Cruiser maintenance and spring tune up

[DoubleTrouble]

Just in case anyone wants to share their cruiser maintenance tips and spring tune up work...

This year I had all oil changed and new fuel filters. I skipped the impellers this year since I had them done last year. I also plan on having a new bottom job done but I'm waiting for my turn in line (wait is about 4 weeks). That is a major expense I only plan to do about every 3-4 years. But I also have a diver that scraps the bottom every 3 months.

My current issues are a dead battery (easy fix, just lazy in the winter to get it done) and apparently a genset that hates life. The starter must have bit it but the carb probably also needs a carb job. Oh the joys of generators....

-DT

 

[PEARCE]

I know this is off topic, but do you have a trailer for your boat? Why did you choose Ray Hubbard instead of Texoma since y'all live in Allen? I thought Allen was closer to Texoma.

Glad you're here. I know many of us, including myself, are jealous that you have a boat with a cabin and a/c. Does your boat have twin I/o's?

 

[DoubleTrouble]

All great questions! No trailer. I actually bought the boat on Texoma. Hauled it to Hubbard via semi. Why? Cause I have been on Hubbard since 93 and... Get this... It's closer! Door to marina in 25 min thnks to the Bush Turnpike. Love it. Plus Hubbard has all the stuff in Rockwall you can get to via water. And all the stuff by Bass Pro you can get to via water.

So we love Hubbard. . But with such a big boat that's not tailerable, we better love it. Lol.

My boat has twin inboard 8.1L Crusader engines and a 7.4W genset, a/c, full head with walk in shower and 2 beds. I stay out there at least once a week in the warmer months when kid sports schedules allow.

Now, the negatives are the maintenance ($), the slip ($), the gas ($), the dock upgrades ($), washing it ( time or $), etc. I love it but it's WAY different than a trailer boat. It's more of a lifestyle choice. If you like being st the docks a lot, then you will love a cruiser. If you wanna go home the second you are done wakeboarding, eh... Not so much.

 

[txav8r]

How about this new forum! Got the big boat discussion right here! I will love reading about your boat and what it takes to keep her up.

So...the genset. Are you handy enough to do the troubleshooting and repair the starter and do the carb overhaul yourself? Is there online help that can walk you through it with pictorial help? I had the same issues on the Trojan and had to pay someone over $500 to get the Onan running 2 months after I bought it and it was running for sea trial. At 10 bucks a foot for haulout and 10 bucks a foot to put back in...haulout is the last thing you want to have to do!

Clara and I want to do this...well, I want to do it, but Clara would like not having to prep/unprep for every trip. And...we haven't had weekends off exclusively. What we don't have on Ray Roberts, is the waterfront stores/restaurants, and they aren't too great on Texoma either, but there are marinas to go to that have restaurants. I can enjoy marina life and visiting with everyone...but she sees the 18 year olds running around in the thongs, and the wives with a cocktail at 10am, and she has the wrong impression of it from the get go, so I haven't been able to sell that either.

I am hoping you can give a breakdown of what your annual expenses and costs are with that boat, if you think it would be similar on a SeaRay or Chappy, and if you think a reduction of length down in the 30'-33' range would significantly reduce it, or does age/condition play a bigger role. As a '74 vintage, our boat probably had more issues...but I think the biggest issue was being transported from the great lakes to Texas. Big change in climate and the road trip had to be hard. I bought it off Eagle Mountain Lake and moved it to Texoma...and sold (took a huge hickie) back to the broker a year later and he moved it back to EM. I am looking forward to following and learning!

 

[DoubleTrouble]

ROFL... your comments crack me up.... 18yo in thongs and wives with cocktails... yep, that's why I go.. ROFL... Seriously, most of the dock crowd that can afford that type of boat aren't 18yo in thongs. I *WISH* that were the case but sadly not. The docks tend to be in two flavors. Ours is a pretty big party dock with MANY people out at night and most partaking in adult beverages sometimes in excess (I'm not excluded here!). But, most people are very friendly and just want to hang out with like minded people. There are jerks, of course, but that is everywhere. The second kind is the one that is dead most of the time. For whatever reason those docks have people that have their big boat but rarely spend any time there. I don't get it, but it happens.

You nailed the cost issues. I've not been hauled out once since I put it in the water 4 years ago. I should have hauled it out last summer for the bottom job and I'm afraid I'm going to pay for it ten fold with gelcoat blisters when I get out soon. But only time will tell. The diver says everything looks good except some oxidation on the props and shafts because I thought he was changing the zincs and he didn't think he was suppose to. My bad I guess.

I can do some of the work myself but honestly the biggest thing is LITERALLY the biggest thing. ME. I have a hard time working in the engine room. I'm 6'4" 250lbs and getting back to the VERY small area of the genset is like doing a game of twister on steroids. So, I have tended to pay the money to have it worked on. Oil changes, impellers, etc each year. I had a fuel pump go out. Mostly minor stuff but after 4 years its time for some big maintenance $. Bottom job, genset repairs, tranny oil change.

And this year there is an even bigger reason for a haul out. The water intake for the head is clogged. We can't get it unclogged and the diver tried. So, that means during the bottom job, the group will clear the water intake for me as well.

So, regular stuff is:

Slip: $385 x 12
Diver: $150 x 4
Cleaning Crew: $85 per cleaning if weekly, a bit more if bi-weekly or monthly. I vary it by season.
Gas: I fill up my 380 gallons about 2 times per year which equals about $3k. You can control this obviously.
Beer: I fill up every weekend...

Maintenance
Oil change/fuel filters: About $1k per year for all 3 motors
Impellers: Add a little in those years, not much maybe $100
Tranny Oil: Probably about another $300 but I've never done it yet.
Bottom Job: Every 3-4 years cost about $3k

Net-net bring your checkbook and a good attitude about it cause you're going to need it. But look, I don't have a swimming pool at home and I choose to put my money in this boat. I look at it as entertainment money. I don't go to Vegas or gamble, etc. I love it.

I did come VERY close to trading it in on a new Yammie last year. I had the deal done with Phil Dill and the day before they had to back out because the buyer of my boat backed out. I've since decided to keep mine. Mostly because of the dock life. But also know that a boat like this takes a long while to sell when you decide to do it. The market is not as big and it takes much longer. And there is a slip lease which can't just be dumped at a whim. It's yearly so you'll have that cost with or without the boat unless the marina has a waiting list for your slip.

*WHEW* That was a lot... sorry I was so wordy.

 

[txav8r]

No no...not too wordy! And I appreciate you taking the time to share it all!

Yeah, I was referring more to the 18YO girls that were the kids of the parent/owners. And then the 20+YO kids of parent/owners that had the keys and were there when the parents weren't watching. We were pretty conservative raising our kids and didn't want them to have a silver spoon in their mouths or expect it, we wanted them to create their own. So my wife's eyebrows were constantly raised that these kids were running free without much guidance. But then again, like you said, it is the dock your on. The folks were super friendly, and I wondered how the dad on boat "X" could see his daughter running around like that, and all the dirty old men (guilty if I didn't get caught looking!) ogling her. But the evening cocktails I loved, and sitting down and sharing stories, food, drink, and friendships...all seemed harmless to me. Just my wife, she seemed to feel that it was too much escape from the everyday world I guess.

The breakdown is very helpful and a good idea of what other cruiser folks have to accept. I think I was blindsided somewhat because I didn't have numbers broken out like this beforehand to prepare me. I do remember when you bought your boat, and I remember when your deal fell through to sell it. I am going to continue to look at something like this. Reducing this cost can be pretty easy because even a 3' shorter boat reduces costs a good deal, 6' is better. I had never considered having a diver to do mid haul bottom and zinc service. Can you prevent blisters by doing that? I guess I thought a bottom job was about 2-4 years anyway, but you see some that rarely do them, and others that seem to do them every year! Thanks again for this thread!

 

[txav8r]

Hey DT, @DoubleTrouble I am looking at cruisers again. I see a couple of Sea Rays locally. A 280 and a 310 sundancer. Both are in the $55-60K range. The smaller is a 445 hr boat and the larger is 550 I think. I don't have all the facts yet, but looking to find out more if I can get the wife on board. I am also looking at a 2011 SX240. A world apart these boats...but I am wondering if the cruiser would be a fit for us more of the year. If they don't have a genset and canvase, you can let out other than summer. I wanted to ask you, do you use yours in the spring/fall when the weather is cooler? And do you tend to stay in the boathouse, or do you venture out, drop anchor, and stay the night very often?

 

[DoubleTrouble]

Great questions. So, I tend to be out there in the shoulder seasons at least at the dock as soon as it is warm enough to be outside w/o heaters. Same way in the fall, we will be out on the docks as long as its warm enough. But we also have a setup at the dock that includes a fridge, TV and patio furniture.

I go out year round and stay the night on the boat in the slip by myself during the week when work and kid sports allow it. My wife and kids don't much because we have a dog at home and having our dog at the dock is a real PITA since you have run the thing to the bathroom all the time. Alot of people bring their dogs and deal with it but I'm too lazy. Maybe more this year if I can convince the wife the kids can handle the dog.

As for going out and spending the night at anchor, I've done it. It's fun and quiet and secluded. But it takes some getting use to. How you ask? You wake up at 2a, 3a, 4a, wondering.... IS THE ANCHOR HOLDING???? I suspect like anything over time you'd become more accustomed to it and will sleep better. I just keep having visions of my boat beached against the shore.

I'd like to do it more than I do but as I said, the fam tends to want to go home to the dog. But I do love it. So much in fact that when I retire I hope to be on the coast so we can "cruise" and spend one to many weeks aboard going along the inter-coastal waterways or even across to Bimini/Bahamas. I won't do that with THIS boat because its too old and too likely to have issues.

If you have a full canvas enclosure (I do but don't really use it) you can cruise year round. Fun but over time you'll do it less IMHO.

As I've said before, just know going in that cruisers are much more maintenance and cost than that SX240. Decide if your entertainment money is well spent on the cruiser or not. I'm not discouraging you from moving to a cruiser, I love mine. But after being in one I know there is stuff that adds up. If you aren't prepared for that it might take away the fun factor.

I hope that helps. As always, feel free to ask my anything and if you haul your boat to Ray Hubbard some weekend (assuming we get some damn rain) we can meet up, tie-up and drink up.