I just bought my first boat.

[JoeNational]

whats up guys I just bought my first boat this weekend. It is itsn't anything fancy its a 17' 1988 bayliner capri cuddy. it is in excellent condition. now since i have never owned a boat before i was just wondering if any of you guys know of any boat forums out there. or if any of you guys own any boats and have any knowledge you could pass on. thanks.

 

[dgreen1069]

I can tell you as a former boat owner that the two happiest days in a man's life are when he buys his first boat and when he sells it.

Seriously, congratulations on your new toy. Boats are a lot of fun, but they can be a pain in the but. As long as you are using it on a fairly regular basis you'll be fine. If you don't use it for any length of time, it will rot faster than you can imagine. Do yourself a favor and make sure it was winterized properly.....it will save you a lot of headaches in the spring. Good luck

 

[JoeNational]

Thanks for the luck. yeah the previous owners took care of the boat really well. it was winterized by pros each and every time. the compression test on the motor came back with 140 across the board and everything has been changed and is operational. the only thing is i am now going to go crazy in the winter with the national in the garage and the boat out of the water.

 

[Grant National]

I own a bar in front of a marina. Let me remind you that...

B.O.A.T.= Break Out Another Thousand

Not that cars are cheap or anything

Good luck with your new purchase. You will soon want a bigger one.

 

[JoeNational]

Yeah i am ready for that but since it is my first boat i figured i will learn the waters first then upgrade. or just like what i did with the national. do a little at a time. thanks for the luck.

 

[turbobuickman]

Boats do require a lot of care, but will last as long as you give them that care. The only reason they get such a reputation is because so many people just leave them in the water all season long, dont winterize it, dont maintain it, etc... Keep it covered as sun will do more damage to it than you could ever beleive, but after using it let it dry out before covering it to prevent mildew and rot and such. Waterproof your cover(s) so rainwater does not get in while not in use. If you intend to leave it in the water, take it out and wash it often. Change fluids frequently, and keep a close eye on them. Dont drive around with a chewed up (out of balance) prop, it will kill your drivetrain. Dont over rev it. And try not to hit things If you cant handle the responsibilities then you may just not be much of a boater after all, and you'll probably sell it or let it rot in your driveway. If you dont mind spending a little time and money, you will be rewarded. Boating is no different from what you already do with your Buick. Its a hobby

Good luck, and have fun!

 

[JoeNational]

Originally posted by turbobuickman
Boats do require a lot of care, but will last as long as you give them that care. The only reason they get such a reputation is because so many people just leave them in the water all season long, dont winterize it, dont maintain it, etc... Keep it covered as sun will do more damage to it than you could ever beleive, but after using it let it dry out before covering it to prevent mildew and rot and such. Waterproof your cover(s) so rainwater does not get in while not in use. If you intend to leave it in the water, take it out and wash it often. Change fluids frequently, and keep a close eye on them. Dont drive around with a chewed up (out of balance) prop, it will kill your drivetrain. Dont over rev it. And try not to hit things If you cant handle the responsibilities then you may just not be much of a boater after all, and you'll probably sell it or let it rot in your driveway. If you dont mind spending a little time and money, you will be rewarded. Boating is no different from what you already do with your Buick. Its a hobby

Good luck, and have fun!

Thanks man, that is great advice. I know it will take some time for me to get the hang of also knowing the ins and outs of the boat, but I know I will learn. Since it is something I really want and will enjoy i will make sure it is well taken care of. good thing is the previous owners really took care of this boat so all i have to do is keep that tradition and I will be taking the boat out of the water when the season is over. and cleaning it and all that good stuff.

 

[tjthorson]

Oh boy - eighties Bayliner? Good starter boat. You will learn how to fix everything at least once and know exactly what NOT to get on your next boat.

I had an 85 Bayliner...

Have a Force outboard? Hopefully you at least have a OMC or Volvo inboard. Is it an "L" drive? That might as well be a Force outboard. When they run, they are OK. They are underpowered for what the rating is. Force is the only manufacturer that rated HP at the crank. All the others rated at the prop. So, a 120 Force is really a 105HP in any other brand, FYI.

If you expect to put more then 4 on board, look into trim tabs to plane out. Without seating in the front, all the weight is in the back, and even trimmed all the way in, its tough to get up on plane.

With a Force outboard the water pickup is low compared to other brands - it picks up the water right by the prop shaft. If you go through shallow water, you will pick up the muck and plug up the block. Practice in your driveway hanging off the back of the boat and remove the cover and the 4 screw thermostat housing at the top of the block. Out on the water you can fire it up and the water pump should blow the stuff out. Be sure your overheat buzzer works. I once plugged up mine so bad I needed to use a shop vac on the engine block at home to finally free it up.

You need to be anal about water on that boat. Bayliner in the eighties would cut access holes and not seal the ends of the plywood in the cuts. Furthermore, they used non-treated plywood to save money. That equates to easily rotting wood. Check the floors for soft spots, check around the center hatch, and check the transom to be sure its not wet. Drill a small pilot hole in the INSIDE of the transom down low. See if the wood is wet. If so, its only a matter of time before it rots for good. If the wood is black, the boat is done.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this boat will set you up to be anal about maintenance and keeping a boat dry (which is good for when you step up to a newer, bigger boat).

Check out http://www.goboating.com

 

[JoeNational]

great info

Excellent this is exactly what i was looking for. Yes it is an 85hp force outboard. but in the near future i might be looking to upgrade to a more powerfull motor. i dont plan to have more then 4 or 5 ppl at once on it. even though it seats 6 ppl. now exactly what are trim tabs? The floor is in great shape. checked everything the only thing wrong is some tears on the seats but that is really nothing. what do you mean by "L" drive? i know these are probably stupid questions but new to this whole boating world. what kind of bayliner did you have? how long did you keep it? how does it handle on the water, even though its an 85hp outboard is there going to be any power in this thing or it will feel like one of those putt putts? thanks a lot.

 

[turbobuickman]

Hey Joe, just noticed your local. Where do you plan on using this thing? If you are goin to be in salt water, maintenance and cleanliness becomes even more important. Also, I very strongly reccomend you take some sort of coast guard boating course because there are a LOT of things you NEED to know when youre in the ocean/adjacent waterways. They are very informative and cover everything from knots to safety to navigation. Very important stuff. Also, get used to watching for the marine conditions, big seas are rough on a 17 footer. Any lakes near you?

 

[JoeNational]

Yes it is going to be in salt water. I do plan on taking the Coast Guard safety courses as soon as I can. Luckily I will be with people that have owned simailar sized boats in the past so I will learn how to maintain the boat properly. There aren't any lakes that I know of. Also because of the size I dont plan to go out far at all I just want to stay close to the bay and enjoy the warm weather. I am a very good swimmer but I didn't by the boat to go deep sea swimming . thanks for the info.

 

[tjthorson]

An "L" drive was a basket case idea introduced by Force as an answer to an inboard/outboard. It basically was an outboard two-cycle mounted inside the boat, with the lower unit outside like an I/O.

They are horrible.

Your Force outboard is quite possibly one of the worst outboards ever produced -kinda like the "edsel" or "pacer"of the outboard world. (No offense to pacer owners.).

With an 85hp, you are really about 70-75hp at the prop. With 5 people on board, dont expect much. Again, i dont mean to bash it too bad, i think its a great started boat, because any boat you own after this one you will REALLY appreciate.

Salt water? Be sure to do a fresh water flush after each outing. You will also want to crawl into the cuddy and use liquid electrical tape on every connectiuon you can find - the salt water will corrode everything under there, and Bayliner really didn't do any kind of marine sealing or weatherproof connectors like the other brands do.

If your floor is solid, consider yourself lucky and keepit as dry as possible. ALWAYS cover it when its not in use.

You have an outboard, and a Force unit at that. I wouldn't travel any farther then 20 feet off shore without a backup kicker motor (10 hp gas?) just to get you home or maintain control if need be.

Enjoy it, they are lots of fun. I love my boat, so does the family, and we use it whenever possible during the summer. Learn everything you can and be a safe captain on the water.

I had a 1985 Bayliner 1900 cuddy. It was a 19 foot cuddy Bayliner with a 125 Force outboard.

Some pics - after Iput the new dash in and rewired it all.
http://www.geocities.com/tjthorsonhome@sbcglobal.net/85bayliner.htm

The new boat. 4.3 Merc I/O - what a difference. Does 40mph all day with 10 people on board and room to spread out on.
http://www.geocities.com/tjthorsonhome@sbcglobal.net/00sylvan.htm

Look up Lenco trim tabs on the web - it will explain a lot. Only make that investment if you have trouble planing like I did.

 

[JoeNational]

This is the exact boat..this is the exact boat (back of it)

Thanks for the info. I see that you have the trim tabs , do you think i will be needing them? were they hard to install, or pretty much straight fwd, was the wiring a pain at all? I really dont plan to be going out that far at all like I stated before I just want to get out on the water and and enjoy my first boat you know. but I really do appreiciate the honesty and experience you have with this boat since it is pretty much the exact boat I have.

Your new boat is very nice. hopefully I can purchase a newer bigger, faster boat in the future . but first I just want to get my feet wet thanks again.

 

[tjthorson]

I put on the tabs because I needed them. Your boat is even smaller, so it will be harder to fit them back there. I had to remove my swim platform as it was. Try it out and see. My problem was the boat wouldn't plane out with 4 little kids and 2 adults on board. It was downright scary at times, driving around with the bow in the air at 5mph, pushing a wall of water in front of you. If you plane out OK, dont invest the money.

i used the Lenco electrics, they are little morepricey, but worth it to me instead of the hydraulic pump and lines associated with hydraulic tabs.

Dont spend the dough unless you have to.

Oh, one more thing, if you are using life jackets from a previous owner, test them out or replace them. I have seen people use old jackets that sink faster then lead..... the time to learn that is now....

 

[JoeNational]

Oh ok great, yeah i see that it might be a problem for us, because there might be some "Bigger" ppl aboard but will wait to see, well the place we i bought the boat from threw in a coast gurad kit with brand new jackets, Gaft, anchor, line. etc... so all that stuff is good to go. I dont see me using the swim platform either so I might be taking that off first thing.

We will be naming the boat "STILL AFLOAT JR." I think that is a sufficient name

 

[dgreen1069]

Do the Force outboards have electric trim? (there should be a button that makes the motor go up and down) If it has it, it would be a waste to add trim tabs to a boat that small. You should expect to get about 30 knots out of that combo. It won't be a rocket ship, but it should have enough power to pull a skier in the water. Good luck.

 

[JoeNational]

I dont know I dont think that it does. but would be nice. yeah i dont expect the boat to fly but I do want something with some speed so I am hoping this motor does it . thanks.

 

[tjthorson]

It will have a power trim. But, in an underpowered boat, you need all the prop force pushing you forward. Trimming in to lift the stern is a waste of forward momentum.
Like i said, if the boat has trouble planing out, trim tabs will fix that and make the boat more enjoyable. Mine was almost unusable as soon as I added more then four on board - and mine was the 125 Force.....

The trim tabs made it drive like a new boat.

 

[ssleeper94]

From my expereince, I'd get a depth finder (found out the hardway new outdrives aren't cheap), before going through the trouble of installing trim tabs buy a hydrofoil(35-50bucks). A spare tire for the trailer is key.(once again found out hardway blew both tires on a trip at seperate times) Always make sure plug is in the back, a spare key, and a spare prop.


tjthrson, i see your from IL, where do you take your boat?
I'm just south of Chicago and usally go to Clinton Lake downstate or sewage lake, i mean cedar lake indiana