saltwater sterndrive experiences.

I will share my experience with you.

Last year, I purchased a boat that was from salt water and has a Bravo 3. 2005 260DA. The outdrive and transom was in extremely poor shape. Being new to boating, I thought the issues were only cosmetic and that I would be able to get away with re-sealing, sanding, priming, and painting it. The marine surveyor even suggested this and gave me the go ahead to purchase the boat after a boots/bellows/gimbal/shift cable job. (which I did immediately) He suggested 'this will be a great boat with some basic maintenance.'

Throughout my season last year, I noted that the trim gauge would fluctuate when attempting to trim. I later came to find out it was because my transom was failing.

This past winter, I ended up replacing the transom assembly and the outdrive. I'm not sure I would have been able to get through another season with the old transom and outdrive.

That job ended up costing me around $13,000. The corrosion got to the point where the gear case would not even hold any oil. The carrier bearing was so badly corroded they were not even able to pull it to service the drive. The swivel shaft pin was so rotten that you could lift the outdrive up and down. You get the picture. It was nasty and it's a wonder the thing even operated at all.

I do not regret purchasing the boat because it is otherwise in excellent condition, but to do it all over again I might have done it differently. Now that I've had my touch with it, the boat is in nearly perfect condition and nearly all of the issues caused by the saltwater have been corrected. At this point, only the most discerning eye would be able to tell it came from saltwater.

In a word... I will tell you that saltwater absolutely wreaks havoc on a sterndrive boat. Not sure my next boat will have sterndrives. And I'm in freshwater. Good luck with whatever you decide. There is no wrong answer, just awareness to have.
 
I will share my experience with you.

Last year, I purchased a boat that was from salt water and has a Bravo 3. 2005 260DA. The outdrive and transom was in extremely poor shape. Being new to boating, I thought the issues were only cosmetic and that I would be able to get away with re-sealing, sanding, priming, and painting it. The marine surveyor even suggested this and gave me the go ahead to purchase the boat after a boots/bellows/gimbal/shift cable job. (which I did immediately) He suggested 'this will be a great boat with some basic maintenance.'

Throughout my season last year, I noted that the trim gauge would fluctuate when attempting to trim. I later came to find out it was because my transom was failing.

This past winter, I ended up replacing the transom assembly and the outdrive. I'm not sure I would have been able to get through another season with the old transom and outdrive.

That job ended up costing me around $13,000. The corrosion got to the point where the gear case would not even hold any oil. The carrier bearing was so badly corroded they were not even able to pull it to service the drive. The swivel shaft pin was so rotten that you could lift the outdrive up and down. You get the picture. It was nasty and it's a wonder the thing even operated at all.

I do not regret purchasing the boat because it is otherwise in excellent condition, but to do it all over again I might have done it differently. Now that I've had my touch with it, the boat is in nearly perfect condition and nearly all of the issues caused by the saltwater have been corrected. At this point, only the most discerning eye would be able to tell it came from saltwater.

In a word... I will tell you that saltwater absolutely wreaks havoc on a sterndrive boat. Not sure my next boat will have sterndrives. And I'm in freshwater. Good luck with whatever you decide. There is no wrong answer, just awareness to have.
You make a great point but from the damage you say the boat had there was some serious neglect and deferred maintenance. Transoms rarely just....fail. You take your same boat, and there are plenty that lived in salt water and were properly maintained and you have a different story.

Personally, I think I would be looking to beat the crap out of the surveyor. He gave you some pretty poor advice.
Shawn
 
You make a great point but from the damage you say the boat had there was some serious neglect and deferred maintenance. Transoms rarely just....fail. You take your same boat, and there are plenty that lived in salt water and were properly maintained and you have a different story.

Personally, I think I would be looking to beat the crap out of the surveyor. He gave you some pretty poor advice.
Shawn

From what I have read it seems you are correct re: maintenance. Who knows whether they were doing the gear oil changes, outdrive services, etc. They did do manifolds and risers. But also sent me the boat with the wrong sacrificial anodes for fresh water.

The confusing thing is that the cabin, interior, fiberglass, generator, etc all needed basically zero attention. They were great. It needed a detail. That's about it.

It's okay, though, I now know my boat top to bottom back to front. I did reach out to the surveyor and let him know but I didn't hear back.
 
From what I have read it seems you are correct re: maintenance. Who knows whether they were doing the gear oil changes, outdrive services, etc. They did do manifolds and risers. But also sent me the boat with the wrong sacrificial anodes for fresh water.

The confusing thing is that the cabin, interior, fiberglass, generator, etc all needed basically zero attention. They were great. It needed a detail. That's about it.

It's okay, though, I now know my boat top to bottom back to front. I did reach out to the surveyor and let him know but I didn't hear back.
It looks like it all worked out for you. The sad part is there are people out there not bothered by screwing other people. As for the broker, the sad part is we have little recourse when they don't get it right. I was selling a 52" boat a few years back and the surveyor the buyers chose was an absolute moron. He easily cost me $10,000 plus the cost of having my own survey done to disprove his. As I said, not much recourse.

I'm glad things worked out for you....
Shawn
 
I 100% concur that regular maintenance is key to anything on a boat. Double with stern drives, and triple with stern drives in salt water.

I generally am very good about doing the maintenance on my "stuff", believing that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I think it is in large part because growing up we had lots of yard machinery (tractor, mower, chainsaws, etc.) that often didn't work properly. Despite being an engineer who had been charged with running navy ships, my dad seldom performed the basic maintenance on his own tools. As a result things were constantly breaking down or not working. Since I was charged with mowing the 4 acres of lawn each week, plowing snow, cutting wood, etc, it drove me bonkers that the tools I needed to do my job often didn't work.

With my own equipment I take very good care of it (change oil, plugs, belts, lube parts, winterize, etc) and have few problems. I extend that philosophy - and the results - to my boat.
 
Thanks for everyones input regarding sterndrives. I think for our purposes we are going to stick with V-Drive Diesels. Finding a 44 DA is what we have come back to. I just need to get the "Admiral" locked in so we can move forward before I'm too old to enjoy it...
 

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