Repowering

[JEBar]

back in the dark ages when I was much younger the prevailing wisdom seemed to be that when an outboard needed to be replaced, it was a far better practice to move on to another boat.... with the level of boats we have owned over the years, the majority of the cost of buying a new boat resulted from the cost of the outboard .... I well remember being told by various dealers if you put a new motor on an old boat, the depreciated value of the boat would pull down the value of the motor .... guess they could have just said that to sell new boats but it did have a ring of truth to it .... under what circumstances do you think it makes sense to put a new high dollar motor on a boat that has been around a while ?

Jim

 

[acarter92]

Re: Repowering

For me to put a new motor on an old boat.... I think I would either have to have an emotional attachment, or that boat would have to be really nice.

I think if you had a hull that was worth $500 and put a $8,000 motor on it you be very luck for $3,000-$4,000 before you even broke it in. So IMO it would only be worth it if I knew I was going to have the boat for a while also. Most people don't keep a boat very long.

There also isn't anything wrong with pulling the motor and selling it seperately or putting it on the next boat.

Just my 2 cents,
Austin

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Repowering

depends if you want something with a warranty that is going to be reliable, or if you want to take the risk of buying someone elses junk. In my case, I had a 26 foot pontoon that needed a new engine. The pontoon without the engine was probably worth $2000-$2500 or so. To buy a comparable used pontoon with a 2 stroke, the price was $6k to $8k. A new 4 stroke engine was $7500. So my choices were spend up to $6000 to buy the used 2 stroke pontoon in unknown condition, or add another $1500 bucks to the deal and get a factory fresh 4 stroke merc with warranty.

If you are worrying about resale value with a boat, its time to find another hobby!

 

[JEBar]

Re: Repowering

For me to put a new motor on an old boat.... I think I would either have to have an emotional attachment, or that boat would have to be really nice.

Austin

that is exactly the line of thinking I was talking about in the opening post .... it would take me a while to sit down and count all of the different boats I've owned over the last 50+ years (some were highly forgettable) .... in all that time the boat we have now is the only one I've liked well enough to ever consider repowering .... on the other hand, I have a brother-in-law who has an aluminum fishing boat that is on its third new outboard

Jim

 

[eng208]

Re: Repowering

It depends on how you look at the boat and how much time and effort you put into your current boat. For my family, I spent two years looking for a deck boat that was in good condition, had plenty of space (26'), a great layout, and ride smoothly with performance we would never grow tired of. I finally found a boat with all the above and within our budget. A new boat like that would run me about 45K. I bought the above with everything I could ask for except power wash down for 7K. Granted, it is 20 years old, a Bayliner, and has a few issues. But, on the whole, the boat is what I want, I can fix the issues over the next year, do a few things like add a power wash down on the rear entry, nice bimini, and a few other things as the budget allows. If I eventually need to repower, I will instead of buying another unknown boat and having to start over. So, in my opinion, I think for someone that has a boat layout like they want, and has put work into that boat making it exactly right and knows it well, I think a repower makes sense instead of buying another unknown. The exception to that is when someone has a really big budget and can go buy a new one instead of another used boat. It is not always about limiting money to what you think you could sell the item at. Even buying used, you would have to buy it and add absolutely no money to it, and still get it for a screaming deal to turn around and get your money out of it. A repower would really suck though if a year later the hull developed irrepairable damage.

 

[acarter92]

Re: Repowering

If you are worrying about resale value with a boat, its time to find another hobby!

Ain't that the truth, I've made money on cars, trucks, dirt bikes, four wheelers, etc... and used them alot before I sold them, but I've never come close to making money on a boat

Austin

 

[JEBar]

Re: Repowering

Ain't that the truth,

Austin

yep .... dead on .... the only exception for me was back in the 70's when I did break even on one which I bought from a fellow going through a divorce .... kept it a few months and sold it for about what I had in it

Jim

 

[JB]

Re: Repowering

I have repowered several "old" boats with new outboards and been completely satisfied.

However, I would not have done that if the boats were anything other than Boston Whalers. Whalers don't get old, they merely acquire greater desirability like classic cars. Maybe they don't qualify for JEBar's question.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Repowering

Spend $13K on a new motor or $95K on a new boat. Easy decision

 

[JEBar]

Re: Repowering

Spend $13K on a new motor or $95K on a new boat. Easy decision

wow .... such numbers aren't common to my world ..

Jim

 

[acarter92]

Re: Repowering

I have repowered several "old" boats with new outboards and been completely satisfied.

However, I would not have done that if the boats were anything other than Boston Whalers. Whalers don't get old, they merely acquire greater desirability like classic cars. Maybe they don't qualify for JEBar's question.

Whalers don't count, the boat has to be breakable to qualify

Austin

 

[JEBar]

Re: Repowering

There also isn't anything wrong with pulling the motor and selling it seperately or putting it on the next boat.

Just my 2 cents,
Austin

sometimes it is easy to overlook something simple .... if a person did purchase a new motor to repower a boat and something happed to the boat, they could take that motor and put it on another boat .... for the sizes of boats we use it would be much cheaper to have a good motor and buy a good boat to put it on than to have a good boat and find a good motor to put on it

Jim

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Repowering

... when an outboard needed to be replaced, it was a far better practice to move on to another boat... under what circumstances do you think it makes sense to put a new high dollar motor on a boat that has been around a while?

Is this a hypothetical question?

If this relates to a actual motor, what size are we talking about and why does it need to be replaced?
Stolen? Damaged? Running Poorly?
Is having the motor repaired another option?

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Repowering

I am on my 3rd Repowered Boat. and loved them all. 1994 115hp Evinrude on a 1957 LoneStar..A 1996 454Mercruiser with a BravoIII in the Wellcraft and a beast of a small block Chevy in the Glastron this year.All new. It has not made alot of financial sense but alot of enjoyment .I have been towed in from the lake a total of 5 times over 29 years. I boat 3 days a week.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Repowering

You know, it probably boils down to what you can afford. If I had a boat that I liked, and the OB on that boat "pooched" - I'd probably replace it with what I could afford. If I could afford a brand new motor and wanted a brand new motor, maybe I'd buy one. If all I could afford was a used motor, then that's what I would get.

Would I buy a whole new boat just 'cause I toasted a motor (OB, I/O or otherwise)? No, I don't think so. Would I buy a 2012 Mercury OB to mount on the back of a 1970 tri-hull in semi-decent shape? No, I probably wouldn't do that either. I'd probably try to match a "new to me" motor with my "old to me" boat.

Now, if I just plain wanted a new boat ...

 

[JEBar]

Re: Repowering

Is this a hypothetical question?

more like a thinking down the road question .... our current Sea Pro is the only boat that I've ever owned that I would consider repowering .... to put it simply, it has proven to be the perfect boat for our use .... I hope the OEM motor last longer than I do but its the if it doesn't thoughts that prompted me to ask the question .... should something happen to the boat or should our needs/wants change it may well no longer be a consideration

Jim

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Repowering

around here, people repower old hulls all the time. It's like the whaler comments--you start with a good hull, the kind made for outdoor use, and it lasts forever. We don't have the fresh-water lake boat rot issues I hear about here, and I suspect that the reason some people would upgrade the hull is because the carpet and uphostelry and fittings are shot, or tired. Not an issue if you don't have them, or the small amount is easy to upgrade.

they made some great fiberglass hulls in the 70's and they are still on the water. Sea Ox, Aquasport, Penn Yan, Grady, Wellcraft, Seacraft and of course whalers. Even the cheap prolines and privateers last. Tinnies stick around but some, the interior can get worn out and salt water can take its toll. The mid-range fiberglass hulls from the 80's and 90's are fine, too--probably better than the merc/omc's made then.

Isn't the question too open-ended; the old "what does 'boat' mean?" By analogy you'd repower a landcruiser but not a taurus; a center console but not a sofa boat.

 

[zlman1970]

Re: Repowering

Ain't that the truth, I've made money on cars, trucks, dirt bikes, four wheelers, etc... and used them alot before I sold them, but I've never come close to making money on a boat

Austin

You sir are a dirty rotten liar
I've owned every toy a boy could want over the years, never made a single penny off any of them, usually lost on the deals.

 

[82rude]

Re: Repowering

for me it was a no brainer.i wanted a newer motor but i love my woody .at this point in my life you couldnt pay me to have anything else.starcaft and whalers included,lol.so my beautiful 40 plus year old baby has a new 60 etec proudly sitting on the back and i couldnt be happier.

 

[catfish58]

Re: Repowering

Ain't that the truth, I've made money on cars, trucks, dirt bikes, four wheelers, etc... and used them alot before I sold them, but I've never come close to making money on a boat

Austin

I didn't make money on my first boat,1972 fiberglass Monark tri hull with a 1976 Johnson 70 hp, but I didn' lose money ether. I bought it for $700,used it for 4 years and sold it for $700. the only expense was normal operating cost and normal maintenance.