East tn moving to south florida

[Dyerhard]

High all my wife and I live in the foot hills of the smokeys <east tn> my wife has family in indiantown Florida we plan to move in about a year I bought a 1994 proline 231 with a 5.7 mercruiser and bravo outdrive fresh water boat so we can enjoy fishing in the ocean I was wondering what equipment I should start collecting as far as electronics and such to equip the boat. It has a new vhf and a fairly new chart plotter fish finder that I don't know how to use yet I'm soon to be catching up all the maintenance bellows gimbal bearing and such. Any good advice is welcome thanks in advance, jeff

 

[Scott Danforth]

Tow insurance

 

[jbuote]

Not a pro, and haven't done any ocean boating.. Yet...
That is the plan though..

One thing I'm personally GOING to get before ocean boating, and you might consider getting, is an EPIRB or PLB if you're going to be offshore...
Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it...

 

[Dyerhard]

Yes I will invest in an epirp and correct me if I'm wrong sea tow is who I should join for east coast south Florida right

 

[Scott Danforth]

Sea Tow and Boat US are the two common ones. i use Boat US. Im on the gulf side. there are three kinds of boaters down here.....those that have run aground, those that will run aground and those that lied about running aground. channels in the ICW move with every tide and every storm.

 

[Dyerhard]

Around a bout what is the yearly cost of these services

 

[Chris1956]

1) Spare prop and tools to change it. Also see if you can change prop while still in the boat, or if you need to swim for it.

2) Corrosion guard spray to help control rust on the engine sheet metal.

3) stronger fishing poles and gaff.

 

[Dyerhard]

I think it would be very difficult to change the prop in the water I'm thinking I'll invest in a closed cooling system the engine is older but always in fresh water I've been buying a few Penn set ups on ebay I'm up to 4 I've always wanted to go sword fishing I have a lot of lake experience with boats but no salt water I thought I could find an Elmer when I get down there I'm smart enough to know that I don't know enough

 

[porscheguy]

I’d skip the closed cooling until it’s time to repower. A ‘94 5.7 is nothing special.

Both towing services charge about $180 for a year of coverage.

EPIRB if you leave sight of land. PLBs if the budget allows.

Budget money for a new trailer which will be necessary eventually.

 

[high&dry]

Yank the stern drive, rebuild the stern and refit with an outboard engine. Galvanized or aluminum trailer, PLB (locator beacon or similar). New chart plotter with Navionics charts.

 

[Dyerhard]

It has a nice aluminum trailer 2004 I have to disagree with the outboard why spend 15k on an outboard I can get a 5.7 create motor for 2k top speed 40 comfortable cruise 28 and 3mpg I know nothing about the chart plotter other than it's about 5 years old hummingbird 958c is that still good and the vhf is standard horizon 1700 with gps

 

[southkogs]

Put in some kind of NAV system. On the ICW I do okay with a smart phone and Navionics, but if I were to ever venture out I'd want some GPS system with charts.

 

[Dyerhard]

Wouldn't the hummingbird accomplish that I know it has the lake charts for around here I'm not sure about Florida but if not I think it can be uploaded.

 

[ahicks]

It has a nice aluminum trailer 2004 I have to disagree with the outboard why spend 15k on an outboard I can get a 5.7 create motor for 2k top speed 40 comfortable cruise 28 and 3mpg I know nothing about the chart plotter other than it's about 5 years old hummingbird 958c is that still good and the vhf is standard horizon 1700 with gps

To be fair, you need to check out the price of a full set of manifolds for that crate engine....

 

[JimS123]

It has a nice aluminum trailer 2004 I have to disagree with the outboard why spend 15k on an outboard I can get a 5.7 create motor for 2k top speed 40 comfortable cruise 28 and 3mpg I know nothing about the chart plotter other than it's about 5 years old hummingbird 958c is that still good and the vhf is standard horizon 1700 with gps

That's what my buddy said too. After spending megabucks for repairs and losing a lot of precious boating time he finally convinced his company to transfer him back to a fresh water port.

 

[high&dry]

Wouldn't the hummingbird accomplish that I know it has the lake charts for around here I'm not sure about Florida but if not I think it can be uploaded.

The Humminbird should do fine, they are excellent units. I have and use a 987C, now dated somewhat but still very useful, Navionics charts and the side scan on it actually works better in salt than some of the newer units (lower side scan frequency penetrates better but offers less detail)

As to your other question, of me, some people in the saltwater world do not care for stern drives for many reasons. One of them is the bellows gasket which is, again, maybe an opinion, a significant failure point with bad results if it goes while offshore.

Stern drives are popular on the freshwater impoundments but not so much in the offshore/saltwater crowd. Some people run them. But, again, an opinion, it is either an outboard for me or in larger vessels a true inboard with fresh water cooling. Outboard engines were designed to live in saltwater from the get go, there is no bellows to fail and flood the bilge. Maintenance is generally easier with the exposed powerhead. Not to mention vibration problems encountered with some stern drives and the large bilge needed to hold (that can fill with water) them and the space they take up. Look at all the serious offshore boats and brands, they are nearly all outboard (or inboard). But it is just my opinion and as a seasoned saltwater boater, one I will stay with. Lake boats sterndrives are okay, offshore/salt, not so much. Kind of a solution looking for a problem that no longer exists and more problems of their own than are solved. Stern drives popped on the scene and became popular in a time when a large outboard was 100 horsepower. I guess I am just biased strongly against stern drives and would never own one.

Good luck with your new adventure, hope it goes well. A big change for you for sure. Just a warning, the Gulf is not a lake in Tennessee and the Atlantic darn sure is not. An inconvenience on a big impoundment could be a life threatening situation in the stream.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Around a bout what is the yearly cost of these services

about $160/yr for unlimited... my first tow was 23 miles. without the tow insurance, it would have been $1100

 

[southkogs]

Wouldn't the hummingbird accomplish that I know it has the lake charts for around here I'm not sure about Florida but if not I think it can be uploaded.

Yeah - sorry, I read "fish finder" and must have jumped the "chart plotter" part. Of course an actual compass on board as a backup would be recommended too.

 

[Chris1956]

Gee, saltwater is not a death sentence for an I/O. If you do your own maintenance, it is not too bad. The major difference between OBs and I/O is the necessary Periodic Maintenance, and the stuff that breaks. Normal I/O specific maintenance items are exhaust manifolds, belts, bellows, dist cap, wires + rotor.

For some reason, I/O seem to go thru alternators, starters, thermostats and circulation pumps, but I am not sure why these break.. You also need to watch for rust on the oil pan, oil filter, timing cover and motor pulleys. Oil pans can and do rust thru.

The balance of maintenance items are the same as OBs.

Last time I checked Osco exhaust manifolds were $700/pair, for my 4.3LX. They are the largest single maintenance item. They should last about 8 years, between changes.

 

[Dyerhard]

It won't be stored in the water but on the trailer I'll do my own maintenance and before it goes in the salt I'll have a closed cooling system yea I know it's old but even if I have to repower I'll still have the closed system for the new motor.