chinnybloke

Hi,

What sort of servicing/running costs would I get with this boat....Waverider Mustang 16ft Speed Boat. With a Johnson 60hp Engine.

Cheers

ajm

Boats are always a money pit..... you should budget for a few hundred quid a year depending on how much you use it, parking/berthing arrangements.

I look after one of my Dad's boats which is a similar size and it probably costs a couple of hundred quid a year on parts/consumables for the trailer and engine. It gets used in salt water so the trailer is constantly in need of attention. I service the outboard (75hp) myself once a year completely which is pretty straight forward to do. Regular checkups and maintainance also reduce the likelihood of something major developing which besides anything else is not what you want on a sea going single engined craft for obvious reasons!

Its the nature of boats for things to go wrong a lot more than cars, so stay on top of the maintenance!

chinnybloke

Hi,

That doesn't sound too bad. One thing I am worried about is shifting it around. How on earth do you get it back onto the trailer? How many people are need to do that?

Cheers,
Chinnybloke

TopBanana

Go and hang around a slipway for a couple of hours - you'll see how it works. A 16 footer would be quite easy to handle and the engine won't cost much to service.

ajm

Its possible to do it single handed if you have a pontoon next to the slipway to leave the boat on while you but the trailer in, but two people makes life a *lot* easier and safer: 1 person to drive the boat, 1 person to drive the car/trailer.

Here is our technique:-

We reverse the trailer as far down the slipway as you can still get decent grip with the car as slip ways can be weedy/muddy below high tide mark (if you have a landy/tractor then you may be able to reverse it deep enough without having to unhitch the trailer). Personally I keep the car well clear of the water and potential embarrassment as I've see it all! Unhitch the trailer and lower it into the water on a rope with a turn around the car tow bar until it is deep enough to drive the boat onto the first 3/4. Tie off the rope securely onto the tow bar then trailer person wades out and stands at the head of the trailer with the winch line ready. The boat driver brings the boat round and onto the trailer (remembering to raise the engine as you do it!), with trailer person helping get it central. Attach the winch line and wind the boat up the remaining 1/4 of the way checking it is lining up central on the rollers. Then the car driver can tow the boat and the boat driver up out of the water (the boat driver then doesn't even get wet feet ). Put the trailer brake on (and apply chocks as neccessary as wet drum brakes tend not to work ) Reverse car back to trailer, remove rope and hitch trailer back onto car. Release brake and off you go!

Buzzer

chinnybloke

I had 16ft Global ski boat with Johnson 60 on it. I paid £75.00 for a full service at the beginning of the season and £25.00 for it to be winterised for the winter. You can winterise them yourself, if you need to know more drop me a mail.

Pete

PS Great fun mate you wont be dissapointed with it

chinnybloke

Cheers everyone. I reckon I'm going for it...

damage

If you lauch at sea you will end up replacing the wheel bearing every couple of months a these get knackered really quickly.

Also check out the lanching ramp for grip etc and use a rope as AJM says. Also make sure you have a good hand brake or you may look like this plank

http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/zerothread?id=114542

Good luck with the ebay bidding

ajm

ha ha classic!

You have to watch out for the brakes on trailers too. Not only do they work poorly when wet, but with enough reverse force they release. This is so you can reverse the trailer without the automatic trailer brakes coming on as the neck of the trailer compresses. If you want the trailer to stay put facing backwards down a slope you need to lock the brake leaver right back!

I saw some muppet lose his entire trailer because it rolled down the slip way, under the water and eventually went off the end of the slip way where there is a 5 foot drop which never dries. Needless to say he had to come back at low tide and drag an anchor around for a while before managing to hook it!

chinnybloke

By the way, does something small like this need the safety certificate or is that only for larger boats?

Cheers.

Buzzer

Some places require you to be insured, you'll have to check. I would get it insured though mine was £120.00 a year and this covered 3rd party insurance and £1m public liability incase my prop caught someones head

Pete

marky1

If it flies, floats or f***s, rent it!

RichWalk

CB, I assume this small motor launch is just to get you from land to your 150' ocean going liner!!

ProperCharlie

that guy eats dolphins. is that allowed?

chinnybloke

I think I've found my little baby boat. Just waiting to see if he takes my offer.

Rich, you are spot on sir. Currently in the process of buying some land for my new pad. I think it is called Spain

RichWalk

CB- just a small plot to start with then!