boat owners: past and present

I've had 2 of these, an 88 and a 89; one with a force 120 one with a 125. I bought the 88 for $700, got it running cleaned it up and sold for $2k and bought the other. Sold that and bought my current boat, we were out on it yesterday. A few things I learned: people say "let the force be with you, but never behind you", I say "bollocks". The force isn't near as reliable as a newer outboard but it's pretty reliable if you can tinker and work on it yourself. I made the mistake of believing the previous owner when he told me he just replaced the water pump. He did, but it must have been years earlier and I ended up overheating and blowing a head gasket. Not horrible, but a good lesson. My advice: spend $35 and put a new water pump in it. And, since there's no temp gauge, get a $50 water pressure gauge. There is a plug on top of the engine you can put a nipple in and run the pressure line to a gauge in the dash. It's the best peace of mind I've ever had in a boat; other than a second battery... One more thing: the cdi boxes on the force seem to go bad, I bought a blown 125 years ago and have most of the spare parts, if you ever need any, ping me. The mid 80's bayliners weren't very good boats, but for the money they got me on the water and I've had a blast. Lower end boat beats no boat in my mind and I can't afford $60k!

 

Boats and women... you have to get em wet before committing! :FL:

 

Best days owning a boat are the first day you buy it and the day you sell it. Good luck with your purchase. I used to have an 08 18ft deep V lund fish/ski model.

 

Last year I picked up a "project boat" (talk about two scary words!). 1998 bayliner 1750. The owner lived on a nearby river, bought it new, and put about 50 hours on it. He passed, but a raccoon had eaten the ENTIRE interior. And it wouldn't turn over. But the hull was spotless! (I'm a glass half full kind of guy)

Cleaned up the starter and reran the plug wires (they were backwards) and it fired right up! A trip to MN found many of the needed cushions. I got handy with an upholstery air nailer and I've used a local shop to make the remainder of the seats, and built a teak ski locker cover. I've got about $3k in it. It runs like a top, maxes out at about 44 (with new to me ss prop), and the kids think its the coolest thing since sliced bread.

Don't listen to the negative Nancys! Find something that works for you and keep up on the preventative maintenance.

 

I owned a 25' 1985 seeray with an inboard motor, after that boat I'll never buy an inboard again they are a PITA to work on. If i get a boat again I want a center console with twin 2stroke outboards

 

Every marine mechanic around here would agree with you. Yamaha motors keep them quite busy...

 

Mercury Verado six cyl!

best there is.

 

Strange. I've had a slew of them, from the old two strokes, to the HPDIs and the four strokes... NEVER had a problem.

I have been stranded by a Mercury though. And dead in the water 75 miles offshore with a Suzuki.

 

any of you guys heard of an outboard company called 7marine, out of florida?

looks like the best of both worlds for me.

 

Yes, 557 hp outboards, but I have yet to too any outside of a boatshow , Intrepid here in St Pete is using them as an option, it's a 1000 pound outboard but it would seem to make sense using 2 557's instead of 3 300's or 3 350's.

 

I have 3 300s on my donzi.
each weigh 660lbs

I am thinking about using 2 7marines on them instead....i am sure with a bit of "massaging" those 557 numbers can be go a lot higher...it is basically a stock cts-v motor!

three of those would be amazing, but i dont thing 3k lb pound of drag would be fun.

 

All solid advice.

Todd for the money, you won't go wrong, but don't expect much more than a tool around boat out of the Bayliner with the Force motor.

As others have said, check the stringers and floor boards for rot, check the transom, and compression test the motor. If it all checks out, I'd pull the trigger for that amount of money.

I'm happy to help if you need someone to come check it out for you.

 

Your first problem is the Donzi. You can't hang 150k in motors off a 75k hull. HAHA.

The 557's are amazing, but I'm not sold yet. The new HS 42 with trip 557's is amazing, but the top end was a little disappointing, and the fuel burn #'s are truly proven yet.

 

Interesting topic as I've been eyeing bass boats to get into the water with. Something like one of these:

http://fredericksburg.craigslist.org/boa/4469871285.html
http://fredericksburg.craigslist.org/boa/4468693284.html


I'd imagine something like the bass tracker is a little more bullet proof due to the construction of the hull and if I need a new motor, I have tons of options. Though admittingly I want something a touch bigger...

 

if you can get me a new zfx for 75 sans motor, i will buy two.

just the base hull (nothing else on it) is right under 80.

The HS 42 is not a center console boat right? you really cant do a lot of fishing with those. why take that turd out when i can just take the MTI out.

 

Todd,
I had a 21ft carolina skiff I sold 2 years ago, which I used for striper fishing at lanier. It was the modified V skiff so it wasn't a 100% flat hull which helped a lot on rough waters. It was a great fishing boat, very wide boat, high walls (kids safe) and great on gas. I had Mercury 2 stroke optimax 135hp which is one of the best 2 strokes ever made. no smoke, no oil issues. Four strokes are nice, but they are much heavier. I loved the boat, my wife hated it.

 

The HS 42 is technically a CC, although it's effing massive, and has 2 row helm seating. It's a great hull, very dry, usable, and fishable, but I'm not paying 800k for a CC with 3 557's.

The MTI's and such are cool, but not my speed. We love to fish, and dive.

I'll be back in the market for another trip engine later this year, and I'm doing my best to avoid the v-rats again.

 

my donzi is supposed to be a 38 but feels a bit bigger.
I cant deal with the front end of the HS 42. I need space when i am fishing!
The MTI is all about speed...it is the superbike of the boat world...it is impractical, it is loud, it is hot, it guzzles fuel....but it is more fun than any other boat ever can be. it cruises like what most boats do in the no wake zones.

"slow down, let the helicopters catch up" has been used a few times.

 

You are a silly man, Sir. I hung out with some guys on a 39 SeeVee this past weekend, and that boat seemed very fishable. The quad v-rats barley fit on the transom.