Possible new Searay Owner, a few questions

You have not mentioned if you are going to do your on wrenching but if not one thing to consider is any thing under 30' will have out drives Two motors two out drives.With that said if you don't plan on doing your own mechanic work stepping up to a 30' sundancer will eliminate the out drive with prop and rudder which is a whole lot less maintenance.

We were not looking at 30' but now that you say lot less maintenance how much less trouble are we talking?


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reno55 said:

We were not looking at 30' but now that you say lot less maintenance how much less trouble are we talking?

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I have twin alpha I/O's. It wasn't a deal breaker for us, but I can tell you my next boat will be inboards. I take the drives off every fall and just bring them home so I can take my time with maintenance in a warm basement. I split the halves, replace the impellers, reassemble and pressure test, refill with fresh lube, clean the exterior surfaces and repaint the drive. If the zinc's are bad, they get replaced as well.

Some of this maintenance would apply to transmissions as well (fluid changes, cooler and hose inspections, impeller replacement)

That being said, I just blew a lower on the starboard side. Not saying transmissions don't go, but I have grown to despise I/O's.

It is not as much as trouble as it is care. If you spend a little time in preventative maintenance with an outdrive which is changing the oil every season to check for seal leaks and inspecting your main bellows and cable bellows then you stay ahead of any failures and expensive repair bills.With a rudder style boat you have shaft bearings and shaft and rudder seals and the shifting part is on the inside of the boat and a separate component. All my boats have had outdrives and its just part of owning a boat either you are willing to get your hands dirty and learn how to take care of your boat or you can pay someone to do it for you but the more you do yourself the better off you are and the more money you will have at the end of the day. I'm a do it yourself guy so I cannot tell you what it cost.

reno55 said:

Can you break down what the costs are for that $1k month?

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Payments = $600
Insurance = $100
Slip = $200
Electricity = $60
Misc = $40

What has not been mentioned here is insurance.

Regarding insurance, look hard. Many companies are reluctant to insure a boat over "X" years old. It's not so much the age of the hull. It's the age of the innards. They are paying more attention to ABYC standards and recommendations.

For example: A 20 year old boat with original fuel hoses may not cut it to an insurance company. We did not use ethanol 20 years ago and the hoses were not built for it. Add to that the environment the hose lives in. IIRC, ABYC recommends 15 years max on the life of a hose. I cannot fathom getting to hoses the way most boats are built, let alone replacing them.

research your area. these figures are a little steep for our area. our slip fees are about $42/foot and an extra $15/month electric or $30/month with A/C. for our 25' boat (27' overall) it is about $1400 for the season, or about $120/month. we don't put that many hours on ours (maybe 10 hours per month as we find a nice spot and drop anchor).

slip: 120
fuel: 100-150
insurance: 30
misc: 50-100
off season storage: 40

works out to around $500/month. seems high now that i tallied it up but most of that is paid in lump sums (insurance, storage fees, and slip fees). take those out and we spend about 150-250/month. granted we haven't had any large repairs and i do most of the work myself. that being said, we are thinking about something in the 29-30' range next and the thoughts of twin engines has me a little nervous...$$$$$$

dpmulvey said:

Payments = $600
Insurance = $100
Slip = $200
Electricity = $60
Misc = $40

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Damn David, we gotta get you down to Jamestown At least you'd be closer to the bay!
Covered slip $2000.00 per year
elec $35 per month
State Farm $45 per month
Bourbon Supplies $65 per month