Keep fishing or cut bait and run

[ufm82]

Re: Keep fishing or cut bait and run

The nagging question- what happened to the original ride??? I have to know what spurred the acquisition of the new ride. Was is terminal??? Or just expensive???

UFM82

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Keep fishing or cut bait and run

Congrats on the new boat. It is an awesome one for sure. I hope someone fixes or repowers your old one as it was a real beauty.

 

[wbc1957]

Re: Keep fishing or cut bait and run

wbc1957, that was exactly the difficult decision we were faced with. She is still a gorgeous boat and I've had many friends say that its the nicest riding boat they've been on. The thing that weighed on us the most was sure, we can get it fixed, but then what next. When I bought the boat, I knew little to nothing about boats, it just looked like it was really in good shape. However, its biggest drawback was that it was an OMC 800. After doing a little bit of research here, I realized that I could be on sitting on a time bomb. I didn't know they were obsolete and that there would be some considerable amount of time and money to fix it if it ever broke down.

That's why we decided on buying a new Cobalt for the long run. I figure if I maintain it mechanically and cosmetically like mine was, it'll last as long as I want it to. So yeah, part of me feels like I gave up on her, but in my situation, I just didn't want to be constantly working on a boat and putting money into something that may let us down again. Now, I have a brand new one with a great warranty, and an outdrive I can find parts for! My only regret buying the '78 was not doing enough research to realize my outdrive was a dinosaur.

I understand what you mean. I have the OMC 800 with a Chevy 3.8 liter V6 engine. The trick is having a backup outdrive! I know, it sounds expensive, but if you keep you eye out, they are sometimes available for a cheap price. Especially when someone like you choses to part with their boat due to engine problems. The OMC drive is actually stronger than the Merc, wen dealing with foreign matter in the water. Maintenance is not much more work, just different. Used parts are cheaper, if you know where to look, like the Great Lakes area, where they seem to be most popular. I wish you luck with the new boat, although it really is about habits and time invested in keeping those (good) habits. I am sorry for your loss of a classic with teak!

 

[atx111]

Re: Keep fishing or cut bait and run

Believe me, it was a hard decision to part with it, and I'm still trying to make myself feel good about it. I had just redone all of the teak this spring....it looked great. The boat we're getting has a Volvo outdrive. My mechanic, who I've come to trust completely, said that they're a great drive. He also told me the OMC 800 is a good drive, as long as you know what the limitations to them are, such as it has to be all the way down in gear. The parts availability was an issue too. It was just getting to the point where I want to be on the water more than I wanted a boat in the shop, or worrying if it was going to start everytime we went out. I know this can happen with any boat, but at least I've got a helluva warranty behind the new one for 5 years.

I'm not 100% sure exactly what happened to it. Talked to my mechanic about it more today. He told me that his initial reaction was sucking something up against the water intake, but after thinking about everything that I was telling him, he thought the situation more serious, like something internal was the culprit, but he wasn't sure without basically tearing into the engine. He did say that I had a lot of different things going on with it and they all added up to a major failure. If I had the time, and if I had the know how and resources to rebuild or replace that engine, I would have loved to get it back in shape again.

The thing that was really concerning me the most is that my wife was put into a potentially dangerous situation. That just didn't settle well with me at all. I mean, she knows the risks as well as I, but when you're in the dark floundering with nothing but some lights showing where you are, I felt more than just a little concerned for her well being. I don't know if buying a brand new one was the answer, but it gives me a little piece of mind, and that goes along way in my book, pretty teak or not.

Thanks for all the input and support....and hey..if anyone is interested in the old one...I can put you in touch with who has it now!