Hello,

I'm new here and considering buying a 1997 Baja Boss 38 Special. I has 240/260 hrs on the engines.

QUESTION: It seems many boat engines get replaced around 500hrs. Is this normal? Everything appears to be clean in the boat and engine bay spotless. Has twin 502's.

Reason for difference in hours was (supposedly) one engine plug or main wire "thing" came undone and the owner had to drive back on a single engine.

Are there certain qualities I should look for?

I've been boating roughly all my life, yet still mechanically challenged, haha.

I don't want to purchase something that is going to have issues right off the start.

Any suggestions or thoughts are welcomed.

Thanks

Ryan

It took him 20 hrs to "drive back".

Not trying to sound like a smart@ss but that is a fair difference in hours.

Stock motors can go a heck of a lot longer than 500 hours.

Hours can be different for a few reasons. When not anchored and drifting close to shore, I fire up the motor that the power steering runs off of to maneuver. Those couple of minutes at a time add up over a lot of years. Like mentioned above, perhaps a coulpe hour "limp home" on one motor. 20 hours difference over 14 years is nothing to be concerned about. I bought mine with 214 on one gauge and 137 on other. I was told the key was left on. Was seller honest? IDK, but hours were low regardless.

You will have plenty of small/nickle and dime issues with a 14 yr old 38' boat, no matter the brand or hours. When I say nickle and dime I mean a few hundred here, a thousand there. It will come more often than you think.

Break Out Another Thousand but it is worth it in the long run

Ok, I just calculating my cost:

Payment
$4000 Storage (rack) Annual
$890 Insurance Annual
? fuel
? Unknowns

It all tends to get a bit scary and I'm a bit nervous...LOL. Smaller boats in my eyes seem not to break and are definitely less costly.

Just trying to cover my story.

A .38 will suck gas like it's going out of style. I don't care what power it's got in it. You're pushing a lot of boat. I went from a 29OL with 7.4s to a 342 with 502s and was amazed at how much more it drinks.

Don't forget the monster truck you'll need to buy and maintain to move that pig around.

Trailer maintenance...6 wheels and tires, 3 sets of brakes, etc, etc

Certainly not trying to deter you from getting into a larger boat, but the insurance and actual boat payment are a pittance compared to the upkeep. If you're stretching your dollar to afford the payment you will not be able to afford to use it and maintain it properly.

BUT like Ed said, it's all worth it. Best family time spent is on the water IMO.

Find a friend with a boat. Pay him $500 for gas every time you go out & you'll be money ahead.

Oh yeah...my wife has a big Ram. However not needed, because the $4k is rack storage in/out of water indoor heated facility all year.

I just don't want an engine going or something electrical. I'm no handyman by anymeans...

My boating experiences consist of leaving the marina (if that) and going out a couple hundred feet and parking it....so very little probelms with that.

I intend to take trips and go to dinner via new boat. So I'll be using it. A couple people who use theies say they fill up once or twice a summer....so that's roughly 1-1.5k a season I figure.

I hope it's a diesel dually, this is one big boat on a really big trailer.


I wouldn't lose any sleep over the engine hours, they're twice that distance away from just a topend refresh

This really isn't a great choice for a first time buyer with very little boating experience.

Trust me on this, your friends don't have to fuel a pair of big blocks in a 38 Special.
I can run through 400 bones in fuel on a Saturday afternoon, the fillups are 900+-

These are awesome boats but practicality isn't one of their virtues. If you have the weekend/overnighting need to cruise faster than a regular cruiser and have a lot more top speed this is a great affordable boat to meet those needs.
IMO, if mess around boating for fun and going out to dinners are primary objectives I'd look for a single engine boat between 25 and 30' long.
My boat is a biitch when I'm out alone, although I can load/unload from the trailer and dock up by myself having a mate to assist is priceless.
You can't go wrong with the 38 Special if you buy it for the right application. Keep us posted and put a seller's link up here on your thread or some pic's of the unit. One of the members may well know the history of the unit and it's ownership.
Congrats on geting into powerboating, you'll find it to be a lot of fun!!!

See ya,
Kelly

Yea, but what does she drive? What you guys do in the bedroom is your business. Unless you've got pictures.