The winter boat project

I probably should have done a little more research on Bayliners before I bought this boat. I heard that they are junk but this one looked in pretty good shape.

The seller couldn't get it to start. It was missing the lanyard for the cut off switch it fired right up. The gear case oil was milky so I replaced the drive shaft seal. I replaced the water pump and its pumping water now, compression is good

She cleaned up well. If all goes well Ill have this boat on the water in March and that's if I can launch it and retrieve form the lake a little nervous about that.

You know what B-O-A-T stands for?

Bring On Another Thousand

Doesn't look too bad Mo, I have taken far worse on the water.

Launching one is pretty easy if you have a 4x4.....a little tough otherwise when the ramp gets slick. You will do fine. Where it gets really hard is when you are launching a 50k dollar craft and scared to damage it.

If it stays afloat and the motor runs, you have a good boat. Everything else is just extras. Just make certain that motor will run....nothing worse than being stranded in a dead boat under the Sun. Might even look for a cheap trolling motor as an emergency back-up....it would be slow, but better than Sunstroke.

Then be on the look out for a Boston Whaler to buy....you will have no worries again after that.

I've heard boat owners say something like.....

The greatest days of owning a boat are the day you get it, and the day you get rid of it.

The guy you just bought it from just experienced that.

Seriously tho, Mo. That's cool, I've always had fun on small boats like that, but never owned one.

It all depends on where you live.

If you have to tow your bought for an hour+ to get to the lake, then it might become a pita over time and you end up wishing it was gone instead of storing it.

If you live on the coast where you can go down to the pier and sail out onto the Ocean, then they are wonderful toys. Just look at those guys using their boats to commute to work in Florida....that would be awesome.

Around here, it is a filthy river or a bunch of small lakes about 30 minutes away. It is hard to have fun doing laps in a small lake, so I stick with kayaks instead.

I've heard that to Dave. Hopefully my family and I will have a little fun in between.

The closest lake to me is 80 miles away so it isn't close.

I think there are some folks that just don't maintain and take care of their boats. Case in point, my neighbor has had his boat partially covered exposed to the elements for the entire time I have lived in this house. How hard is to buy a cover and cover the boat?

I recall you mentioning the Boston Whaler Rob but I think they must be all in Boston cause I didn't see any for sale on this side of the world

A trolling motor is definitely in the plans especially with this old Force engine.

Whalers are normally a salt water boat, so they don't show up everywhere.....normally coastal and very large lakes only.

Just keep watching for one, they do turn up.

Ive owned some boats in my day being from seattle we have so much water here its almost a must.

Mo thats a solid boat,      bayliners are not junk as long as they are taken care of.      B-O-A-T is a term that mostly refers to inboard/outboards and inboards.   They have a lot more moving parts and the outdrives are a common failure also very expensive to replace/fix 

I never buy a boat that isnt an outboard,   if you can work on a motorcycle engine you can work on an outboard...  the access is actually much easier in a lot of cases.  


The main worries with a fiberglass boat like a bayliner is soft spots in the flooring/deck from water seeping in,      same with the transom (back of the boat where the motor mounts)    

check your transom for soft spots and the floor but that boat looks like it wasnt sitting outside for years,  unless they can look like that sitting outside in AZ idk.         Here if you leave a boat sitting out uncovered it gets trashed pretty fast with mildew etc.    


That force 50 is a solid little motor,      I had a force 75 on my last 1991 bayliner.      Those motors can run forever.    

The reason why you always buy an outboard boat is worst case scenario you can just get a brand new outboard for it as long as your hull etc is solid.      

If its an aluminum outboard boat,     you pretty much have a worry free boat for life

That's good to know AC.

I didn't feel and soft spots on floor and the underside of hull looked pretty good when I bought it. I looked under the carpet and it done have areas where the glass is gone and wood exposed. Im still learning the boating language

All I need now is a toy hauler and I can camp at Lake Powell for a month

Rollin in the dough!?

I didn't realize you were doing so well, Mo. Looks like some nice toys.

When you reach the point where you need a butler, let me know and I will move on up to that deluxe apartment in the sky......sorry about that, sing to yourself now and the family will just assume you are nuts.

That toy hauler isn't mine. Im the broke guy that picked up the 30 year old boat

[quote="Mo"]That toy hauler isn't mine. Im the broke guy that picked up the 30 year old boat



I'm the guy cleaning the mildew out of the broke guy's boat for lunch money, so you are still doing well.

It took me four months but I finally got the boat on the water. I was by myself and I had to work up the courage to launch it. It was a weekday so I was able to avoid the crowds and take my time.

Backing up the trailer was a breeze but backing it empty was a pain in the ass. I couldn't get it to stop jack knifing. The trailer is pretty small so I just picked it up and straighten it up.

Watched a lot of you tube videos on launching and retrieving boat. I also saw a lot of videos of trucks going in the water so I was a little paranoid about that

I was going to go again this weekend but there is more rain in the forecast. Im sick of this wet cloudy weather.

I really miss being back on the water....I was born on the shore and often regret not staying there.

Have fun with that Mo, you work hard enough to enjoy a little relaxation.

Nice Mo!    boat looks good.        I drove a 14ft dump truck with a 12ft trailer for a long time...   youll get the hang of it.       Just make small corrections and remember its usually opposite of what u think lol

Dont forget the Drain PLug!     Im sure u didnt or the boat would be on the bottom of the lake right now lol

dont worry your tacoma isnt scared of a little water

Cant wait to get back out there. I wouldn't mind camping overnight in one of the coves and going to dinner at the scorpions bay bar and not have launch and retrieve the boat.

The reverse lock mechanism is broke on the outboard so it kicks back if I rev it up too much in reverse.

It needs new upholstery for the side panels and new carpet.

I guess the Tacomas can go deep

Wow, the boat looks good and that looks like a lot of fun Mo !
I would piss in my pants a little on that small dive if I were the Tacoma's driver, that was pretty deep.

That Tacoma just destroyed its engine if any of that water was sucked into the intake. As an avid off roader who has crossed many streams in an old Jeep with snorkel kit, I can tell you that water and engines don't mix.

IF the video wasn't playing music over the real life sounds, you would probably have heard some engine knock and cussing.