That's a terrible story Chuck. What knid of boat was it?

A fish boat with a misplumbed baitwell.

Could have been built by anybody.

The problem with focusing on the brand name is that people might then assume,
"As long as I avoid brand X, I won't have to take many precautions." Could
have, and undoubtedly has happened to boats built by other companies, too.

On 07 Oct 2003 02:30:36 GMT, Gould 0738 wrote:

That's a terrible story Chuck. What knid of boat was it?

A fish boat with a misplumbed baitwell.

Could have been built by anybody.

The problem with focusing on the brand name is that people might then assume,
"As long as I avoid brand X, I won't have to take many precautions." Could
have, and undoubtedly has happened to boats built by other companies, too.


True enough, but would other companies have treated the owners so badly?

I recently (this July) bought a SeaDoo Utopia 185 from Profile Motorsports
in Gorham, NH. That is an 18 1/2 foot jet boat powered by a Mercury 200
hp. After checking it out at a nearby lake, I started trailering it to
several lakes in Maine. In early August, the engine quit in the middle of
Rangeley Lake. I tried to figure out what was wrong, but had no luck.
Finally (and fortunately) I got a tow back to the launch site. I took the
boat back to the dealer where they discovered that one of the air injectors
had broken off inside one of the cylinders, scored the piston and destroyed
the cylinder head. The dealer insisted on replacing the engine, and while
the work was being done, he loaned me a new Utopia 205, a more expensive
boat than mine. While it left me with a bad taste for Mercury, I was
impressed that Bombardier and their dealer treated me as well as they did.
--

Larry
email is rapp at lmr dot com

Dave, the best advice you can get on a new boat, don't buy new.

Take a look at the used boats one or two years old. The drop in price
on most new boats is unbeleavable. And if you look around you will find
the boat you want, with low hours, electronic equipment already
installed, all the bugs worked out, and save a lot of money in the
process. I know lots of people who have been into boating for many
years, very few of them would ever consider buying a brand new boat.
And these people don't have money problems. They just hate taking that
big hit when it comes time to sell the boat, and that hit can be really
bad.

....unless you like to buy your stuff new and take care of it. If, like me,
you keep things forever, resale value doesn't matter.

"Capt John" wrote in message
oups.com...
Dave, the best advice you can get on a new boat, don't buy new.

Take a look at the used boats one or two years old. The drop in price
on most new boats is unbeleavable. And if you look around you will find
the boat you want, with low hours, electronic equipment already
installed, all the bugs worked out, and save a lot of money in the
process. I know lots of people who have been into boating for many
years, very few of them would ever consider buying a brand new boat.
And these people don't have money problems. They just hate taking that
big hit when it comes time to sell the boat, and that hit can be really
bad.

You still take a bit hit financially if you compare the cost of a new boat
vs. an identical boat 1~2 years old.

I agree with what John said...buy used.

"wgander" wrote in message
news:gNADd.43134$8e5.10596@fed1read07...
...unless you like to buy your stuff new and take care of it. If, like me,
you keep things forever, resale value doesn't matter.

"Capt John" wrote in message
oups.com...
Dave, the best advice you can get on a new boat, don't buy new.

Take a look at the used boats one or two years old. The drop in price
on most new boats is unbeleavable. And if you look around you will find
the boat you want, with low hours, electronic equipment already
installed, all the bugs worked out, and save a lot of money in the
process. I know lots of people who have been into boating for many
years, very few of them would ever consider buying a brand new boat.
And these people don't have money problems. They just hate taking that
big hit when it comes time to sell the boat, and that hit can be really
bad.