Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge I bought a boat!...Any boaters out there?

Picked her up last week

1994 Bayliner Cuddy Cabin




Any boaters out there cause I got a few maintenance questions.

I have had my fair share of experiences with boats - throw it out there, if I cant answer it, somebody here can.

iboats.com has been a great resource for me.

Nice one! Not a boater but always wanted to be.

Looks like a nice clean boat there, Tom.

What is it, about a 18-19 footer there?

And what kinda engine is spinnin' the prop of that I/O unit?

Not yet, but definitely considering it. Probably not for a couple of years though.

Things like does that boat have wood in the transom. In the up position press your weight on the cavitation plates of the out drive and see if the fiberglass bulges in the transom when you do. That would indicate rot. Like that kinda stuff?

Or simple like a fresh water muff and flush after every time it is in the salt water.

There are probably a lot of folks here that know a lot about boats.

Yeee ! Congratulations ! You are experiencing one of the two greatest events in a boat owners' life :

1. the day you bought it

and the next one would be :

2. the day you sell it

BOAT is an acronym : Break Out Another Thousand !

Seriously , hope you have a blast with it . I'm a former boater

My second 'toy', but don't ask me any questions about maintenance....



The local marina just keep sending me the invoices...BOAT, Break Out Another Thousand, yeah right

Yup... I'm a boater. I got a 15' personal watercraft. She's a beautiful canoe with an electric motor. Maintenance? Charge the battery.

Seriously though... congratulations on your purchase. I'm sure there are people here with boating experience.

Hi.My name is Charlie and I'm a boater.Currently own five.I'm here to help if I can.Lesson one:Never ever start the boat with the outdrive in the up position.Never did it myself but I have seen the aftermath of someone who did and trust me it's not pretty.A plaque I used to have on one of my boats read like this.

A boat is nothing more than a hole in the water into which one pours money........
But seriously the boat in the picture appears to be very well maintained and that's the key.Take care of the small problems when they pop up (and they will) and you should be okay.

Yep..... Past boater...... PAST..... PAST..... Thank God....

It was fun while it lasted.... but that was one toy I didnt regret finally getting rid of....

Does 27 yrs. in the Coast Guard count?
Keep'er clean stem to stern, inside and out(including the engine and bilges, so you can see any leaks immediately). Also, you want to keep the engine flushed out every time you bring her out of the water, especially salt water.
If you haven't already check out a Boating Safety Course through your local Coast Guard Auxiliary. They know their stuff and finishing the course may save you on insurance.
Anything else, let me know.
May you have fair winds and following seas..
Oh! and NICE looking boat..

One day I'll have a boat more like this one though

Nice Boat Tom. I had a 20' Bayliner Bowrider and a 25' Sportfisher, they sure are lots of fun. This summer I'm learning to sail and I've caught the bug again. Are you going on the ocean or keeping it in freshwater?

I like boats, but I've never seriously considered buying one. I have had familiy that had some nice ones, and the amount of money they cost was way out of my league. Still, I like boats and I hope you have a great time with yours!

I have a 50 year old 12 foot Quintrex tinny. (Aluminium for our US cousins) Good fun. I just quit my job at the local marina to work in the new museum here. Love boats, missus hates them, hahahahahaha, Couldn't be better!!!!

Alright I knew there was some boaters on here. My main thing is that my father is a boat guy, but he's an "outboard" boat guy. So I cant get all the info from him. Ive been on that iboats.com site, and theres a lot of info to wade through. I'm mainly trying to identify all the components in the engine, like where fluids go and get checked and so on. The manual has no pictures at all.

Now most of the stuff is simple because it is a car engine.


I'm pretty sure the resevoir on the right is where the I/O gear oil goes correct? It looks like its on the low side but when its in the water it looks fine. Which one am I filling to?

Wheres the coolant go, get checked, how often, what kind..etc?

Transmission fluid?

Last and important...I have a small bit of oil residue on the inside of the engine cover, which looks to be seeping from the valve rocker cover at the back of the engine but cant really tell. Theres a small plastic hole that you can see in the pic just above the air filter, that comes from the top of the valve cover. Is there supposed to be a cap or hose coming from that? I seen oil residue around that point and thought maybe is was coming from there?

Oh and is it okay to run the boat without the cover to determine where this is coming from?

Yes B.O.A.T, is correct. I'm not really in it too deep right now and she runs good aside from this and that...haha

Thanks

I'm a sailboater but I like to have friends with powerboats. Actually, my wife has a Boston Whaler and we have a Avon tender for our sailboat. We are at a mooring in Avalon at the moment and will be leaving for Two Harbors in a couple of hours. Have a great time with your new boat and just ignore those remarks about it being a hole in the water to throw money into.
Bill

Not to derail the thread, but it reminds me of a friend/worker who retired 2 months ago and moved from the dryland grain country of central Montana to a small house/sailboat parked on Puget Sound, WA. He's been a boater for years (~24-26' sailboat), this was their dream, hope it's working out better than planned

jh

Okay here we go.

1.The small hole in the cover does indeed have a hose which connects to the underside of your spark arrestor(air filter in auto terms).Never operate the boat with arrestor not in place.It's mandatory to run your blower(if so equipped and it should be)for about 5 to 10 minutes before starting your engine).To be sure you can also open engine cover as well.The reason for this is that if you have a fuel leak the fumes will collect in the bilge area of the boat and the smallest spark will make you go boom.That being said it's always a good idea to inspect your fuel lines for damage.While on the subject, if you ever need to replace the starter NEVER replace it with an automotive unit.The marine starters also have built in spark arrestors.
2.The reservoir I believe is for your trim pump which of course the level will change depending on the position of the gearcase.I think this boat is too old to have a gearcase reservoir but I'm not 100% sure.
3.Like 05 woody said this is a raw water cooling system.There is a water pump on the engine and also a water pump(impeller) in the outdrive.Depending on usage,salt water or fresh,the impeller should be changed every season for salt and you may be able to get away with every two seasons for fresh.Gearcase oil should be changed every season as well. That also means when the weather starts to get colder the engine must be properly drained and winterized.Hope this helps.Charlie

I think ModelMaker is a boater, now that he sold me his bike...

Okay Ive been poking around and found a manual, but I cant find anything about whether theres a pcv valve connected from the rocker cover to the spark arrester.

Is this just a simple tube going from the rocker cover to the spark arrestor, or am I missing a pcv valve?

Is the purpose of a pcv valve to stop the flow of water if its flooded into the air intake?

I'm trying to determine whether I can use a piece of tubing temporarily until I get the right part. Its Thursday at the end of summer ya know?

I'm reading this as fitting to the rocker cover on the right and the spark arrestor connection on the left?

The positive crankcase valve (PCV) has nothing to do with water.It's purpose is to siphon off unspent fuel gases and water vapor that build up in your engine's crankcase.I suppose in a pinch you could put a hose in between but I don't think it's all that necessary.The only adverse effect is that your fuel economy will suffer but not by much.Just try to get the proper parts in place A.S.A.P. Charlie

I think we need a boat forum...

roadworthy...haha...wtf?

yes birthday boat forums would make me happy

motorcycles and boats go hand in hand...theyre both toys for big kids.

Actually Mike, in NJ they now require you to take a 7 hour boater's saftey course in order to operate anything with a motor attached to it.

Musta been too many guidos killing themselves at the jersey shore...haha

What does the transom brace do exactly?

Ya beat me to it, Coasty!

Am I guessing correctly what yous guys call an outdrive, everyone else calls an outboard motor?

Oh.

Swore I'd never own another until I could keep it docked right outside my door. Walk out, untether it and drive away.

3 recommendations:

* Invest in a quality bilge pump (you don't really want to know why I say this)

* Practice all those knots you've forgotten since Scouting.

* Stay somewhat sober (for some reason it hits faster on the water).

Have fun!

I'm restoring an old Gheenoe now.

Gee Dwight, You got some pretty good boat knowledge for an old retired wing maggot type.