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New, Used, or Keep what I have? Boat buying.

2/10/2016

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  The boat shows are coming. They will attract avid boaters, wannabe boaters, and just plain curious type folks. Dozens, maybe hundreds of new boats, all styles, many manufacturers, and exciting new technologies; all gleaming and polished under high bright lighting. It is an exciting experience to behold.
  Sights and sounds of customers' questions, and the proud dealer showing his wares, creating the energy of deals being made, and families imagining themselves cruising down the waterway with the wind in their hair.  But as the shows wind down, it becomes decision time.
  I would like to concentrate on perhaps the most difficult choice; but potentially the choice offering the best value--- that being the purchase of a used boat.  Mostly this will pertain to outboard powered vessels, but some of the information works across the board. Also this is intended for both first time buyers/boaters , and experienced folks who've already perhaps bought and sold some boats. So let's get started!
  Perhaps the most important thing to understand when contemplating used boats is, aside from a few exceptions , likely 50 to 75% of your boating dollar is buying the motor. That guy hanging off the back, doing the work, is one amazing piece of engineering, and most folks don't get any kind of breakdown of these costs when those in the business talk about "boat, motor, trailer" packages.
  I cannot begin to say how many broken spirited (potential) boaters that I've had to inform that their used boat they just bought will require thousands of dollars to rebuild a damaged outboard; or worse, tell them that given the value, condition, and quality of their purchase, it simply isn't worth putting that kind of money into a blown motor. This happens every spring, it's frustrating for all parties, and is quite simply, completely avoidable.  Outboard motors are amazing machines, but by their design, they can fool the uneducated ,and even some mechanically savvy folks. By the time I see these unfortunate buyers, the sequence of events had gone something like this:
  They saw a neat looking,  center console while driving through the country and stopped to check it out. The seller seems like a nice enough guy, and your gut tells you he/she isn't trying to take advantage of you. You looked the boat over meticulously  , and the guy even started the outboard using a water hose (flush adapter) , and the motor fired right up, sounded great! You make the deal, and on your first trip to the lake, the motor starts right up for you also BUT, when you shift into a gear, the motor stalls out. You restart, over and over, and the same result occurs.  It sounds OK, probably just a fouled plug, or the idle needs turned up, you bring it to a technician, and you get one depressing phone call soon thereafter. It seems your motor has a "scored" piston/cylinder, it needs to be completely torn down, machined, and new piston(s), rings, seals, and all other parts required for a full rebuild. But it started and ran ,you say-it can't be blown up! Well, actually, yes, it can be blown and still run (albeit poorly), and no , turning up the idle isn't going to help the stalling issue, because one or more of the engine's pistons is damaged, cannot make compression, and thus can do no work.
  Lesson one: running an outboard in neutral, on a garden hose tells one little to nothing concerning the condition/ health of said motor. The ONLY ways to measure the compression of internal combustion motors is either a compression test (this used to be the standard test, but most sharp techs today know some outboards can have scored cylinders and pass compression testing) OR a cylinder leak down test. That involves holding the rotating assembly to top dead center of the cylinder being tested, pumping in a given amount of compressed air, and watching gauges that show how much of that air leaks off-meaning piston rings have failed, a head gasket has failed, or a piston and cylinder wall is damaged and no longer have clearance to maintain compression; if said cylinder cannot retain about 90% of the pressure put in. Be weary if the seller makes a big deal about how good the compression numbers are. It may be fine, but again, this test is not 100% definitive. Plus there are plenty of other very expensive assemblies on the machine.
  You are rolling the dice if you buy any boat without a thorough on water test.  It should be said, in fairness to the roadside seller; there is an extremely high probability he/she doesn't know this information about the motor he's run for years, either. In fact, he may have already increased the idle speed to compensate the stalling issue, thinking he solved the problem. But be very weary if said seller won't allow a real test run. They may know their little secret will show itself once the outboard is  loaded , or shifted into a gear; causing the motor to work. 
  Here is about how a shakedown test run on the water should go, more or less. (Technology in autos and marine motors is today pretty complex, so no one rule applies to all outboards; so we'll try to set some wider rules of thumb).
  If the outboard is in proper state of repair, these things should happen:
     The motor should start within a few seconds of engaging the starter motor. EFIs , Carb motors, DFIs, and even 4 strokes were never designed to need endless minutes of grinding on a starter. If this isn't the case, there are 2 possibilities: something is malfunctioning on the outboard, OR the owner doesn't understand his machine well enough to start it properly--an extremely common  scenario!
  Next, given enough time to warm up, an outboard should never stall when put into gear, period. It is that simple. Can one adjust the idle up (this can't be done with newer fuel injected motors because the computer controls that function) to solve the problem? Maybe. But think about it. Did some outboard gremlin crawl into your motor and start turning screws and cams, knocking the motor out of idle balance? These settings are mechanical, they don't change unless some human changes them.
  If all good so far, the outboard should get the boat on plane in a reasonable amount of time, without prolonged "plowing", or running with the bow (front) straight up in the air, struggling to get the boat up onto it's planing attitude. No odd noises or excessive smoke, or bucking or missing should occur.
And the gauge you should be watching is the tachometer.  This measurement of the outboard crankshaft amount of revolutions in ratio to throttle needs is THE most vital information you'll need to learn. For instance, the "idle speed" for outboards is mostly measured with the boat on the water, running in forward gear, with no throttle applied. The RPMs as they're referred to; typically range from 600 to 800. There is no spec for a motor idling out of the water, running in neutral. Again ,that worthless hose pipe demonstration comes into play.
  As for high to full throttle RPMs, and this spec is fairly universal (until one gets into insane high performance outboards turning in excess of 10,000 revs!) so with the boat trimmed correctly and loaded within allowable spec; it should fall between 5 to 6000 RPM.  Four stroke and 2 stroke outboards max out around this amount. If the motor is way off this spec, it could, and often does mean, the motor isn't propped correctly. But it could also mean the motor isn't healthy if prop pitch is correct. Outboard motors above 25 hp do NOT come with props. Outboards (and inboard/outboards) require the motors to be run at full throttle on water to determine the correct prop for the application. And while propping is a science in itself, just remember, the outboard could be sold and rigged for any of a thousand boat configurations, so it goes to reason that manufacturers are not  going to sell the motor with some educated guess for a prop. The prop fit is the job of the selling dealer and to a degree; the boat builder; and there are calculations needed to be made with the boat running full throttle on water to determine correct prop pitch. AGAIN the zero value of that pesky water hose neutral running outboard "demo", comes into play for you, the potential buyer.
  With all this being said, after the on water test, the next logical step should then be to take the rig to a good tech, tell him/her all the data mentioned above that you've quietly and wisely collected; and have the boat , or least the motor(s) inspected for current and future service required, and the costs thereof. If you have done your homework and paid attention on the test run; by passing your information to the tech, you'll save some serious money on the inspection (he likely doesn't need to test run it again if your data is within spec.) And said tech should be able to advise concerning the cost vs. return on investment should you end up purchasing. But remember  cost, the value, and peace of mind you'll have with this boat purchase ONLY works if you (or your trusted tech if necessary) follow the order of actions, and put the boat on water, and have a tech survey the rig.
 Unfortunately, too many of my clients reverse the order; they purchase, test run, and then have us tell them the whats, the whys, and the how much to repair they'll require to safely use a boat that will often  then leave a bitter taste in their mouth every time they use it.Thus we have a  prime example of a first time buyer who quickly becomes a last time boater. It needn't happen that way.
 

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June 21st, 2015

6/21/2015

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It's pushing 90 degrees, it has been one long work  week, the cooler is packed, family excited, and you are backing your truck towards your boat trailer anticipating a nice calm "water detox", everything you'd dreamed of in terms of family enjoyment when you first thought about boating.  But is it really that; or is it perhaps more of a dreadful memory of all the things that went wrong the on last boating adventure?
  Let's be very honest here, and admit we all had some serious trepidation dealing with boats and towing in the beginning  and ,I would bet, there are folks still participating for the sake of family fun; for whom the experience has never really been comfortable, much less fun.
  In my experience launching, and loading your boats on public ramps, for diagnostic or work completion testing; I have seen most of the typical, shall we say, "poor decisions" made by both newbies and seasoned boaters. The things that produce stress, and negative feelings from the get go. We've all seen them, we've laughed at some, cursed at some, and if we're true boaters, we have offered to help out if possible.
  Rather than listing mistakes; let's concentrate on some common sense practices that I promise will help keep the unloading and loading process smooth and quite doable.
  Backing a trailer sounds easy enough, right? I have likely backed boat trailers a hundred miles by now, and can do it with any trailer, and any boat, on any ramp. Guess what, it took practice and lots of attempts to really smooth it out. As a working human, you likely don't have much time for practice, but taking an evening on a fall day (not so much vehicular traffic), and simply backing your rig into and out of a ramp several times, from different angles, and curves, can be very helpful. If I see one thing that gives the most trouble ,it would be over correction. Too much front end sweeping of the tow vehicle causes the trailer axle(s) to reverse wildly side to side. Slow down, when you see the trailer turning off course, make a small correction, so as to simply get direction back under control.
   How deep in the water? It depends on the trailer, the vessel, the ramp angle, the tide, and your experience. You WILL be getting the rear wheels of your truck in the water, so get over that. You are deep enough when you can drive the vessel off or on the trailer with the boat's motor(s). Period.
  I highly suggest that if you have a helper, he/she should stop the tow driver when deep enough to start the boat motor. Lower the motor (or drive) to the correct-- starting position--which, for an outboard, is full vertical position!  (This is a CRITICAL function of the dreaded outboard "cold start"-and we'll talk about that soon!) Once the motor is started ; one can tilt up a bit if concerned about bottom strike, but  shift the motor into and out of gear to make sure there's no stalling, and an operating temperature has been achieved.
   NOW, and only now, is it really safe to back the trailer in the rest of the way so as to "drive" the boat off the trailer. It takes some practice, and common sense; but do you really want to walk all the way back from your parked truck/trailer, carrying a cooler, to find your boat tied at the ramp dock with a dead battery, or unforeseen mechanical problem?  Incidentally; the practice of starting outboards at home with a water hose really doesn't indicate anything other than the motor will idle on "some" of it's cylinders. The motor running in your driveway is "unloaded";  there is no exhaust back pressure, possibly not running on all cylinders, and with modern equipment, engine computers are so smart as to be able to compensate for a dead cylinder by remapping the functioning cylinders to idle up. It is highly unlikely very many non-tech folks will even notice. "She idles fine on the hose"; in the words of my frustrated clients.  Hose pipe outboard operation, in short, is a very ineffective method of evaluating the health of the motor ,and learning you have an issue AFTER you have kicked your boat off its trailer and parked your truck, will not make for many Happy Rampers waiting to use the ramp you're now obstructing.
   Practice your backing skills, try and exercise patience and courtesy on public ramps. Think through the motor starting/ unloading procedure.  If the sequence breaks down; take a breath, begin the engine start up from step one again, give it a fair try, but try to remember that ramp time is critical to everyone. If she won't go, pull out, get out of the traffic, look things over calmly. Have you forgotten the safety lanyard?   I'm never going to admit how many times I have!
   Boat safe   Boat smart
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    Ben Goulding

    Ben is an accomplished
    certified Mercury outboard
    Technician for over 20 years in Lake Wylie,
    South Carolina. 

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