a potential boat to buy besides soft spots and cracks in hull? boat brands to avoid?
-never had a boat with an oven, range, toilet etc. are these complicated to maintain? probably wouldnt use them just the toilet so they can just be unplugged? as for the power i still cant figure out how the AC works, mine had 2 batteries one of which charged i assume by the outboard, the other with a little electric motor for emergencies that didnt charge, always had issues with running radio, etc when engine off draining the battery. how do all the accessories operate on a larger boat, from how much the battery is charged when engine runs or its a more complicated longer lasting thing?
-do these larger boats require a lot more depth before being grounded? with the little runabout i used to be able to go really shallow and even beach it no problem, but with these i take it staying away from the beach is the way to go?
-what would be a safe size/weight boat to tow behind a ford expedition 4.6L- 8,300 lb (3,800 kg) towing capacity? any special handling issues coming from a 15' boat besides being real careful? do all trailers for this size boats come with brakes? sounds like theyre necessary, any opinions?
well thats just a few things i can think of right now, id really appreciate ANY input at all as id like to make this happen this summer, thanks guys!
Now i have tons of questions that I need to figure out.
-i used to keep the 15' and trailer in a garage all the time, no fading or weather issues to deal with. obviously 25' wont fit in a garage, how would i winterize it? does everyone take their larger boats to storage somewhere where theyre inside in 30 degree weather? or it it enough to just winterize the engine (inboard different than my outboard?) and gas and find some kind of thick tarp to cover the entire boat for winter? i take it the shrink wrap thing cant be done by yourself? would this be enough to keep floors from rotting etc and keep moisture out till lets say may each year? what about the trailer? ive seen boats on bricks in front of houses, is it a bad idea to leave trailer/tires out all winter? dont want to invest in new set each year. what are the benefits of having at least a single roof over the boat and no walls like a garage? is it absolutely necessary? i would never leave the boat with nothing on it all year ive seen the fading that causes seems pointless but it would be a pain to cover it after every use for lets say 4 months that its used a year, so just leave it uncovered in the rain + sun?
-which brings me to the engine, my outboards were not very reliable (johnson) with starting etc and i had to switch between them. are inboards more reliable (in salt water)? cant really take off an inboard and put on another one so the only thing that can be done is a rebuild right if theres a problem? i see all these ebay ads saying new inboard or just had it rebuilt or the outdrive rebuilt, it seems like an expensive thing but how often do things go wrong on inboards? (on average, i know things cant be predicted) are we talking every 5 yrs, 2 yrs? are all inboards cooled by fresh water where salt water doesnt go internally? with an outboard i knew where the single gas line was and everything was in plain sight tank inside motor outside seemed safer. the things that im worried about with inboards are seals/water getting into boat, having the inboard leak gas or other fluids into boat, the attachment of engine to hull if fiberglass- rot etc. am i overanalyzing this? are inboards longer lasting like car engines than outboards with less maintenance? are there higher or lower maintenance/repair costs? engine brands to avoid?
i always had a 2nd emergency motor in case main one died, which it did. with inboards a second motor is not really an option i take it and on these boats you go further and out to sea more, what backup can you have if main motor fails? or are the inboards much more reliable?
-the one thing that always worries me with older boats is floors and fiberglass deteriorating, soft spots etc, too bad they cant all be metal hull. if i check for soft spots visually and go ahead and buy lets say a 1987 boat in 2007, how long can i expect it to last ( i assume things like rot in the floors, fiberglass cant be fixed if its large, structural areas)
-what other things should i look for when inspecting a potential boat to buy besides soft spots and cracks in hull? boat brands to avoid?
-never had a boat with an oven, range, toilet etc. are these complicated to maintain? probably wouldnt use them just the toilet so they can just be unplugged? as for the power i still cant figure out how the AC works, mine had 2 batteries one of which charged i assume by the outboard, the other with a little electric motor for emergencies that didnt charge, always had issues with running radio, etc when engine off draining the battery. how do all the accessories operate on a larger boat, from how much the battery is charged when engine runs or its a more complicated longer lasting thing?
-do these larger boats require a lot more depth before being grounded? with the little runabout i used to be able to go really shallow and even beach it no problem, but with these i take it staying away from the beach is the way to go?
-what would be a safe size/weight boat to tow behind a ford expedition 4.6L- 8,300 lb (3,800 kg) towing capacity? any special handling issues coming from a 15' boat besides being real careful? do all trailers for this size boats come with brakes? sounds like theyre necessary, any opinions?
well thats just a few things i can think of right now, id really appreciate ANY input at all as id like to make this happen this summer, thanks guys!
