Who are the "real" idiots?
 

Been thinking about this lately. Is it???

A) People like myself who take time to clean, repair, change oil, maintain, shrink-wrap, and spend countless hours and money making sure everything is up to par or...

B) The people who have a 15 year old boat who have never checked drive lube, greased wheel bearings, done ANY maintenance, checked to oil at the beginning of the season. use cockpit cover or tarp in winter (if covered at all) and get through the summer for the cost of gas... without any failures!!!

A. Your protecting your asset and being cautious.

B. Are the non boating tool bags that like to boat but don't care.

Call me what ya want but I fall in the A category...

i think the real idiot would show through upon resale time, i'm like you, maintain it 110%, always dry, cleaned and polished up for the next outing, people like that should be counting their blessings nothing major happens to them or someone else, usually its the people who don't give a f@#k about anything that end up collecting people like us that take caring for the boat very seriously

You don't even need to cover them. Just jack the bow up sky high. Boats are meant to be wet, right? Synthetic oil is good for 20,000 miles in the car; It must be good for at least 5 years in the boat....:whistle:

even better. a neighbor after not changing oil or touching a spark plug for years, decides to change his water pick up hose off bravo drive and does not put on correctly (of course) and it comes off and he overheats the engine till it just

sorry..hit wrong button..engine just shut down.he calls insurance and says he picked up a bag & overheated... ends up with a brand new engine from his insurance sumhow...lol

That's what I mean, had he not touch it, it would've been fine....

Yet when you go to sell buyers will say it's only worth what the beat POS is worth.

You would think, I'm EXHAUSTED just on putting my boat up after use with all the sh*t I do. It's not in my nature to not take the best care of my boat, but I do sometimes question whether it's really worth it.

If you have ANY mechanical ability, then the peace of mind of knowing its all good to go is worth the effort alone! The ones that dont do anything to their boat are the ones that complain the loudest when its in the heat of summer, their boat is down and they dont understand why its taking so long to get it fixed! I dont bother looking at them...(i have one 5 doors down from me thats like that)...cause i know when it comes tiem to sell atleast mine is in the shape i advertise it as...and wont have people complaining its not what i said it was.....so far most of my toys have always been sold in the first or second person to come out and take a look at them...knock on wood.. :)

To me, knowing what can happen if something fails at speed, it's too important to check everything and make sure all is well.

I guess if I had a reasonably slow bow rider or deck boat it wouldn't matter as much.

Peace of mind doing all the prep and work is a huge reward as well :):) Guess it all depends on the person and their commitment and mech. abilities .....................................

I would bet if you add up all the time (at the wage you earn today) plus the cost of parts you spend maintaining the boat and then compare it the guy that only repairs it when it breaks - the guy that only repairs it when it breaks spends less money over the course of the years he owns that boat?

I perfer like many of you, by doing these things I have peace of mind BUT it breaks anyway sometimes no matter what you do in advance.

Maybe there is more peace of mind by just going out enjoying the boat and when it breaks you fix it?

Right now when somethings breaks I beat myself up saying "I should have checked or done this...." How much enjoyment is that?

I paid good money (above book) to a member here for my boat back in 1995. It was extremely well cared for an I was willing to pay a premium to get a boat like that. Larry and his wife see the boat every year for a poker run up here and cannot believe the shape it's still in.

Someday when I sell the boat, I fully intend to get more than book value for it because of the way it's been cared for. Oh sure, somebody will complain I'm asking "over book." If you want a boat with just average care, that's what "book" will get you.

"Run it 'till it breaks" or maintain it?

I think it has to do with personal pride and self satisfaction.

Much like maintaing your front lawn, or fixing the burnt out tail light on your car.

And when it comes down to it, many of us, dispite the moaning and groaning, enjoy maintaining our toys.

i agree that i probably spending more $ upgrading or just maintaining boat,then if i just fix when breakes..or how many times just to make sure bolt is tight or line is secure,you recheck or retorque a bolt,clamp or fuel line and it brakes. always say to myself "i knew i shouldn't of touched that"

I just maintain my boat and never use it. LOL :D

Sometimes I think were all idiots for putting that kind of money into boats every year.

When I had my Fountain it was maintained with an open checkbook and I probably spent more time on the maintenance/cleaning of just the trailer then most boat owners do on their boats. It was a running joke in my group of friends about how clean I kept it my boat. I’ve since fallen into a smaller, and older, bow rider that I don’t use all that often. I do the general maintenance and serious cleaning at the beginning and end of the season….but in-between not so much…. Boat has a slip, so a quick spray of the hose is enough to clear the days mess, and no trailer to deal with. I found this to be a real nice balance for being out on the water. Don’t get me wrong, when I get another performance boat I will be back out there spending more time cleaning and maintaining then I do running the boat, but it is a nice change of pace for now.

I think in the long run you end up with less problems out on the water with all the preventive maint and at least if(when)you break you can tell youself it was unavoidable due to checking everything.I am one of the anal ones that clean and polish everything including the drives between each trip but for me it is like therapy to go out in the garage after work turn on the radio open a beer and spend time on the boat,35 years of this and still can't get enough!!Wife says I love the boats more than her,I'll take the 5th on that one.

I guess I fall into the same category as most people on OSO. I like my things clean, serviceable, and ready to rock on a moments notice. I am a slave to the gauge, I have a super sense of smell and I shut down at the slightest odor or noise that is off. And I would not change a thing about the way I boat :)

To me working on my boat is liek therapy so it realy doesnt matter what i spend on it in the end....dont tell my wife that and i sure as hell dont want to see the total bill of things i do over the years....but as long as i enjoy it and it keeps me busy i dont care what others do :D

Seriously, THEY are the idiots. Take care of your boat if you like it and it will stay looking nice and lasting longer.

Depends on the boat.

I watch my brother idle out to our hangout in his 1974 Wellcraft with nothing for seats other than lawn chairs, and a recylcing bin for the empties laying in the bottom of the boat and I think to myself, maybe I'm the dumbass.