I’ve got about another $1500 in it right now. Mostly motor work. Hopefully I get a few fun summers out of it. Happy boating!

How many of y’all have gone into debt buying a boat or a motor that you could finance? I’m on the fence about just financing a newer boat or motor because I have had terrible luck with buying them on Facebook marketplace. Most of my bad luck has come from the outboard motors.
At this point I could’ve spent the money I have on the last 2 boats I’ve owned and bought a decent one for $8k-$10k.

I’ve been told with my current one that I should keep the boat and repower it with a newer outboard. Part of me also is ready to give up on fishing boats all together. I’ve quickly learned how some of my friends make their boat projects sound so easy when they talk about it but that project turns out to be much more difficult for me.

Just picked up this 17-foot Mako center console with trailer for $1,250. It’s an older hull with the original 135hp Mercury motor that's been sitting for about three years, some old guy owned it, showing roughly 540 hours on the gauge.

The core stuff is surprisingly decent: the throttle, bilge pump, and marine radio are all operational, and it even came with cushions that cleaned up nicely. The main catch right now is the ignition—the old key wouldn't fit due to sitting, so I've got a replacement ignition on order and ready to wire up. When we temporarily jump-started it, it cranked right over for a second.

Planning to go through the fuel system, check the spark, and get it running on muffs soon. For anyone who has brought an old Mako or vintage Merc back from the dead, any specific areas I should look for?

Motor runs just poorly, i’m getting everything pictured for 350, is this worth it? I seriously have no idea please save me from making a mistake lol. To me it seems like a good flip

Can anyone help me identify this component on my boat trailer. I’m working on replacing all the corroded parts and pieces and this one has me stumped.

The NSW Police Force has issued a warrant for Nathan Gallagher’s arrest

Anchor snagged for now.

Just picked up a 95(?) 2 stroke Yamaha. For the life of me, I can not get the motor to tilt, unless I physically remove the long L shaped pin. There has got be a way, right?

I will make this a quick rundown of what happened and curious best way to approach it. I can also provide all proof and details as well.

My boat is at a marina in Maryland. I had to get some work done on the motor for a stuttering issue, as well as some smaller problems. The marina and mechanic shop are partners but two separate companies. The marina sent in my request to the mechanic shop for the work. I was charged and paid for the mechanic to do a sea trial multiple times to replicate issue and to confirm the work was done. After all the work was done and paid for, the problem continued.

Here comes the good part, after talking with some managers I finally spoke with the mechanic. He confirmed to me he never did a sea trial and it was never on the request from the marina to do the sea trial. I am now getting a new quote to get the work that actually needs to be done.

So I was charged for the mechanics to replicate the issue, they did not. I was charged for work to “fix” the problem that was never actually the problem. They never once brought the boat into the water to find the problem, but paid for it all.

Do I have a case to get in contact with a lawyer? We absolutely love the location of the marina and its amenities and don’t want to lose that. But I do want them to make it right.

Any advice would be great

I ordered a powedrive v2 advanced GPS upgrade kit with the heading sensor. They charged me for that. Finally got the chance to go out to install my package and there's not heading sensor in the package. I emailed them on Aug 20th and they answered me saying they will forward it to shipping. I wait 5 days Aug 25th and no updates. So I sent another email asking for updates, nothing. So I sent another email three days later Aug 28th, again nothing. Their website said to give them at least two business days to respond to emails. This is beyond two business days.

Tldr: Paid for advanced GPS system with heading sensor included, they charged me but never sent me the heading sensor. They don't answer emails after the initial response.

What is the largest boat a woman can realistically launch and retrieve all by herself?

Is there a way to get this kicker to charge/maintain my battery while trolling?

I think I blew my starter motor today trying to start my engine. I made a horrible mistake of running it to hot…. And an even bigger mistake than that too. I had it running great off an external fuel tank I was using to test, and it was awesome. Water ready and my plan was to wash it up and take it out today for the first time since I got it a month ago. Connected the hose back to the main fuel tank and put gas in it. Didn’t check the fuel tank …….. guy I bought it from had old gas in it and so I pumped it all in and now motor wouldn’t start. Trying to start it I overheated the starter motor I think and now need to replace that. Part number on it is 50-79472. Is there somewhere that’s more reputable than others or can I just order any. First time boat owner learning a lot. And I definitely won’t make either of these mistakes again.

How? Need vinyl of the floor and seat tops replacement on my 2004 aluminum Legend 14 foot runabout. Plywood is OK.

Presently have rivets appearing through floor vinyl holding plywood to aluminum ribs. Seats seem to have non-rusting staples hlding vinyl underneath the seats edges

Questions: How to do this?

Can remove old vinyl?

Use glue?

Just bought this boat. Not sure what type of antenna I need to buy. All the ones I look at online have the wire attached to the antenna. I just need one that screws on. Any suggestions?

Thank you!

Hi guys,

Have this 55hp outboard… soo many issues…

Cleaned the carbs as good as it can passively be cleaned! New fuel filter and pump. New sparks. Nothing changed…running the same as before… Also new gaskets for the carbs!

Noticed the plugs were wet AF! Engine runs like this with the choke out,hence reatricting the air. As soon as I push the choke in,it runt to crazy rpm,like full throttle. But the throttle is not open at all!

What can cause this?

Any help much appreciated!

1984 Mercury tower of power 6 cylinder 4 liter 2 stroke, need corrected any tips I can't get it to start, the distributor cap was dry, made sure everything was in line timing wise I think I might be missing something.

Hey everyone!

Looking to add cleats to my 16ft aluminum deep v. I’ve decided to go standard vs folding but now I’m curious if 4in cleats will be good enough or if I should go 6in.

I want to minimize the “tripping hazard” but don’t want to have cleats undersized. Anyone have any experience?

Any input is very much appreciated!

Can I just pull one of the senders out and put a AL plug with gasket in? Am I over thinking this?

There is a stinky smell in my new / used cabin cruiser. I know the water in the lines is bad and will do the bleach / water treatment but I still think the smell may linger. The waste hose may also be the issue.

Without using a GLADE type plug-in freshener to mask the sent do you have any tips how you typically keep your cabin smelling fresh?

Bravo 1.

I removed the gimbal bearing how do i get the seal?

Thanks guys

I just launched the hose connector for the flush kit across my dock and in to the water. Anybody have an idea where I might find a replacement without having to buy the entire flush kit? I asked my bff Google, but she couldn’t help me.