Murv
Well-Known Member
So, the old boat has been up for sale for a while now.
After all the problems we had, and replacing pretty much everything, a new outdrive and then a rebuild on that one, it's actually been faultless for the last Year or so.
Chap expresses interest from Grimsby, sees all the pictures, I shoot a few videos for him, we get some shipping quotes and he asks to come and see it if I'll withdraw it from sale on the strength of a deposit after viewing.
He's coming down on Saturday, and as he's got an 8 Hour, 500 mile round trip, I nip down Friday evening just to make sure that the outdrive is still attached and batteries are OK.
And, of course, the %$^%$ won't start.
Phoned him, he asked me to let him know if I resolved it as he still wanted and if I let him know by 11am on the Saturday he'd still head down.
Couldn't sort it in time, but an RCC member on seeing me struggling with it, leaped into the boat, started it with a screwdriver and diagnosed a possibly faulty relay.
Oldgit happened to be wandering past at the time on his way for a relaxing trip out in his boat, he instantly flung himself into the bilge armed with a penknife to try and clean up the suspected relay before diagnosing it as the definite problem and completely knackered. (thanks chaps)
New relay purchased, fitted Sunday morning and the buyer is on his way down. (yes, he's keen)
Arrives Sunday afternoon, spends a couple of hours looking over the boat, likes it, so we head off for a quick trip.
Up to the section of river where the speed limit lifts, the buyer applies full throttle, turbo spools up, engine singing sweetly and.... carries on revving to the redline whilst the boat stays put.
Slightly incredulously, I asked if he could have caught the button on the control, I take over and get exactly the same thing.
Up to 2000rpm, everything is fine, above that and something slips and all drive disappears.
Red-faced with shame and apologising profusely I apologetically limp the boat back to the pontoons, well aware that it's getting late and he has a 4 Hour drive back home...
So, couple of questions.
1) What one Earth could it be? outdrive is a Volvo 270, reconditioned by IVSS marine in 2014, then rebuilt again 9 Months ago when an oil seal failed and let water in.
Propeller is a new genuine Volvo penta item, 9 Months old with about 3 Hours use.
Is there a rubber buffer in the prop like a cush drive in a motorcycle wheel that's faulty and slipping?
2) The buyer is a really nice bloke, and despite me advising him that the boat is cursed and to go absolutely nowhere near anything with outdrives, is still keen on buying it if I can resolve the problem.
However, I really want to steer him away from outdrives and can't think what to advise him to look for.
He's using it on the Humber, with the odd overnighter to Whitby. It's going to be his first ever boat, he wants something small, <£10K, a bit of a do-it-all with a diesel engine and knows absolutely nothing about boats. Pretty much, exactly the same scenario we were in when we bought it as our first boat.
Only thing I can think of is a later semi-displacement Colvic seaworker but, they're scarce, and probably over budget.
Is there anything else out there??
Although he doesn't want a petrol boat, is there something with an outboard that would fill that brief? The fuel costs would probably be offset by not having the maintenance and lifting costs of an old outdrive.
3) What on earth to do with the boat?
It owes me about £14K, it was advertised at £7.5K no offers.
Do I sell it as a spares or repair project and re-advertise it at £4 or £5K just to try get the thing out of my life?
Or, get a BSS put on it, move it up to the non-tidal river, pay the marina fees and get a marina to broker it as a river boat?
On the non-tidal river, pottering around at 4-5 knots, it's never, ever given me a hint of a problem. It chugs along, sipping diesel at tickover due to the massive prop that it's running.
99% of the problems I've had with it have been during, or after, pushing the torquey diesel engine through the leg that was only ever designed for a petrol motor.
I guess that by the time I've replaced the prop or had the drive rebuilt again, got the BSS inspection and carried out the work probably needed it would be around £1K (wild guess, ballpark figure allowing £500 for prop or drive rebuild then £500 for fuel lines, inspection, new fire extinguishers, gas lines, labour etc)
But, by the time I've paid 2 or 3 Months marina fees and the brokers commission, even selling it at a high price, I can't see me clearing more than £7K or so. (where it is the mooring are paid up until the end of the Year so it's costing me "nothing" where it currently lies)
I won't do any of the work myself, this thing has broken me over the last 3 Years and I'd far rather sell it as spares than set foot on it again. I've actually developed a nervous twitch whenever I see the thing soiling the pontoons at the club, rocking smugly in the tide...
Another option would be to list it on ebay on a weeks auction, 99p start price, no reserve. The financial loss would be almost total, but the value to my mental health would be high!
Any advice, ideas, thoughts, a sympathetic smile with a cup of tea, very welcome...
After all the problems we had, and replacing pretty much everything, a new outdrive and then a rebuild on that one, it's actually been faultless for the last Year or so.
Chap expresses interest from Grimsby, sees all the pictures, I shoot a few videos for him, we get some shipping quotes and he asks to come and see it if I'll withdraw it from sale on the strength of a deposit after viewing.
He's coming down on Saturday, and as he's got an 8 Hour, 500 mile round trip, I nip down Friday evening just to make sure that the outdrive is still attached and batteries are OK.
And, of course, the %$^%$ won't start.
Phoned him, he asked me to let him know if I resolved it as he still wanted and if I let him know by 11am on the Saturday he'd still head down.
Couldn't sort it in time, but an RCC member on seeing me struggling with it, leaped into the boat, started it with a screwdriver and diagnosed a possibly faulty relay.
Oldgit happened to be wandering past at the time on his way for a relaxing trip out in his boat, he instantly flung himself into the bilge armed with a penknife to try and clean up the suspected relay before diagnosing it as the definite problem and completely knackered. (thanks chaps)
New relay purchased, fitted Sunday morning and the buyer is on his way down. (yes, he's keen)
Arrives Sunday afternoon, spends a couple of hours looking over the boat, likes it, so we head off for a quick trip.
Up to the section of river where the speed limit lifts, the buyer applies full throttle, turbo spools up, engine singing sweetly and.... carries on revving to the redline whilst the boat stays put.
Slightly incredulously, I asked if he could have caught the button on the control, I take over and get exactly the same thing.
Up to 2000rpm, everything is fine, above that and something slips and all drive disappears.
Red-faced with shame and apologising profusely I apologetically limp the boat back to the pontoons, well aware that it's getting late and he has a 4 Hour drive back home...
So, couple of questions.
1) What one Earth could it be? outdrive is a Volvo 270, reconditioned by IVSS marine in 2014, then rebuilt again 9 Months ago when an oil seal failed and let water in.
Propeller is a new genuine Volvo penta item, 9 Months old with about 3 Hours use.
Is there a rubber buffer in the prop like a cush drive in a motorcycle wheel that's faulty and slipping?
2) The buyer is a really nice bloke, and despite me advising him that the boat is cursed and to go absolutely nowhere near anything with outdrives, is still keen on buying it if I can resolve the problem.
However, I really want to steer him away from outdrives and can't think what to advise him to look for.
He's using it on the Humber, with the odd overnighter to Whitby. It's going to be his first ever boat, he wants something small, <£10K, a bit of a do-it-all with a diesel engine and knows absolutely nothing about boats. Pretty much, exactly the same scenario we were in when we bought it as our first boat.
Only thing I can think of is a later semi-displacement Colvic seaworker but, they're scarce, and probably over budget.
Is there anything else out there??
Although he doesn't want a petrol boat, is there something with an outboard that would fill that brief? The fuel costs would probably be offset by not having the maintenance and lifting costs of an old outdrive.
3) What on earth to do with the boat?
It owes me about £14K, it was advertised at £7.5K no offers.
Do I sell it as a spares or repair project and re-advertise it at £4 or £5K just to try get the thing out of my life?
Or, get a BSS put on it, move it up to the non-tidal river, pay the marina fees and get a marina to broker it as a river boat?
On the non-tidal river, pottering around at 4-5 knots, it's never, ever given me a hint of a problem. It chugs along, sipping diesel at tickover due to the massive prop that it's running.
99% of the problems I've had with it have been during, or after, pushing the torquey diesel engine through the leg that was only ever designed for a petrol motor.
I guess that by the time I've replaced the prop or had the drive rebuilt again, got the BSS inspection and carried out the work probably needed it would be around £1K (wild guess, ballpark figure allowing £500 for prop or drive rebuild then £500 for fuel lines, inspection, new fire extinguishers, gas lines, labour etc)
But, by the time I've paid 2 or 3 Months marina fees and the brokers commission, even selling it at a high price, I can't see me clearing more than £7K or so. (where it is the mooring are paid up until the end of the Year so it's costing me "nothing" where it currently lies)
I won't do any of the work myself, this thing has broken me over the last 3 Years and I'd far rather sell it as spares than set foot on it again. I've actually developed a nervous twitch whenever I see the thing soiling the pontoons at the club, rocking smugly in the tide...
Another option would be to list it on ebay on a weeks auction, 99p start price, no reserve. The financial loss would be almost total, but the value to my mental health would be high!
Any advice, ideas, thoughts, a sympathetic smile with a cup of tea, very welcome...
