On 20 Mar 2005 21:00:07 -0800, "sfcarioca"
wrote:
From what I've seen in other boats, this boat is in average shape for
its age and boats just simply have these kinds of problems. I think
I've come to the conclusion that boating is for people who would enjoy
spending a lot of time working on their boat themselves and
troubleshooting these kinds of things. Since I was hoping to have
something that generally worked and would let me spend a lot more time
enjoying the boat rather than arranging to get it fixed, I'm thinking
of backing out on the deal. I figure that these things to fix that
often crop up, in addition to arranging for regular maintenance (zincs,
oil change, scrub bottom, paint bottom, etc.) would take almost as much
time as I could spend out enjoying the boat.

===========================================

Sounds like normal stuff to me. All boats are high maintenance and it
is not unusual to spend between 5 and 10% of the original purchase
price on annual repairs and upgrades, sometimes more. You can save
some of that by doing the work yourself if you have the time and
expertise, but other things will require cash expenditures. Unless
you can afford to pay others, expect to spend a fair amount of time
working on the boat. You might be happier with a small outboard
powered boat with minimal electronics and other systems. As a rule
these are more maintenance free than larger inboard or stern drive
boats.

As an FYI, maintenance and upgrades are a frequent point of contention
on partnership boats. Most often one partner will feel that they are
getting stuck with all of the work, or one partner will want to spend
money on upgrades that the other partner does not want.

It has been said that the most important section of any partnership
agreement are the terms and conditions for breaking up the deal.