How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

[YeboGogo]

Im trying to work out whats "normal".. I have an 87 boat. Its died once on me.

Please post how old your boat is and how many times annually you get stranded.

Im trying to decide if buying a new/newer boat would fix the problem.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

Current condition and routine preventative maintenance are key to how often the motor stops working.
How often the motor lets someone down and how often someone lets the motor down by not maintaining it are most likely very similar numbers.
Our outfit is now 25 years old and although we have had some issues we have never been stranded on the lake. (I have just touched some wood )

 

[ADKoutboard]

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

1984 Riviera Cruiser 24' Pontoon boat....... $400.00
1973 Evinrude 50hp outboard.......$125.00

Being the guy who fixes it.......Priceless!

(no seriously, that's what I payed...customer trade-ins...gotta love 'em.)

the boat needed work.....but the motor is solid as a rock!


Tarren

 

[BLU LUNCH]

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

The hull is 36 years old , motor 10 years old, flawless last year..........

 

[Tig]

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

3 boats, 43, 20 and 15 years old. Never been stranded. I once had to deal with a clogged fuel filter. Took five mins. When I can, I spend way way too much time pampering my engines.
My wife likes to say that we are "fortunate" that our toys don't break down.

 

[crazymac-680]

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

Avon Searider 5.4 1980s
Mercury Blueband 850 thunderbolt ignition late 1960s
Both have never let me down on the water. All my issues have come at the beginning of a new season. Gummed up carbs and had to rewire the remote harness a couple of times. Used the spare engine for about 5 min last month when a wire had come off the ignition button. Once I figured out what was up. I just put the wire back on and soldered all the wires when I got home so it cant happen again.
I've been delighted with the reliablity of my old outfit
Dan

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

90 Carver Montego. Blew an engine coupler 4 years ago. Started vibrating for about 30 seconds, I pulled the power back to neutral, stopped, went to put it into gear and no go in either direction. Luckily wasn't far from the marina and hailed a good samaritan for a tow. Had to pull the motor to replace it though. Other than that, it's never let me down to the point it stranded me.

 

[oldnhbuck]

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

That my friend, is the question of the year..bought a 65 Lonestar Reliant a year ago this week and will put her in the Bay this weekend for her maiden voyage..

Has a 79 Thunderbolt Merc 90 hp 2 stroke O/B..w/ excellent compression..runs great..just finished a nightmare of a lower unit installation...but I know it now..it knows me..and I refuse to lose!

my nightmare was actually solved by someone on this site,,,I'll have to go back and review the post that saved me and thank that person /people..

I'm actually quite confident in the setup now..a years worth of work teaches you a lot and you sure do find and fix a lot of "lil" probs along the way so they don't come back and bite you in the butt later..

I'll keep you informed..and you do the same..

 

[5150abf]

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

mine turns 30 this year, the engine is 29, an 81 Evinrude 50, I got stuck once this year and once last year, both turned out to be 10 minute fixxes once I got it home.

The manual choke lever screw worked loose and wouldn't let the choke come on this last time.

Older Evinrudes at least are very reliable if taken care of and maintained, they od require a little work though.

 

[MAXXIE]

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

I don't really have the time in to comment, new to boating this year, but, I think the first post kind of said it all. Your boat & motor will let you down when you let it down. I have a 1985 Bayliner bowrider W/85hp Force O/B. The guy that had it before me only used it to fish with, that's it. He was not concerned with looks or pleasure boating, but kept up on the motor maintenance. The motor run's perfect, well except for a slight burp this past weekend, water in fuel I think, but so far runs strong. I was at the larger lake in my area on memorial day & went to hang out in one of the popular cove's & felt like an old man clunker with my '85 with o/b. Man some of those boats were nice, all brand new, Crownline, Bayliner, Baja's. I felt like a piece of junk. When I got home I posted up here & was told that there's nothing wrong with an older boat, in fact most people respect an older boat in really good condition. I'm in the process of small details right now(popped off tek wood trim, sanded & restained it, small things that make a huge difference), with a new floor (done the right way) & seating over the winter. I want to have the nicest 85 bowrider on the lake. (then I'll sell/trade & get a new one) Just my opinion, (my posts are always too long, sorry) MAXX

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

If I had been really stranded, I wouldn't be here typing. But I have been temporarily detained.
Anyone who says a motor won't break down if it's well maintained is both insufferably self-righteous, and wrong. It is true, however, that a well-maintained motor (and related systems) is less likely to fail than a poorly maintained one--that is a no brainer. Many new boaters do not understand that boats need a different level of care than their cars, especially in salt water. And with the ethanol issue, babying the fuel is essential--all the mechanics will tell you that the vast majority of their work today is fuel related.
Right now my 1972 Merc 20 hp won't start, so it won't leave me stranded. On the list to fix. Point is--do you count as "stranded" times when you can't use the boat due to mechanical issues encountered before you leave the dock?
My 1987 Johnson 70 intermittently blows a 20A fuse. Been chasing it for months. I think I have it fixed--new wiring harness. Until then, I carry fuses.
It replaced a 1988 that died from salt water in the gas from the vent---that stranded my BIL but I towed him with another boat. Several years previous it ran without oil (VRO system) and seized; rebuilt it. That one (I'll admit probably due to carelessness, being in a hurry, making assumptions, etc.) stranded my daughter, but I was nearby in another boat. Moral: have an extra boat when you are in remote areas! (buddy system)
Found the steering locked up on launch and had to beat a falling tide; disconnected the arm and tied a paddle to the motor for a tiller. In my old whaler as a boy I busted a bucket full of shear pins, and I wrapped a crab trap around the prop in the dark going duck hunting--these are not strandings, just part of boating.
I have towed a lot of people in my day.
Old boats, hard use, high salt conditions--stuff will happen no matter who you are. You may not know that your heat/oil alarms aren't working, so you never count on them. I carry tools and am very resourceful--that's why I'm here to tell you about it.

 

[superbenk]

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

1980 Century 190 with old OMC 140 motor & Stringer 400. I got it for free & so far dumped about $3k into it restoring it & fixing it. Still working out some engine bugs, but I've learned a TON! I don't regret the money spent on fixing this boat, but there are many times I'm VERY ready to upgrade to something newer (almost did this year but let it slip!!! GAH!).

As one marina owner said to me, "Free boats are the most expensive kind!"

 

[dingbat]

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

How many times you break down ?annually? is meaningless w/o a quantifying the number of trips taken.

For me, figure in excess of 500 trips over the past 7-8 years. Had only two minor inconveniences in that time. The first time I blew the cap off the reservoir oil tank on the 175 HP Merc outboard. Took 5 minutes to fix and we went back to our task.

The second failure was the same motor. Blew the high speed portion of the stator on the way back to the dock. The motor would not run over 2500 rpm so we limped the remaining 15 miles back to the dock at 2500 rpm. Never been stranded

 

[JimS123]

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

'84 Stingray Bowrider, 3.0 Mercruiser I/O - three times (in 1984, 1985 and 1986) - starter, alternator, outdrive - all Merc related build issues within the first 200 hours

'08 Stingray Cuddy, 4.3 Mercruiser I/O - twice - (in 08) - warranty covered electrical system problems both times - again, Merc problems within 200 hours

'07 Starcraft / Yamaha 25 OB - never - 150 hours on now

'64 Sea Nymph / '70 Evinrude Sportwin - never - "high" hours, run hard, but unknown

'52 Lyman / '53 Evinrude Big Twin - never - "low" hours, but unknown

'99 SeaDoo GTI - 600 hours - breaks down too often to remember them all...LOL

 

[security6]

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

I've been out 8 to 10 times this year and been stranded once when the starter went. I hit it a few times to see if I could get it to work to get us back in, but didn't have any luck. A jet ski towed us in.

 

[HANGEYE]

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

Fishing in Canada last year at a remote (timbuck three I think) lake. On the second day, the fuel pump went fritz. It's an old kiekaifer Merc 9.8. Took it apart and found the reed was shot. Proceeded to the cooler and removed one can of thought process. After consumption, the light went on. I removed a portion of the can that resembled the reed, installed said piece in place of the reed and low and behold, fished the rest of the week with no problems. Gotta love them old mercs. That is the only problem I have ever had (knock on wood) in my 40+ years on the water. Maintainance is the key.

P.S. The lakle was small enogh that a bit of rowing got us back to shore in just two beers and a bunch of fish LOL.

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

...20 year old Bayliner (Capri) with the original 20 year old 90hp Force engine.
We are entering our 4th season with this combo and have put something well over 100 outings on it.
It has never quit, left us anywhere and has always ran well. However....this boat and motor had always been properly maintained and stored...and that is why (to date) it has been this reliable.
Thanks to this website I have been able to 'raise the bar' in continued and proper maintenance so hopefully...the reliable and fun trend continues.
All Good
BP

 

[md-lucky]

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

I've never had an issue on the water (knock on wood).

But I turn wrenches ALL THE TIME on land. I check everything before we go out. We trailer to the lake every time we go out (we usually go out once a week), and I run the boat on muffs before we leave. I check for leaks, noises, etc.

I've worked on the boat pleanty in the driveway, but never out on the water. I said in an earlier thread: I don't cary many spare tools on the boat. I have a Polish wrench set, 1 regular and 1 philips screwdriver, and a pair of pliers. If I need more tools than that, the boat is going back to the ramp and coming out of the water. We always boat with other people.. Ironically enough, we have the oldest (and ugliest. ) boat in our group, and we are the only ones that have never had an issue out on the water.

 

[badbowtie]

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

I have a 85 that I have spend lots of time on land doing floors and upholstery and motor work and go out about once a week for the last 5 years I have had the boat. And knock on wood only been towed twice once due to fuel pump went out and another due to upper unit went out.

 

[ryanr623]

Re: How old is your boat and how often does it break down ?

Like everyone said, properly maintaining the boat will more then likely keep you from getting totally stranded.... provided the motor isnt a hundred years old.

However, there's the saying that Sh*t happens, and for that..... I have towing insurance. I believe every boater, regardless of boat year, should carry this. Well.... at least if your boating on a big lake. Even if your engine is pristine.... the battery could die, or you could run out of gas. I boat on lake erie and will never leave port without having gotten insurance for that year.

Best part, covers the entire western half of lake erie and is $50 a season.... why wouldnt you get it?