Just like you could never damage the hull of a legendary Grady White just fishing!!111 Oh wait, we did

7/30/2008 7:56:51 PM

ohh shit what happened to the grady ?

7/30/2008 7:59:27 PM

When we first got the boat a couple of years ago the hard top sheared and the hull started cracking in the corner of the cockpit and screws were rattling loose. We couldn't figure out what was going on so we had it inspected by the factory. Ends up that forward gas tank broke off its mount and was slamming against the hull causing all the damage.

[Edited on July 30, 2008 at 8:05 PM. Reason : But she is in the shop right now. One of the rams on the motors fouled and cracked its seal.]

7/30/2008 8:04:41 PM

ohh yeah i remember that actually

7/30/2008 9:15:56 PM

Quote :

"How far in miles is it from Morehead or Beaufort to Wilmington? Was thinking of taking the boat down the intercoastal one weekend but was interested in knowing excatly how far that was."

Well, for starters... I don't measure my coastal (or any boating distance really) in miles... it's how many awesome, awesome, awesome hours will I get to enjoy a cruise?

Second, does Google Maps support water mileage/distances? Possibilities there...

8/6/2008 12:04:48 AM

i'm looking for an inexpensive stand-up Jet Ski or Superjet, and for a GP1200 that's either modded out or has a blown engine.


might buy a "real" boat in a year or two...just a simple runabout for cruising around, maybe some SCUBA diving if there are any sites around here that aren't way out in the ocean...and waterskiing (i want something that will pull a slalom skiier up from a deepwater start without much trouble)

8/6/2008 12:25:51 AM

bttt

12/22/2008 8:57:50 AM

omg omg omg.... longest running parody!!

12/22/2008 9:19:55 AM

WANT

12/22/2008 10:44:26 AM

What species shark is this? I caught it 12 mi. offshore of Panama City FL. It was 6-8 feet long and I would guess 250-300 lbs. It seemed to have especially long pectoral and dorsal fins.

1/28/2009 12:24:52 AM

looks like a googleshark to me sir

1/28/2009 12:29:44 AM

1/28/2009 12:30:44 AM

I believe that is a Sandbar shark. Caught one last year about that size....monstrous fight.

1/28/2009 2:25:23 PM

Someone else suggested Caribbean Reef Shark or Dusky Shark. I think it looks the most like the Dusky.

^It did put up a hell of a fight. I thought at first I'd hung the wreck. It took about 35 minutes with 30 lb mono and a 50 lb mono leader and I had to chase it a little to get some line back. (I was fishing for grouper ) I can't believe the leader held up.

1/28/2009 2:56:19 PM

looks like the dorsal is too far forward for a dusky.

1/28/2009 2:58:44 PM

Hopefully have a built GP1300R in the next few days

Also looking for a basic, cheap ($1500-2500) boat that I can cruise around in with my daughter and occasionally waterski behind.

Looking for something in the 16-18' range or so, with 125-150hp, probably outboard (just because I figure it'll be cheaper to maintain and repair). The object here is mostly to have something to entertain a toddler without boring dad to death or costing him much money.

[Edited on January 28, 2009 at 3:04 PM. Reason : asdfa]

[Edited on January 28, 2009 at 3:04 PM. Reason : but if i'm gonna buy a boat, i want something at least decent to ski behind]

1/28/2009 3:00:32 PM

I fucked up and went to the boat show over the weekend.

Now I'm saving money.

1/28/2009 3:03:44 PM

How about the new Regulators with the Yammy 350's on em.

Anyone ready for Offshore fishing season? I'm about to die to catch some Kings.

1/28/2009 3:27:09 PM

^ i still don't quite know how i feel about the 34SS. maybe i'm too used to 360 degree fishability

1/28/2009 5:15:19 PM

I want a CC soo bad.

1/28/2009 5:25:59 PM

Pros/cons of outboard vs I/O? (I don't think anything I'm currently in the market for is a true inboard)?

I figure that an outboard will be easier/cheaper to maintain/repair.

Is there any difference in terms of a basic ski boat?

1/29/2009 10:38:51 AM

^ my experience with I/O's has not been pretty until recently. The Volvo Duo-Prop drives can be a royal pain in the ass, and depending on boat/motor setup, access to motor maintenance and repair hotspots could prove difficult. But, now that we have a newer motor (~4 yrs old now) and the I/O has been serviced, all is well.

Inboards offer a more simple setup, with your main risk areas being those with seals. Your draft is typically deeper with inboards, which would be an advantage to you if you're looking for a ski boat.

all that is just my opinion.

1/29/2009 11:31:44 AM

In that price range I'd go for the outboard. Especially if you're running in salt water. Flushing an I/O after every use is a pain. They make them with closed cooling systems, but it's a $texas option that I never see on used boats. With an outboard the engine is practically sitting on an engine stand if you ever need to work on it and if worst comes to worst you can just swap it out in a half hour. Hanging halfway upside down over the sides of an I/O to work on the engine gets old after about 2 minutes.

My parents have a 21' Mercruiser powered I/O that they bought new in 89. We've never had a major problem with it, but it has been well maintained. It's basically a 4.3L Chevy built for marine use. I think 1000 hours is equal to about 10,000 miles if the engine were in a car, so you usually don't have to worry about the engines so much as long as they get fresh oil yearly. It's the outdrive unit, the carbs, the fuel system, rotting floors/stringers and all the mechanical components that can eat your time and money.

Inboards are great for skiing, but there are a lot of drawbacks. If you're not a skiing purist or you're not running in water with stable water levels and no obstacles then I'd never recommend it. There is very little interior room since the engine sits in the middle of the floor. They ride terrible since there is no way to trim the prop up or down. That prop shaft and the skegs that steer it are very susceptible to damage. It's very expensive when you tag a stump and it rips the prop shaft and skegs out of the boat. The prop will get pushed into the fiberglass on the bottom of the boat and tear it to shreds. The boat starts sinking from the gaping hole where the prop shaft went through the hull. You'd be looking at $2000 in damaged parts, $2000 in fiberglass work, and a boat that may or may not end up on the bottom of the lake just from one small hit. Basically, it's a bitch.

[Edited on January 29, 2009 at 11:45 AM. Reason : Last edit, I promise.]

1/29/2009 11:37:24 AM

Yeah, yeah, I know dedicated ski boats are all inboards, and they are sweet to ski behind. That's not what I'm after, at least not right now.

While I like boats, and I like to waterski, the real reason for getting a boat at the moment is for my daughter. I'm looking to get something just for us to cruise around on and have fun together. I don't want to spend more than I have to in order to get something that will serve that purpose and not be junk that will cost me tons in repairs.

Priority #1 is getting an inexpensive, dependable decent boat with minimal upkeep costs.

Priority #2, within the constraints of Priority #1 (i.e., all things being equal), is waterskiing. I want something capable of pulling a slalom skiier from a deepwater start...everything beyond that falls into the "nice to have" category, although I'd still appreciate the advice on the matter.


In another year or three or five, I'll probably upgrade and get more boat.

1/29/2009 11:55:17 AM

^^don't you have a V-drive inboard though for wakeboarding? or was that a friends?

[Edited on January 29, 2009 at 11:55 AM. Reason : ^]

1/29/2009 11:55:27 AM

^^ get an outboard then, and install trim tabs if the boat doesn't have them already. the outboard will be easy to fix, and the tabs will help make a little bit better wake for skiing.

outboard maintenance classes are offered at most nc community colleges for $cheap

1/29/2009 12:11:40 PM

Quote :

"boat with minimal upkeep costs"

Does not compute.

Outboards are pretty easy to deal with, but they are expensive to fix and the maintenance on the newer motors is outrageous.

1/29/2009 12:19:39 PM

haha, i didn't say "low" maintenance costs...I said "minimal". You know, for a boat.

1/29/2009 12:28:12 PM

Quote :

"^^don't you have a V-drive inboard though for wakeboarding? or was that a friends?"

I have a V-Drive. Same prop/skegs as an inboard, same risk of damage; but it has much more interior space and a better ride (still not as good as a I/O though.) I keep it at Lake Gaston where the water never fluctuates more than +-1 foot. I've been boating there my whole life, been able to take the boats out solo since I was 9 years old, and I've never hit anything. ::knock on wood:: Plus I bought it as a dedicated wakeboard boat. I would have just stuck with my dad's I/O if I didn't want a wakeboard boat, but it has been harder and harder to bum rides over the last couple of years and I felt like it was time for me to get my own boat. My friends get nicer and nicer boats, but it gets harder every year to get people on the dock at 6:30 a.m.

Quote :

"I think 1000 hours is equal to about 10,000 miles if the engine were in a car,"

Oops...I meant to say 1000 hours is equal to about 30,000 miles in a car. I rarely see boats with more than 1000 hours though, so they should have very little wear on the internals of the motor.

[Edited on January 29, 2009 at 12:33 PM. Reason : l]

1/29/2009 12:28:12 PM

Quote :

"Anyone ready for Offshore fishing season? I'm about to die to catch some Kings."

Hell yeah...it's so hard to leave the boat sitting there all fucking winter while you go into hibernate mode...heh.

I'm sooo ready for spring and to hear that line peel off.

1/29/2009 12:53:06 PM

^ I don't care what event I'm partaking in as long as I get on a floating boat in some sort of body of water!!!!!

CAN'T WAIT!!!

1/30/2009 1:17:04 AM

i want to make a parody for this

I'm Big Business and i approved this message.

1/30/2009 1:17:27 AM

^This started as a parody.

1/30/2009 6:04:55 AM

Any advice on buying used boats? I've found a lot of people trying to unload fairly new ones because of the economy.

2/2/2009 2:52:59 PM

Depends a lot on what you're buying, but in general I'd suggest taking it for spin definitely, and possibly getting a marine survey.

I mean, are you buying a jon-boat or a 30 ft. contender here?

2/2/2009 4:24:52 PM

I haven't narrowed it down at all. Just something I can trailer to Wilmington and dick around on the ICW with.

2/2/2009 4:28:46 PM

I skip class to go sailing all the time.

[Edited on February 2, 2009 at 4:55 PM. Reason : ff]

2/2/2009 4:55:01 PM

Finally got another jet ski over the weekend. I've actually only seen it in pictures--BigBlueRam picked it up for me. It's a GP1300R with a built motor.


Now I just need to find a boat--my little girl isn't quite up to the waverunner, yet. I figure that we need something that we can have fun doing together when she's at Dad's. That, and the jet ski won't be much good at pulling a skiier.

2/10/2009 1:46:06 AM

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/boa/1029028203.html

how about this? are Force engines really as bad as some people make them out to be?

2/11/2009 1:08:02 PM

You probably get a few seasons out of it. I wouldn't be running everyday all summer with it, hoping it works. As long as you know thing or two about motors, you should be able to keep it running.

2/11/2009 1:14:03 PM

http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/4684808/

ahahahaha

3/6/2009 10:12:33 PM

I boated off today

in Lake Raleigh

3/7/2009 6:09:03 PM

theDuke866 - you asked earlier about i/o vs outboard and I missed it, but just last summer we started using a i/o ski boat just for fun around here and it seemed to take a lot longer to get on plane than we were used to. Dad stuck on a doel fin set and it seemed to do much better. If you end up with an i/o and find that to be an issue, it's a cheap mod. Just thought I'd throw that out there

[Edited on March 8, 2009 at 3:54 PM. Reason : (last)]

3/8/2009 3:53:53 PM

I refinished the teak swim platform for my boat over the weekend and it is looking nice. Wet sanded with 400, 600, 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit sandpaper. Now I'm going to put teak oil on it every couple of days until it can't soak in any more.

3/25/2009 11:01:40 AM

I'm way too excited about going canoeing tomorrow.

4/3/2009 3:25:52 PM

jesus i'm bored. 90 minutes

[Edited on April 3, 2009 at 3:27 PM. Reason : actually probably 60 or less..somebody above me will tell everybody to leave by then]

4/3/2009 3:27:32 PM

I'm changing the oil, transmission, and vDrive fluid on my boat this weekend as well as putting in the new seat upholstery I had made over the winter.

Next week it's new carpet.

4/3/2009 3:30:47 PM

Quote :

"Priority #1 is getting an inexpensive, dependable decent boat with minimal upkeep costs. Priority #2, within the constraints of Priority #1 (i.e., all things being equal), is waterskiing. I want something capable of pulling a slalom skiier from a deepwater start...everything beyond that falls into the "nice to have" category, although I'd still appreciate the advice on the matter."

Find a used 16-20 foot skiff (Carolina Skiff, Southern Skimmer, etc) with around a 75 horsepower outboard.
Get a maintenance manual and do all of the work yourself, with religious lower-unit and motor oil changes. I do plugs once a year in my [2-stroke] outboard as well.

A boat like this will pull a skier up fine, as long as they don't weigh 300 pounds. It is dependable and will last a while in salt or brackish water. Due to the simplicity of skiffs, there's a lot less to go wrong. Also makes a great platform for running around in inlets, the ocean on calm days, and fishing.

4/3/2009 4:20:07 PM

chips ahoy!

9/15/2010 5:46:36 PM

i miss pwrstrkdf250

9/15/2010 5:47:02 PM