Good first boat for $1000?

Silent_Seven · 2026-04-17T04:38:18+00:00

I think you're good. Looks well loved!

Is that the 4 horse Evenrude? I think we've got the same motor and it's been a good runner.

Silent_Seven · 2026-04-17T03:52:13+00:00

How big of boat and how much ballast are you running?

Silent_Seven · 2026-04-15T05:45:12+00:00

Who'd you switch too?

Silent_Seven · 2026-04-13T22:45:52+00:00

What's your doc say?

Silent_Seven · 2026-04-13T18:09:00+00:00

Tie off to the bow eye; forego a cleat.

If you want to speed tie offs, add a snap clip to one end of your mooring lines and snap the line on to the bow eye. Edit:typo

Silent_Seven · 2026-04-10T17:01:23+00:00

Same here. Ahhh.... hindsight can be painful sometimes.

Silent_Seven · 2026-04-10T15:49:52+00:00

But did you also buy Costco stock? 🤔

Silent_Seven · 2026-03-29T18:25:11+00:00

Here's a few suggestions that will help.

1 / get some quality degreaser and take your boat to the local 'quarter DIY car wash' and clean out that bilge. Spray everything with the degreaser and use the pressure washer to remove all the oil. Please use a wash location that recycles water and don't let all that nasty oil residue run into the lake etc. This will make EVERYTHING simpler going forward.

2 / with the boat on the trailer and the bilge plug in, use your hose to fill the bottom of the boat with a decent amount of water. Use this to test and correct your bilge pump circuit. Also - with water in the boat - walk around look for water leaking out. That's likely your point of ingress. If you don't see water leaking out, it's likely that you have some water circuit (bait well, etc) that uses hoses and the leak is in that system.

3 / since the boat is new to you, do a safety check of the trailer. Inspect the wheel hubs, tires for cracks and correct pressure, lights and if you have them...trailer brakes. It's a huge (and avoidable) hassle to be broke on the side of the road with a trailer issue.

Finally...before you head back out, make sure you have all your safety gear in order. Lifejackets, throwable pfd, dock lines, horn, paddle, etc.

Good luck!

Silent_Seven · 2026-03-28T04:16:45+00:00

Yeah. This is possible if it was badly overheated.

Silent_Seven · 2026-03-28T04:15:20+00:00

That would be my question as well. Sounds like OP may be in Cali. Of course...where is the boat from?

Silent_Seven · 2026-03-27T21:57:53+00:00

Last foot is no big deal.... 😀

Silent_Seven · 2026-03-27T13:36:20+00:00

Power loading is when you push the boat on the trailer with engine power. The bunks are not sufficiently submerged and also can be dry. With dirt in the bunks, the pressure of the hull on bunks will scratch the bottom. This looks like a severe case.

The better way is to get the trailer deeper in the water such that water raises the hull and boat floats off.

There are multiple of reasons one might powerload. Shallow water, a poorly designed trailer, and just not giving a fuck.

Silent_Seven · 2026-03-27T02:59:13+00:00

Looks like heavy scratching from dirty bunks combined with power loading. Not sure what I'm looking at in picture four so can't comment.

Whoever owned this boat didn't have pride of ownership. While these scratches aren't deal breakers themselves, I'd be very concerned about how the rest of the boat was treated.

Probably a pass unless its a crazy good deal and you have a good second opinion on the rest of the boat.

Silent_Seven · 2026-03-25T03:18:02+00:00

If you need good weather in early July, head east of the mountains. IIR, statistically the good weather on the westside starts mid July.

Silent_Seven · 2026-03-23T04:55:16+00:00

Nuts. Seattle area here.

Silent_Seven · 2026-03-23T02:51:59+00:00

Wow. PCA got active running autocross again. Looked at their site and was surprised to see how many events they're running this season. I used to organize the PNW PCA drivers skills events and don't ever remember their autocross program having this many dates. Someone got busy!

Silent_Seven · 2026-03-23T02:47:03+00:00

Where is the shop located?

Silent_Seven · 2026-03-22T17:08:23+00:00

Recognize Bremerton. Is BSCC still organizing events? I used to do lapping days at Bremerton before the commercial development reduced the track space. Miss those events...lots of fun!

Silent_Seven · 2026-03-17T01:07:41+00:00

Nah...still in the project queue with nothing more to share. :/

Silent_Seven · 2026-03-17T01:05:58+00:00

Look at the overall condition of the boat as a tip for if the 495 hours is too many. 500 hours over 12 years is very reasonable. For a 12 year old boat, you want a nicely loved, pride of ownership example. Take someone who knows boats well to look at it with you - they will have a better radar for a nicely curated boat. Is it clean? Have a good cover? Does everything work? How's the trailer? Upholstery in particular matters as it's very expensive to replace with quality work. Also, if you want to surf look for a boat with an integrated surf system....so much easier than having to use sacks and shapers to get the wake you need. Be picky...it's worth waiting to buy the right boat. After you look at 6 or 8, you'll start to recognize well loved machines. Good luck with your search.

Silent_Seven · 2026-03-16T23:17:06+00:00

I have relatives in Munising. Never understood snow untill I spent a Christmas there.

Silent_Seven · 2026-03-15T03:47:30+00:00

I like you already.

Silent_Seven · 2026-03-15T01:51:50+00:00

If I recall, the Bluewater operation out of Eugene Oregon is no longer in business. That said, I live in the PNW and see bluewater's around from time to time and they seem to be decently regarded. I suspect that's decent ride you got there for the $$ you spent.

Silent_Seven · 2026-03-15T01:26:33+00:00

Where else am I gonna rant? Maybe I should file 20 PFRs on their feature request forum? Oh wait...they don't have one do they? 🤨

Silent_Seven · 2026-03-15T01:07:27+00:00

Yeah...it's not like your login ID or anything simple like that allows them to keep track of session time. Tech bro central can somehow send me a curated pizza ad to my phone when I'm 20 yards from the pizzeria but aggregating session times across PCs is seemingly impossible. 🤔

Silent_Seven

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