First boat - $5k budget

[Brycei3]

Thanks everyone, all great advice here

[skronkman]

At the price you are looking (and possibly up to much more $$$) i reckon you need to consider a boat package as being 60% motor, 30% trailer and 30% hull. Get the best motor/newest motor you can find. If you look inland you have a chance of finding a "freshwater only use" one. This helps reduce possible corrosion issues.

Minor hull damage can possibly be temporarily fixed with a bit of gaf tape, epoxy, etc. and you'll be on the water again.

A trailer is required to be in good condition to safely get your boat to the water so you can use it to begin with. Structural repairs aren't any good on a galv trailer without rebuilding it and getting it redipped in hot galv (cheaper to buy another trailer). Being stuck on the side of the road, hours from home with a broken axle, spring, crossmember is a misserable and expensive experience (wheel bearings are bad enough!)

a motor requires mechanical skills at the very least and possibly a lot more than that in parts; snap one stainless bolt off in the corroded aluminium block (very common) and the whole motor instantly transforms into an anchor. There is no substitute for a reliable motor unless youre happy to buy a kayak/row boat. most old outboards are simply timebombs waiting to go off (in an economic sense if not literally).

It's easy to get carried away with the look of the boat and the price being $1000 less then the others you've looked at and neglect the poor condition trailer or the 1984 (still runs great on the hose) motor. Don't go there, it's a trap and it's expensive to get out of it.

[Bugatti]

At the price you are looking (and possibly up to much more $$$) i reckon you need to consider a boat package as being 60% motor, 30% trailer and 30% hull. Get the best motor/newest motor you can find. If you look inland you have a chance of finding a "freshwater only use" one. This helps reduce possible corrosion issues.

Minor hull damage can possibly be temporarily fixed with a bit of gaf tape, epoxy, etc. and you'll be on the water again.

A trailer is required to be in good condition to safely get your boat to the water so you can use it to begin with. Structural repairs aren't any good on a galv trailer without rebuilding it and getting it redipped in hot galv (cheaper to buy another trailer). Being stuck on the side of the road, hours from home with a broken axle, spring, crossmember is a misserable and expensive experience (wheel bearings are bad enough!)

a motor requires mechanical skills at the very least and possibly a lot more than that in parts; snap one stainless bolt off in the corroded aluminium block (very common) and the whole motor instantly transforms into an anchor. There is no substitute for a reliable motor unless youre happy to buy a kayak/row boat. most old outboards are simply timebombs waiting to go off (in an economic sense if not literally).

It's easy to get carried away with the look of the boat and the price being $1000 less then the others you've looked at and neglect the poor condition trailer or the 1984 (still runs great on the hose) motor. Don't go there, it's a trap and it's expensive to get out of it.

Brycei3, skronkman has said it the best. The balance is right. At that price, it is mostly about the motor. As long as you get a good motor, the rest is an important secondary.

Motors do run great on the hose, it just shows the galleries are clear if water runs well but not that the impeller (water pump) is necessarily working well, and may have been run too hot or overheated if the impeller doesn't work well (look for big discoloration of the block, this would indicate possible overheating). The hose pressure pushes the water through and not necessarily the impeller doing the work, which is what it should be doing (out at sea). I run my motor in a tub (even at the ramp, and on holidays to avoid low water pressure at some shacks) and surprisingly it uses less water and I can run/flush the motor for a longer time without excess water. This shows if the impeller is working properly. I have even put a bung-plug to drain the water.

IMG_20190320_092924a.png (311.91 KiB) Viewed 2174 times

Trailer, is about no "structural" rust, springs and axle as skronkman pointed out. Surface rust (only) can be neutralised with rust neutraliser and then regularly innoxed. Springs are costly but not overly expensive, but are also an indication of what the axle and bearings may be like or how they have been looked after, so ends up with expensive surprises.

The Boat can be offset from your first choice, as long as it is sound, for a good motor. A Boat can be adjusted/modified to your personal preference. A bit of marine carpet, marine ply, PVC tube innovations, easy cheap additions all help make your Boat "yours".


My additional advice , , , , Stay away from glass boats, at that price too risky and you get less boat/motor but more possible problems. Definitely get the motor serviced first, the Ol' "I just had it serviced and it runs well" from the seller has had many new buyers get unstuck. And change the impeller even if it looks fine, so you know it was done and have a start date on it. And also clean & re-grease the wheel bearings, it's a good way to ensure they are good and freshly greased. If you feel comfortable or have a knowledged helping hand, you could do this yourself and changing them isn't too hard either if you have to. And put "Bearing Buddies" on the hubs (if they aren't already on) to make sure the bearings are always greased up.

Good luck, and let us know how you go.

Cheers, Bugatti

[col1]

This boat has been for sale for years...make him an offer he cant refuse
batboat.jpg
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/rosebud ... 1168007722

This is hands down THE BEST ad for a used boat Iv ever seen, no idea if it's any good or not but worth checking it out just to meet the bloke who wrote that what an absolute pissa

[bowl]

I got this for 6k off facebook...
No major problems thus far

, just needs electric panel for nav , anchor light ect rewired....

[bowl]

Toouch underpowerd...but this might be worth a look...

[smile0784]

I got this for 6k off facebook...
No major problems thus far Screenshot_20190320-095553.jpg , just needs electric panel for nav , anchor light ect rewired....

Weren't you selling that or was that so done else I'm thinking of?

[bowl]

I got this for 6k off facebook...
No major problems thus far Screenshot_20190320-095553.jpg , just needs electric panel for nav , anchor light ect rewired....

Weren't you selling that or was that so done else I'm thinking of?

Nah sold my fibreglass boat b4 × mas...
50/50 if i will sell this tin can in coming months...

[bowl]

Worth a look if motor runs

[SteveoTheTiger]

There are also other issues such as back pressure from the exhaust that can cause problems which you wont know about from just running it on a hose.