Hi....1st poster!!1 , Just wondering if there were any Down Under members here to bounce some questions off from an Aussie perspective?

welcome aboard. whats the boating like down under. any pics? enjoy the site there is a great deal of knowlege here

Cheers and thanks for the welcome GlassDave.

When you are out it's always great...I been passively browsing for a few weeks now and have been getting loads of info.

I would like to get a Scarab 34 (III), just deciding on associated costs / running costs etc, real hard to get an answer from owners trying to sell as the $$ are a bit fudged.

Any examples of average yearly costs would be great

Dj

Welcome. We are considering selling our 34' Scarab III. Its not listed anywhere yet, but I might put it up soon. The $$ numbers are all different with the Scarab III's because some are original and some have been redone. Most of the Scarab III's that are original go for somewhere around 26K-32K, while ones that have been updated (New Engines, bigger horsepower, newer drives, hydraulic steering, possibly new paint, interior, etc.) go for about 10-20K more. They are great solid boats. As far as yearly costs, it all depends on what kind of problems you run into. If you are only paying for oil changes, cleaning, and minor things breaking (things will break, its a boat), you are looking at about 5K per summer. However, you could blow a drive 2-3K each, or an engine, 4-5K to rebuild, and have a very expensive summer. We just put new engines in our boat and updated a bunch of things so it has been expensive the past 2 summers. The good thing (in my experience) about buying an older boat like that is you save so much money buying that you could re-invest into updating the boat with newer equipment...which makes it fun. PM me if you want some info on my boat.

Hi Gotime34,

I cannot PM as i am a tighta$$ with standard membership,

Would like to know / learn more about your boat, engines, drives,etc . The types of mods you have done, if you ever considered bolting on a whipple etc,

Living issues with the interior and how well the accomodation holds up for 1 or more nights stay.

Appreciate info and will probably have to upgrade to look at piccies etc.

Thanks

Dj

It would help an awful lot if you filled in the "Location" box under your screen name........that way any fellow Aussies cruising the posts might see it and say hi........I have contacted (and met) many Canadians on the site that originates from doing exactly that........seeing their "location" under their screen name....................doug

One of my girlfriends and I will be in Sydney during two weeks Christmas to right after New Years; are you near there? If so, what can you recommend for New Years Eve plans? We've looked into Charter Boat Companies for a Harbor Party, but wanted to make sure that was the best for our money. We're staying in Cronulla.

Hi,

If you can get anywhere near the harbour on NYE then it is well worth it. I grew up near Cronulla, it is about 1+ hour by train to the city. As with anywhere the charter boat prices are well inflated for NYE and i would suggest that they would be all, or close to being booked out.

Party wise there is plenty to do, just depends on your flavour

Thank you for the information. Looks like we'll try to do the NYE Harbor cruise if still available. If not, I'm sure we can find other "trouble" to get into elsewhere.

You should get a membership, especially if you are going to buy a boat it is well worth it. The engines are 454's bored out to 496's with all the goodies, dynoed at 520HP @ 5200RPM. They only have about 30 hours on them. It has TRS drives, both professionally redone with nose cones. One rebuilt at the beginning of the season and the other rebuilt at the end of the season. One has about 4 hours on it and the other has about 20. BW Trannies. The setup is bulletproof. As far as upgrades, (other than the engines) we put in full hydraulic steering by XS Performance. New stereo, new carpet. Interior, Vinyl, and Paint are all in great shape. The boat is a wave crusher, it can rip through anything and feels safe in heavy chop going 70. I never considered bolting on a whipple, but you could go that route if you wanted. I have gotten 72 on GPS with the current setup. There really aren't any living issues with the interior, it is in great shape. It has mirrors on the ceiling and one has a crack, thats about it. It has a good size V-berth, a couch that folds out into a small bed, and two captains chairs in the cabin. I have slept 3 in the cabin comfortably. Not sure how I can get you pictures, you should get a membership. Let me know if you need more info.