JimH wrote:
"Reginald P. Smithers III" wrote in message
. ..
HK wrote:
JimH wrote:
"Reginald P. Smithers III" wrote in message
. ..
JimH wrote:
"Reginald P. Smithers III" wrote in
message . ..
JimH wrote:
"HK" wrote in message
. ..
JimH wrote:
"Tim" wrote in message
...
I was wondering if there are any stats on how long people
actually
keep their boat. Like if they buy a new runabout or cuddie etc.
how
long do they actually keep it, before selling it or trading it in
for
a new model.

some people keep cars a year then trade for new, others buy new
and
run the wheels off it.

I've never bought a brand new boat in my life and really don't
plan on
it. My two boats are 1983 and 1977. Both in very good shape and
will
be keeping them for quite a while.

Does anyone know what is the average trade off or average length
of
ownership is for boats?
I would guess I change boats every 5-7 years. I have only
purchased 1 new boat and that was only because the dealership was
going out of business and I got a great deal on it.

My 20 foot runabout is being gifted to my son when he is actually
able to take ownership and advantage of using it. I received a
call from the marina today that the outdrive maintenance has been
completed and the boat is ready to be picked up. They found some
additional problems with the OD.....which they repaired. We are
picking it up over the weekend to be shrink wrapped and winter
stored at another site (cheaper).
Having never owned a boat with an I/O, my info is obtained
vicariously. From what I have read here and elsewhere over the
years, it seems to be that these drives are nothing but continuing
maintenance and trouble. Yet the technology in them, really, is
many decades old. Do you think they'd be less problematical if
their manufacturers concentrated on improving the quality of the
parts they contain and worried less about new and sometimes dubious
features?

Regarding mechanical problems, I have not had any significant
problems with the outdrives on my boats.

Having said that...........I will never purchase another boat with
an outdrive as the upkeep is more demanding than an outboard.



Except for the boot on the OD, what additional upkeep do you have?

I thought you may know this but here goes anyway: The I/O stays
submerged during the entire season. An outboard is in the water only
when it is being used as it can be raised out of the water when
docked. As a result the anodes need replacing more often and most
significantly the lower unit on the I/O takes a beating. It also
takes on a significant amount of marine growth with can result in
reduced performance.

Personally I clean the I/O whenever the water is warm enough to jump
in. It is amazing the amount of marine growth that reoccurs within
only a few weeks if not attended to.
I have never had a problem with algea growth because I use Outdrive
Anti-Fouling paint. It really makes a hell of a difference and is
cheap and easy to do yourself. I look at the zincs every month or so,
but I am lucky because my marina does not seem to have a stray current
leak, because they barely look used when I replace them every 3 years.
The first year, I thought this meant my zincs were not working, but I
was assured they are working correctly. I was told if they weren't i
would see pitting on the drive itself, which I don't. Since they are
so cheap, I replace the zincs when i have the marina pulls the outdrive
to do a complete service on the outdrive.


You seem to have the perfect boat that never has any sort of problems
Reg. ;-)

Even with an anti-fouling paint you will get algae growth.

BTW: One additional maintenance item with I/O's........alignments.

Inboards or outboards are the only way to go.

When all you have is an imaginary boat, like Reggie has, you never have
mechanical problems.

Serious question. I have no ownership experience with these modern, car
or truck gas engines in boats. What RPMS do you typically run them at? My
SUV V8 loafs along at 2000 rpm or so at highway speeds, but you have to
be running at what, twice that, in an I/O planing boat. What steps are
taken to build up these engines to take that sort of constant high rpm
stress?
It depends upon the boat, but 3200-3500 has always kept my boats on plane.
You are correct, I really have been lucky, and have never had a major
problem, but I do keep up with the mfg'er recommended schedule.

Who was talking abut *major* problems Reg? Even if you keep up with PM you
can still encounter problems.

It is great to know that you never have any.



I didn't say I never had problems, I said I never had a major problem
that would make me want to pay the additional initial cost of an OB. If
I kept my boat in salt water, that would be a completely different
story, but in fresh water it would take one hell of lot of MAJOR
problems to change to an OB based upon additional maintenance or
additional upkeep. I have never had a problem with algea or problems
with my zinc being depleted, so that has never been a concern.

HK wrote:

Serious question. I have no ownership experience with these modern, car
or truck gas engines in boats. What RPMS do you typically run them at?
My SUV V8 loafs along at 2000 rpm or so at highway speeds, but you have
to be running at what, twice that, in an I/O planing boat. What steps
are taken to build up these engines to take that sort of constant high
rpm stress?

Basicly there's not much difference between the automotive and the
marine versions of the engines. With exception that the I/O people
will select the heavier built engines that are used in pickup trucks
(thicker block webbing and 4 bolt main bering caps, Steel crank
shafts) but outside of that not much. Oh, the marine versions use a
different cam shaft than automotive and thats only to put the maximum
torque in a more suitable rpm range.

I run my 3.0 GM 4-cyl. at about 3300 RPM and the 350 GM v-8 at about
the same rate. Get up on plane than back it down to maintain the
plane. I don't run wide open. except to get out of the hole. But
both engines are capable of pulling 4000 rpm safely and sustained

On Nov 29, 7:34 am, " JimH" ask wrote:
"Reginald P. Smithers III" wrote in messagenews:uYmdndhRPb57ntPanZ2dnUVZ_gWdnZ2d@comca st.com...





JimH wrote:
"HK" wrote in message
m...
JimH wrote:
"Tim" wrote in message
...
I was wondering if there are any stats on how long people actually
keep their boat. Like if they buy a new runabout or cuddie etc. how
long do they actually keep it, before selling it or trading it in for
a new model.

some people keep cars a year then trade for new, others buy new and
run the wheels off it.

I've never bought a brand new boat in my life and really don't plan on
it. My two boats are 1983 and 1977. Both in very good shape and will
be keeping them for quite a while.

Does anyone know what is the average trade off or average length of
ownership is for boats?
I would guess I change boats every 5-7 years. I have only purchased 1
new boat and that was only because the dealership was going out of
business and I got a great deal on it.

My 20 foot runabout is being gifted to my son when he is actually able
to take ownership and advantage of using it. I received a call from
the marina today that the outdrive maintenance has been completed and
the boat is ready to be picked up. They found some additional problems
with the OD.....which they repaired. We are picking it up over the
weekend to be shrink wrapped and winter stored at another site
(cheaper).

Having never owned a boat with an I/O, my info is obtained vicariously.
From what I have read here and elsewhere over the years, it seems to be
that these drives are nothing but continuing maintenance and trouble.
Yet the technology in them, really, is many decades old. Do you think
they'd be less problematical if their manufacturers concentrated on
improving the quality of the parts they contain and worried less about
new and sometimes dubious features?

Regarding mechanical problems, I have not had any significant problems
with the outdrives on my boats.

Having said that...........I will never purchase another boat with an
outdrive as the upkeep is more demanding than an outboard.

Except for the boot on the OD, what additional upkeep do you have?

I thought you may know this but here goes anyway: The I/O stays submerged
during the entire season. An outboard is in the water only when it is being
used as it can be raised out of the water when docked. As a result the
anodes need replacing more often and most significantly the lower unit on
the I/O takes a beating. It also takes on a significant amount of marine
growth with can result in reduced performance.

Personally I clean the I/O whenever the water is warm enough to jump in.
It is amazing the amount of marine growth that reoccurs within only a few
weeks if not attended to.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

This from the guy that can't even fix his own boat!

On Thu, 29 Nov 07, HK wrote:
What steps
are taken to build up these engines to take that sort of constant high
rpm stress?

Install brass freeze plugs and you're done.
I had an OMC once. I bought a short block (chevy) from an auto parts
store, they replaced the freeze plugs (they sell a LOT to nautical
types), and as far as I know, that engine is still pushing that boat.
I sold it maybe 15 years ago.
From my experience, it's the drive trains that give most of the
problems. Not the engines.

Rick

From my experience, it's the drive trains that give most of the
problems. Not the engines.

Rick

I didn't have any problems with my alph1 on the boat with the 3.0,
that is, until I hit a stump.

The stainless steel prop hub didn't break loose either.

Now on my 350 v8 the alpha (228) is having a shift problem, but it
could be an adjustment issue. But not sure yet.

Anyhow, on the Mercruisers, I would suppose due to popularity, they're
are quality after market parts on the market, so even if a person had
to replace the whole leg, it's still not a real kick in the wallet.

Of course, thats hypothetical ?;

Phantman:
From my experience, it's the drive trains that give most of the
problems. Not the engines.

On Thu, 29 Nov 07, Tim wrote:
I didn't have any problems with my alph1 on the boat with the 3.0,
that is, until I hit a stump.

I've had only one pair (twins) of Mercruisers and I can't recall
specifically now what all went wrong (although I prolly still have the
file here somewhere). But it just seems there was always some seal or
boot or some such going bad which allowed salt water where it wasn't
supposed to be and that's when things would go to hell in a hand
basket. These were 4 cyl engines, 120hp each if I recall. They got
great mileage. But when those drive units aged, it was always
something.

Anyhow, on the Mercruisers, I would suppose due to popularity, they're
are quality after market parts on the market, so even if a person had
to replace the whole leg, it's still not a real kick in the wallet.

Yup. Point well taken.

Rick

HK wrote:



When all you have is an imaginary boat, like Reggie has, you never have
mechanical problems.


How can *you* accuse someone of owning an imaginary boat?

I'd love to hear your spin on this one.

On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:50:08 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

20% hit? I would think that the spread would be greater than that, but
then again, I really don't know. I haven't priced brand new, and
compared with a year or two older models

Depends on the boat and how old it is. 20% after the first year or
two is probably in the ballpark. After 5 to 7 years it's closer to
50% for all but the highest quality.

Wayne.B wrote:
On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:50:08 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

20% hit? I would think that the spread would be greater than that, but
then again, I really don't know. I haven't priced brand new, and
compared with a year or two older models

Depends on the boat and how old it is. 20% after the first year or
two is probably in the ballpark. After 5 to 7 years it's closer to
50% for all but the highest quality.


Depends on the boat, the demand for the boat, and its condition.

I sold my 2003 Parker 25' rig in 2007 for only 10% less than I paid for
it. No broker, either. I wasn't hurt by the fact that between 2003 and
2007, Parker raised its price for the same model boat by nearly $20,000.

On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 08:22:15 -0500, HK wrote:

JimH wrote:
"Reginald P. Smithers III" wrote in message
. ..
JimH wrote:
"Reginald P. Smithers III" wrote in message
. ..
JimH wrote:
"HK" wrote in message
. ..
JimH wrote:
"Tim" wrote in message
...
I was wondering if there are any stats on how long people actually
keep their boat. Like if they buy a new runabout or cuddie etc. how
long do they actually keep it, before selling it or trading it in
for
a new model.

some people keep cars a year then trade for new, others buy new and
run the wheels off it.

I've never bought a brand new boat in my life and really don't plan
on
it. My two boats are 1983 and 1977. Both in very good shape and will
be keeping them for quite a while.

Does anyone know what is the average trade off or average length of
ownership is for boats?
I would guess I change boats every 5-7 years. I have only purchased
1 new boat and that was only because the dealership was going out of
business and I got a great deal on it.

My 20 foot runabout is being gifted to my son when he is actually
able to take ownership and advantage of using it. I received a call
from the marina today that the outdrive maintenance has been
completed and the boat is ready to be picked up. They found some
additional problems with the OD.....which they repaired. We are
picking it up over the weekend to be shrink wrapped and winter stored
at another site (cheaper).
Having never owned a boat with an I/O, my info is obtained
vicariously. From what I have read here and elsewhere over the years,
it seems to be that these drives are nothing but continuing
maintenance and trouble. Yet the technology in them, really, is many
decades old. Do you think they'd be less problematical if their
manufacturers concentrated on improving the quality of the parts they
contain and worried less about new and sometimes dubious features?

Regarding mechanical problems, I have not had any significant problems
with the outdrives on my boats.

Having said that...........I will never purchase another boat with an
outdrive as the upkeep is more demanding than an outboard.



Except for the boot on the OD, what additional upkeep do you have?

I thought you may know this but here goes anyway: The I/O stays
submerged during the entire season. An outboard is in the water only
when it is being used as it can be raised out of the water when docked.
As a result the anodes need replacing more often and most significantly
the lower unit on the I/O takes a beating. It also takes on a
significant amount of marine growth with can result in reduced
performance.

Personally I clean the I/O whenever the water is warm enough to jump in.
It is amazing the amount of marine growth that reoccurs within only a few
weeks if not attended to.

I have never had a problem with algea growth because I use Outdrive
Anti-Fouling paint. It really makes a hell of a difference and is cheap
and easy to do yourself. I look at the zincs every month or so, but I am
lucky because my marina does not seem to have a stray current leak,
because they barely look used when I replace them every 3 years. The
first year, I thought this meant my zincs were not working, but I was
assured they are working correctly. I was told if they weren't i would
see pitting on the drive itself, which I don't. Since they are so cheap,
I replace the zincs when i have the marina pulls the outdrive to do a
complete service on the outdrive.



You seem to have the perfect boat that never has any sort of problems Reg.
;-)

Even with an anti-fouling paint you will get algae growth.

BTW: One additional maintenance item with I/O's........alignments.

Inboards or outboards are the only way to go.



When all you have is an imaginary boat, like Reggie has, you never have
mechanical problems.

Serious question. I have no ownership experience with these modern, car
or truck gas engines in boats. What RPMS do you typically run them at?
My SUV V8 loafs along at 2000 rpm or so at highway speeds, but you have
to be running at what, twice that, in an I/O planing boat. What steps
are taken to build up these engines to take that sort of constant high
rpm stress?

Harry, my Mercruiser 5.7L enjoyed being run at about 3300rpm. It would stay
on plane from about 2500 on up, depending on sea state. These engines would
require a rebuild or replacement after about 1000hrs (from what I've been
told). The advantage is that they're pretty cheap compared to outboard
engines.
--
John H