Repair Vs Buying a new boat

[kelz1229]

I have an 87 Invader with a 88hp evinrude. Basically what happened was in September we had a nasty storm and while at work my boat cover blew off and my boat filled with water. By the time I got to the boat, the back had already been filled all the way up with water (engine did NOT go under), but I stupidly left the battery hooked up and by morning, most of the wires running in to the fuse box had broken in half and had some greenish clay like material in there as well. Obviously I will have to have the wiring done if I want this to work this season.

My question is if anyone had ever had this happen and know what the price would run, being I bought the boat for 1500 I dont think I want to go through the hassal if it's a $2k job to get fixed. Id rather finance a new boat and just become more responsible in not leaving the battery hooked up!

I called two repair shops near me but they cannot give me an estimate without looking at the boat first.

 

[infideltarget]

Re: Repair Vs Buying a new boat

I have an 87 Invader with a 88hp evinrude. Basically what happened was in September we had a nasty storm and while at work my boat cover blew off and my boat filled with water. By the time I got to the boat, the back had already been filled all the way up with water (engine did NOT go under), but I stupidly left the battery hooked up and by morning, most of the wires running in to the fuse box had broken in half and had some greenish clay like material in there as well. Obviously I will have to have the wiring done if I want this to work this season.

My question is if anyone had ever had this happen and know what the price would run, being the I bought the boat for 1500 I dont think I want to go through the hassal if it's a $2k job to get fixed. Id rather finance a new boat and just become more responsible in not leaving the battery hooked up!

I called two repair shops near me but the bozos cannot give me an estimate without looking at the boat first.

No one in their right mind would give you an estimate on electrical repair without looking at it first. Coming from an extensive background in automotive repair, I can attest to the fact that can be very time consuming work to trace down and repair wiring issues. They most likely will quote you a $/hour figure and give you a minimum amount it will cost.

 

[infideltarget]

Re: Repair Vs Buying a new boat

Beyond that, I had an '84 Invader 19'. IMO...you should remove the engine, and junk the hull or part it out. Find a slightly more modern hull design. My Invader rode like crap compared to my only 6 year newer Four Winns hull.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Repair Vs Buying a new boat

No one in their right mind would give you an estimate on electrical repair without looking at it first. Coming from an extensive background in automotive repair, I can attest to the fact that can be very time consuming work to trace down and repair wiring issues. They most likely will quote you a $/hour figure and give you a minimum amount it will cost.

+1 I agree completely

 

[kelz1229]

Re: Repair Vs Buying a new boat

Well it was my first year owning a boat, and I have never had any shop work. You could quote me $500 or $5000 and I wouldn't know the difference. I wasn't looking for an exact dollar price. I was more so looking if this was going to cost a couple hundred versus a couple thousand sort of thing. I figured someone out there must have made the same dummy mistake I did!

 

[cr2k]

Re: Repair Vs Buying a new boat

You really need to take it to someone for a real estimate and decide for yourself if that boat is worth your time and money. If it's the perfect boat for you or one you wish you could change will also weigh in on it.

Get a few estimates with a minimum cost to fix and go from there.

 

[infideltarget]

Re: Repair Vs Buying a new boat

Well it was my first year owning a boat, and I have never had any shop work. You could quote me $500 or $5000 and I wouldn't know the difference. I wasn't looking for an exact dollar price. I was more so looking if this was going to cost a couple hundred versus a couple thousand sort of thing. I figured someone out there must have made the same dummy mistake I did!

count it as a learning experience, cut your losses, and start over. been there done that. you learn something new with each boating purchase. maybe one day I will learn how to fit a Four Winns 310BR into my budget and garage..........

 

[kelz1229]

Re: Repair Vs Buying a new boat

maybe one day I will learn how to fit a Four Winns 310BR into my budget and garage..........

Staying single helped me afford a 46 sony bravia, xbox 360, new car, and two beautiful siberian huskies. Just saying.

 

[cr2k]

Re: Repair Vs Buying a new boat

I would imagine it would be more than a few hundred. If the wire corrosion is just at the terminals they could be cut back (wire length permitting) and new ends installed. If it extended along with black wire to the whole harness it could be thousands.

 

[infideltarget]

Re: Repair Vs Buying a new boat

Staying single helped me afford a 46 sony bravia, xbox 360, new car, and two beautiful siberian huskies. Just saying.

hehe. lets not get into comparing who's got what. I would have you beat by a long shot, and thats with 16+ years of marriage and two kids...and I am quite positive there are many on here who would have no trouble out-doing me. no one ever wins in the "who has the most toys" game...someone ALWAYS has bigger, better, newer, faster, more, or more expensive.....that's one thing I have learned.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Repair Vs Buying a new boat

well first thing to get wired is a bilge pump. Every boat should have one, and absolutely one that's moored.

Here's how I'd look at it, and I am a big fixer rather than replacer:

Do you have a solid reliable motor, or is it on its last legs? If the latter, since you will be repowering soon, start over.
Do you like your hull and is it a good fit for your use, and in relatively good condition? The reason I repowered a 1988 boat in rough condition was because I liked the hull for my particular use, and didn't want to chunk out $3000 to replace it.
If your boat is in otherwise good condition, go price ones of similar age, size and motor, and understand you are buying someone else's problems, instead of keeping your own.
To rewire--consider first going to a knowlegable "small shop" because the big shops have big rates, work by the book hours, and will cost you a lot. Go to someone you can tailor-make your repair.

Your wiring harness from motor to controls should be OK. All you need to have the guy do is "rewire" the lights and bilge pump. Probably all they need is new ends, a new block and possibly new switches. For example, they shouldn't need to replace the wire from the bow light to the block.
Talk to the guy about why a swamped boat's wiring turned green, especially in fresh (rain) water . I've had my share of swamped boats, and green wiring, but not related--I'm in salt air and water. But add a battery switch so you can cut off the battery from the wiring to prevent this or slow electrical leaks in the future.
Do it soon before the repair shops get busy.

 

[infideltarget]

Re: Repair Vs Buying a new boat

well first thing to get wired is a bilge pump. Every boat should have one, and absolutely one that's moored.

Here's how I'd look at it, and I am a big fixer rather than replacer:

Do you have a solid reliable motor, or is it on its last legs? If the latter, since you will be repowering soon, start over.
Do you like your hull and is it a good fit for your use, and in relatively good condition? The reason I repowered a 1988 boat in rough condition was because I liked the hull for my particular use, and didn't want to chunk out $3000 to replace it.
If your boat is in otherwise good condition, go price ones of similar age, size and motor, and understand you are buying someone else's problems, instead of keeping your own.
To rewire--consider first going to a knowlegable "small shop" because the big shops have big rates, work by the book hours, and will cost you a lot. Go to someone you can tailor-make your repair.

Your wiring harness from motor to controls should be OK. All you need to have the guy do is "rewire" the lights and bilge pump. Probably all they need is new ends, a new block and possibly new switches. For example, they shouldn't need to replace the wire from the bow light to the block.
Talk to the guy about why a swamped boat's wiring turned green, especially in fresh (rain) water . I've had my share of swamped boats, and green wiring, but not related--I'm in salt air and water. But add a battery switch so you can cut off the battery from the wiring to prevent this or slow electrical leaks in the future.
Do it soon before the repair shops get busy.

all good advice. the green wiring's most likely cause is long periods of excessive heat build up, causing the copper inside to expand, then the cold water on the outside would not allow the insulation to expand in a similar fashion. once exsposed to air, hot copper will oxidize (turn green) very quickly. this was likely a problem that has been around for a while, but was just made worse by the rain water flooding it and causing more dead shorts. a short will not always cause circuit breakers or fuses to pop. if the current draw is less than what the interrupter is rated at, the wires will continue to carry current until broken. I suggested starting over because it is VERY unlikely that the wires are corroded in just that one spot. If they are green, it is likely they are green the entire lenght, which will cause upped resistance, and increased heat along the entire circuit, which is dangerous.

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Repair Vs Buying a new boat

Our SeaRay doesn't have a motor in it right now and I'm doing a cost/benefit analysis as I look at a possible repower this Spring. Math-wise, we could probably recoup the expense, but I may have a survey done to see if the hull is worth the expense of a repower. I'm also adding a sentimental factor to the equation since it was our first boat and the wife's baby.

Sometimes the only cost effective way to do the repair is to do it yourself. If you don't have the resources to do that, then it may become someone else's project boat.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Repair Vs Buying a new boat

Our SeaRay doesn't have a motor in it right now and I'm doing a cost/benefit analysis as I look at a possible repower this Spring......

No analysis needed....just DOOOOO IT!!

kelz1229, if I was going to quote you for that job I would only quote you a remove and replace of the entire wiring harness as a whole, I would not feel comfortable letting you leave my place of business without knowing for sure you would not be left stranded, that's my opinion but I am sure you will be able to find someone locally that will do exactly what you want I just have no idea how much were looking at

Good luck though

 

[JoLin]

Re: Repair Vs Buying a new boat

kelz1229, if I was going to quote you for that job I would only quote you a remove and replace of the entire wiring harness as a whole,

I think that's the best advice for a 24-year-old boat that already has some major electrical issues. Get a quote to replace all of it and decide from there. A boat the size of the OP's (I'm guessing based on 88 hp) isn't going to have a ridiculous amount of wiring in it.

My .02

 

[mphy98]

Re: Repair Vs Buying a new boat

I would fix it if you like the boat. As stated before, you probably only need to rewire the lights. The engine wiring should be ok. It does not take a rocket scientist to install a new fuse block and follow colored wiring.