What is a reasonable Annual maintenance allowance for 1992 350 aft cabin?

[sage]

Wife and I are first timers. We have had ski and pontoon boats but nothing larger. We are looking at a 1992 350 aft cabin. It appears to be in good shape and well maintained by the three owners. I understand the two questions below depend on lots of factors but just looking for some general information as a starting point. Two questions:

1- Hour meters on the two Mercruiser 454 engines show 930 hours. What is the useful life of these engines and what are the engine parts that will need attention or replacement within 5 years?

2- What is a reasonable annual allowance to budget for repairs and maintenance for all systems of the boat?

Thanks for any help offered.

[bud37]

Welcome to the forum....quick question that may help the guys......Do you know whether the boat has seen salt water...where has it spent it's life so far as this will be a big factor.


Do a site search here....there was a thread a while back where people listed their expenses for the year, that would be a good start.

Good luck with your search...

[sage]

Good point, boat has been in freshwater always. Last 4 years in covered slip on Nashville area lake.

[tomschauer]

That's a tough question, especially for an older boat. Other than your regular dockage and storage fees always plan on changing the oil every year, winterizing every year, cleaning and waxing, and misc. small repairs. If you can do some of this yourself, its not really expensive. If you have to pay the marina i would set aside at least 2500/yr
At 28 years old, things like a/c units, water heaters, water pumps, heads, windless, fuel tanks, and darn near everything else you can think of could last two more weeks or 20 more years, almost impossible to tell.

[Midnightsun]

If the engines were well maintained, not pushed and propped correctly for the application I would estimate a good 2000hrs lifespan.

Are you going to farm everything out or are you the handy type that in general just buys the parts and does the work yourself? I would venture to say 80% of costs are professional labour.

Every boat is different and it all boils down the previous upkeep. Our boats are getting old, everything is eventually going to need repair or replacement. Question is, is it this year or next or 5 years down the road.

Seasonal dockage, winter storage, haul in/out, fuel costs, winterization, spring commissioning, waxing and insurance far exceed general maintenance. A ballpark of around $1500 for normal every year routine stuff like oil/filter changes. This would also include a couple of trips by the mechanic to resolve smaller issue that may arise.

Batteries are often overlooked and normally get changed out every 4-5 years. This is a reoccurring cost and varies greatly depending on how many batteries and what type you have.

[ColRon]

Welcome Aboard Sage. Hans, Tom and Bud have given you so good information. In addition the annual things you will need to consider, there also other preventative maintenance that needs doing every few years...Like bottom paint.

I don't live that far from you. We used to slip our boat at Cedar Creek on Old Hickory Lake, we are now over on the TN River and closer to home. There is one thing I see a lot of owners let slide in our area is bottom painting. Our friends to the north have to pull their boats out of the water at the end of the season, but down here we don't and Since our boats sit in the water all year long, we have to plan for that expense. I have seen some owners go as long as 10 or more years between bottom jobs and when they are pulled boy do they look bad. 5 years is typically the max, provided the proper paint was used.

And Since no one has said it yet, I will..."GET a SURVEY" done on any serious potential purchase. Its worth the cost. and do your own research and find your own surveyor, not the one just because the broker or seller recommended them. And If the broker tells you, "We just had it surveyed", that's great look it over, but don't accept it as fact, still get your own. The worst that can happen is that it will validate theirs, but it may also save you a lot of money or a big headache or both.

[Cooler]

You mentioned you are aware there were 3 previous owners. Contact the most recent and see how long they had it. Spend some time and get to know them a little, if you can. Not only could they give you a good understanding of annual maintenance cost, but they would also know what & when any significant repairs were completed. Previous owners love to talk about their boats, and how they ran them. Moderate speed or FULL THROTTLE all the time will be important. People know what their typical cruising habits are. If there is a broker in the middle, he/she may not be all warm & fuzzy about you talking to previous owner, but that is just too bad. If the broker refuses to give access to previous owner, just tell him C-YA. er

[RGrew176]

I try to set aside an amount each season for those unexpected things that come up. Since I bought my Carver in August 2015 I have had to replace the on board water system pump. The seawater pump for the reverse cycle A/C-heat system. I have had to rebuild the port side transmission. Last season I had the seawater pump on the port engine fail and it had to be replaced and also the electronics portion of my reverse cycle A/C- heat system.. The VHF radio died as did the GPS that came with the boat and both of those had to be replaced.

This year I need to replace 5 broken stanchions. Its gotta be done. I am also considering installing electronic ignition. The front window covering canvass is just about shot and I may have to replace that too this season. I hope to get a couple more seasons out of my cockpit cover.

It's almost a never ending list of things with an older boat. My last boat I bought new and other than routine stuff I only had to replace one coupler that came apart and one engine water pump in 12 years of ownership. I have already spent a lot more fixing stuff on the Carver than I ever did on the Bayliner. It kind of goes back to the old new vs old argument. Of course I do not have any payments on the Carver as it is paid for so I guess that frees up some funds for repairs.

One of these years I may make it a whole season without any repairs or replacement parts. It is what it is. For the enjoyment I get out on the waters it's worth every penny.

[Cooler]

Geez Rick, I almost feel guilty about how good my boat treats me. Everything runs like a champ, sounds like a finely tuned piano, and just keeps my trust and confidence high. Knocking on wood. This is my third season with her after buying my last boat new. It definitely helps that the seller was an OCD engineer who took great care of her. For older boats, it is all about previous owner(s). ( IMHO ) er

[RGrew176]

In my case I think it's more of a timing issue. The boat is 39 years old and stuff just wears out. As far as the broken stanchions go I blame that on Carver. They are cast zinc and just do not hold up well. Why they didn't use stainless steel I do not know. Probably cheaper I guess. For all the bad rap that Bayliner gets about their boats all of their bow rail stuff was stainless steel.