Hey Guys newbie here. ? abour maintenance.
 

I am thinking of purchasing 1988 Formula Sr-1 311 for a guy locally.

It has twin 454 with low hours, built to Mercury marine race specs. The outdrives are perfomance TRS.

This is all new language to me as I am just getting into the boating scene. I had to change hobbies due to a bad injury which forced my to sell the motorcycles.

All though I know a little bit about engines I am not to fluent in the boating terms.

Iwas curious as to how much maintenance this boat will require. I know the term high Performance can be used pretty losely and he is trying to sell the boat, but I have had several Ducati bike and they were considered High Maintenance and I did nothing really out of ordinary to them.

If you guys have any things I should look for or stay away from that would be awesome.

Thnaks,
Miles

Not a bad boat. The TRS are considered Dinosars. They work and you can get parts for them. How much is he asking for the boat?

I was going to offer 15K.

Imagine having two of them and the only way to work on them was standing on your head...:drink:

I assume the boat is a 1988, not a 1998 since you say it has TRS drives. I highly recommend having a survey performed on the boat by a reputable surveyor before purchasing the boat. Older Formulas have been known to have problems with water intrusion in the transom, stringers, and floor. The survey will also tell you the condition of the motors, transmissions, and outdrives.

Boats are going to be infinitely more maintenance than bikes - even a Ducati (Ducati - turning Riders into Mechanics since 1898).

When buying a boat you should get a survey done by a competent and licensed marine surveyor to include both mechanical and structural findings - lenders and insurers often require this anyways.

TRS is "old" technology but most will agree that they worked well and hold decent power, and that parts are still available.

This website is great for finding local people who are willing to help new-comers - if you post where you are from I bet that somoene will volunteer to help you check out the boat or someone will KNOW the boat first hand.

Post on the Formula section here with your location and a little more boat info. The guys over there probrably know the boat. Wealth of older Formula knowledge over there.

Hey wait, I was a mechanic BEFORE I bought my first DUCATI in 1987.

I saw that on one of those "inspiration" type posters a while back on a motorcycle forum I am a member of and thought it was hilarious....Not sure on the date though.

Hey thanks guys,

Yeah I guess it would be a little different working on a engine on your head.

When I bought my first Ducati all my bike buddies said I would spend more on mainenance in one year than they did in ten years.

996, 999, 1098, not one problem, other than the fact I couldnot ride the 1098 anymore. I shattered both of my heels skiing last winter, worst pain I have ever felt and they still hurt like a SOB.

I will post up in the formula section.

Thanks

The SR1 is a good hull but you need a survey before you plop down any money. A rotten transom or stringers can get expensive fast.

The TRS is a stout drive and you'll have a hard time damaging them with what sounds like stock 454's (330HP ?). Just keep oil in them and make sure you don't suck in water from the shaft seal. You'll know you did if when reserviour level goes up after the boat cools down. As far as parts go there are plenty still available, in fact I'll give you a great deal on some complete used drives, I have a few.

Keep fluid in the trannies too and make sure they don't get water in either. The coolers can leak and suck water in which will shorten the life.

$15k with a $15k back will get you through your 1st year, then you'll spend some real money. This is a deep pocket sport and there is no way around it.

Get a marine survey for sure.
Read this http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/d...-pictures.html

"It has twin 454 with low hours, built to Mercury marine race specs." That could mean just about anything. There are dozens of different 454 builds. What is more important is who built them and how well were they done.

Well said, it's a hard lesson to learn that not all engine builders are the same and just because the guy has built thousands of racing motors doesn't mean that he'll be able to build a marine motor that will last longer than 15 minutes. Crate motors that have been "marinized" generally won't last much longer.

As my engine builder put it "imagine driving your car coast to coast with 4 flat tires and only having 2nd gear"

Welcome to the OSO board!

i agree with all of you but it is also a crapshoot at best.....i have seen people that beat the crap out of their boats and do the very least maintence to get by but for some unknown reason their boats run year after year, on the other hand i have seen people who are eccentric about their boat and the maintenence but cannot keep their boat running......if you are paying cash for the boat, the worst that can happen is it breaks and your down until you have the cash to fix it, but if you are financing you will be very pissed when it breaks, you dont have the cash to fix it and you still have to make the payments........

I'd stay away from the TRS drives, you'll have a tough time finding parts and someone to fix them. I'd stick to boats with regular bravo drives. The trs can be replaced by a Konrad drive but I think the cost of that would be more than your boat is worth.

Survey, Survey, Survey. Worth every penny when buying a boat. Then remember the rules of boat maintenance:

B.O.A.T. it is an acronym for Break Out Another Thousand.

Unlike the motorcycles, when something broke, you could expect a min. $100 repair now you will find the $1000 min. because even if it is small....chances are you have to replace 2!

Owning a performance boat is like filling a big hole in the ground with money and then throwing a match on it. The only way to put out the fire is to smother it with more money. When the fire is out, it is time to sell the hole and dig another one.

If this is a 1988 with TRS, 15K ??? I would think about it hard, their are some great deals out there, that are not 20 years old. If you have 15K cash, can come up with say another 5K, I would make some offers on boats like these, you will spend the extra 5 the first time you need to do anything to a 20 year old boat.
Just my 2 cents

Sincerely

WILL

Here are some examples,
Formula http://www.boattrader.com/listing/19...80-SS-93154661

Baja
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/19...-BOSS-94026695

Donzi
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/19...ZI-ZX-93801615