redred
Member
Tel me your worst ever boat owned or experienced, confess, own up............
Your worst boat
- Thread starter redred
- Start date
peterg
Well-Known Member
Driver 510 with an ex-MOD outboard and distinctly dodgy looking trailer... was called Double Trouble but as it was our first boat we figured change the name and it'll be fine /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
B175Chris
Well-Known Member
Worst boat was my Driver 440 Sport with 70hp outboard, never managed to get it working to put it in the water, still managed to part-ex it to some daft broker who swopped it for a nice big new inflatable /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Nice looking boat though:
Chris
Nice looking boat though:
Chris
Major Catastrophe
Well-Known Member
Pedalo. As much as I tried, couldn't get it up onto the plane. Not even with my Brother helping.
Nautical
Well-Known Member
Ex Solent class liftboat 'David & Elizabeth King' renamed Island Lass. impossible to go astern in a straight line, rolled like a pig, wet as anything in anything over a five, horrible down the weather. Mind you it was self righting and unsinkable so belt and braces should the worst happen which felt like was about to happen any minute.
hlb
RIP
An American, Imperial, bought it at the NEC Boat show from a local to me firm in Colne Lancashire. Looked fantastic at the show. Carpet was glued down over much of engine, which had a 20 gallon fuel tank. Guarantee instantly banned from Volvo, cos this blke had touched it. Sent it for first service. Bloke said , he'd just cleaned the spark plugs, with whisky bottle in hand.
Prop just about stayed on on, traveling Poole to Solent. Repaired in Yarmouth.
Had loads of other problems with boats since. But this one was just not fit for purpose.
Prop just about stayed on on, traveling Poole to Solent. Repaired in Yarmouth.
Had loads of other problems with boats since. But this one was just not fit for purpose.
Kawasaki
Well-Known Member
A 30ft ex ship's lifeboat conversion.
Wooden clinker with a ketch rig + a 1500cc British Leyland "taxi" engine for propulsion.
What a load of poo.
Wouldn't sail would hardly motor.
Saving grace it taught Me to work out tides and not to get another wooden boat!
Was called "Mariner"
The locals however were much amused. Did cheer the Parish up no end.
Keeping this THING afloat and in some sort of seaworthiness created many jobs in the area.
Being the butt of much humour in the local was embarrasing at the time but now seems quite funny.
Why did I purchase such a shed?
As always it seemed the right thing to do At the time.
All my mates were upgrading to bigger stuff. We'd all had the 16 ft then 20 ft speedy boats.
Terry bought a nice 38 ft Rampart, classic wooden proper thing.
Brian bought a 30 odd ft C Kip Grand Banks look alike and so on.
So Muggins was out the game with an old Colvic 20 footer.
Not to be outdone I bought this big Ship!
Jimmy Green or what?
Bloody clueless 25 Years ago but what the heck, it seemed a good idea at the time.
The upshot was, great humour was brought to the water, peeps came from everywhere to see this knobhead perform with this strange floating contraption.
Eventually "Mariner" was renamed.
Cos the hull was sheathed (surrounded by fibreglass cos She was rotten) and there was a Prick inside. She was renamed "The Condom"
I rest My case!
Wooden clinker with a ketch rig + a 1500cc British Leyland "taxi" engine for propulsion.
What a load of poo.
Wouldn't sail would hardly motor.
Saving grace it taught Me to work out tides and not to get another wooden boat!
Was called "Mariner"
The locals however were much amused. Did cheer the Parish up no end.
Keeping this THING afloat and in some sort of seaworthiness created many jobs in the area.
Being the butt of much humour in the local was embarrasing at the time but now seems quite funny.
Why did I purchase such a shed?
As always it seemed the right thing to do At the time.
All my mates were upgrading to bigger stuff. We'd all had the 16 ft then 20 ft speedy boats.
Terry bought a nice 38 ft Rampart, classic wooden proper thing.
Brian bought a 30 odd ft C Kip Grand Banks look alike and so on.
So Muggins was out the game with an old Colvic 20 footer.
Not to be outdone I bought this big Ship!
Jimmy Green or what?
Bloody clueless 25 Years ago but what the heck, it seemed a good idea at the time.
The upshot was, great humour was brought to the water, peeps came from everywhere to see this knobhead perform with this strange floating contraption.
Eventually "Mariner" was renamed.
Cos the hull was sheathed (surrounded by fibreglass cos She was rotten) and there was a Prick inside. She was renamed "The Condom"
I rest My case!
david_steward
Well-Known Member
Sealine 305 Statesman. Fell to bits over one season of use.
Hull flexed so much the GRP cracked at one of the chines and tried to sink off the Belgian coast.
Absolute rubbish.
Hull flexed so much the GRP cracked at one of the chines and tried to sink off the Belgian coast.
Absolute rubbish.
suse
Well-Known Member
Quote: !Cos the hull was sheathed (surrounded by fibreglass cos She was rotten) and there was a Prick inside. She was renamed "The Condom"."
NOT WHEN I'M DRINKING COFFEE HERE!!!!!! PUR-LEEEEASE!! Wet keyboards wont work...
S x
NOT WHEN I'M DRINKING COFFEE HERE!!!!!! PUR-LEEEEASE!! Wet keyboards wont work...
S x
Kawasaki
Well-Known Member
Tiss true and peeps still talk about it. twats /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
D
Deleted User YDKXO
Guest
Hah. Me too. We bought a 3yr old Sealine 305 from the old Quay Marine in 1990 and it was total pants. A pig to manouvre at slow speed. I should have realised it was a jinxed boat when we tore the radome off it on our first trip on the underside of Bursleden Bridge over the Hamble. Subsequently, we had a never ending list of problems with the boat; we threatened to go legal with Quay Marine because they were not respecting their warranty. On our first cross channel cruise with MBM, the standing joke amongst the other participants was that they'd never met me face to face, only my backside as I constantly had my head stuck in the bilges repairing something. The final straw came one day on another Channel crossing. I was helming from the flybridge and I started to notice a strange light flickering on the floor. On further investigation, the whole of the flybridge coaming was starting to detach itself from the boat. All the self tappers had given up. Anyway, after some emergency repairs, we got the boat back. My SWMBO issued a diktat that she'd never go boating again until I got a proper boat, so I did, a Turbo 36 which was so good it was like a different planet
One last thing. The 305 was called La Cuenta (spanish for the bill). Most appropriate name only I changed the pronounciation a bit
One last thing. The 305 was called La Cuenta (spanish for the bill). Most appropriate name only I changed the pronounciation a bit
AdeOlly
Well-Known Member
Sealine 215 with V8 petrol. Rarely worked properly, engine continually going wrong, hull lay up so thin you could flex the hull with one finger at the waterline, nearly caught fire, cost me a fortune in repirs and fuel when it worked, and the bow was so light it span if a seagull farted nearby. Actually its a shame the fire extinguisher put out the fire... Got to the point SWMBO wouldn't go on it and my kid was banned from coming with me. Part ex'd it to Sealine for a nice shiny Sealine S24 which was a world apart in every respect.
[2068]
...
I feel as if I've missed out on the experience of owning a truly bad boat, but a couple my Dad owned would fall into the dubious/dodgy category.
Most notably:
- A 16ft Mahogany speedboat powered by a 20hp "West Bend" outboard which never worked properly from new. The company slogan should have been "Power Out, Paddle Back".
- A Humber inflatable with a Chrysler 15hp on the back. The engine on this was almost reliable, until it went for a swim in 15ft of salty water. The boat wasn't so good though: it had wooden floorboards with triangular "stringers" that were supposed to lock the whole thing rigid, but they'd flex, pop out, and you could feel (and see) the entire boat changing shape every time you accelerated onto the plane.
dv.
Most notably:
- A 16ft Mahogany speedboat powered by a 20hp "West Bend" outboard which never worked properly from new. The company slogan should have been "Power Out, Paddle Back".
- A Humber inflatable with a Chrysler 15hp on the back. The engine on this was almost reliable, until it went for a swim in 15ft of salty water. The boat wasn't so good though: it had wooden floorboards with triangular "stringers" that were supposed to lock the whole thing rigid, but they'd flex, pop out, and you could feel (and see) the entire boat changing shape every time you accelerated onto the plane.
dv.
dpb
Well-Known Member
Years ago had an ageing Picton 210. First it turned out to be a Dominiator and therefore a good few years older than the boat I thought I'd bought. Then I replaced the existing little engine with 100hp and found that the transom nearly fell off and had to have a new one built. Then every time it got on the plane it fell over on its side, this was fixed with a few strategically placed bags of sand. After that I suppose it was OK. To be fair, when it was new it was probably a good little boat and one of the first I saw with the now common under cockpit midships cabin.
Last saw it on the Medway a few years ago.
Last saw it on the Medway a few years ago.
Dave_Snelson
Well-Known Member
They didn\'t seem that bad at the time
I have never really had a bad boat as I enjoyed each one immensely....including the one that delaminated and started to break up at sea while out on a rough October day.
Twas a Fletcher 139 with a 55 Penta 3 cyl O/B on the back. WAY to big for the boat, she would accelerate so hard that if the crew wern't holding on, they were flung to the back and you couldn't possibly use the top speed as she used to dutch roll frighteningly.
On a trip out with fiancee one Oct day, sheets of GRP started to come off at the prow. Undeterred (and very amateurish) we kept going and all was OK. Anyway, I glued it all back on with epoxy resin - like Araldite but in large jars - and cheap!
The death of the boat was not out on a stormy sea, but round at a friend of mine's farm where I stored it. Horses got at it and ate all the foam off the seats and off the steering wheel as well - no kidding! And they didn't die! They ate the bloody lot. Then thieves came one night and sawed through all my anti-theft devices and stole my O/B. The boat was an utter wreck, and in truth thats how it was when I bought it. Still got a £100 for it though /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
I have never really had a bad boat as I enjoyed each one immensely....including the one that delaminated and started to break up at sea while out on a rough October day.
Twas a Fletcher 139 with a 55 Penta 3 cyl O/B on the back. WAY to big for the boat, she would accelerate so hard that if the crew wern't holding on, they were flung to the back and you couldn't possibly use the top speed as she used to dutch roll frighteningly.
On a trip out with fiancee one Oct day, sheets of GRP started to come off at the prow. Undeterred (and very amateurish) we kept going and all was OK. Anyway, I glued it all back on with epoxy resin - like Araldite but in large jars - and cheap!
The death of the boat was not out on a stormy sea, but round at a friend of mine's farm where I stored it. Horses got at it and ate all the foam off the seats and off the steering wheel as well - no kidding! And they didn't die! They ate the bloody lot. Then thieves came one night and sawed through all my anti-theft devices and stole my O/B. The boat was an utter wreck, and in truth thats how it was when I bought it. Still got a £100 for it though /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Dave_Snelson
Well-Known Member
I always liked the look of the Driver boats and nearly bought the 535 with a 175 Merc on the back. Didn't in the end though.
spannerman
Well-Known Member
My first boat was a Driver 440 ( Sudden Impact) with the old Mercury 'tower of power' straight six 115hp, but after 3 gearboxes I sold it and put an brand new Yamaha 135hp, it was a great sea boat and I remember in my keen days water skiing every weekend off Exmouth even in Dec and Jan with hail and snow!
Then I bought a nearly new Marlin 22 ( Miss Deameanour) which was made just outside Exeter and put on a new Yamah 230 hp and it was amazing in the sea, you could drive it flat out in all conditions and seriously peed off my snooty neighbour who had a Ring (called IN the RED) with a Merc XR 200, and couldn't catch me.
Any one know what happened to Marlin, I know they went bust as thats how I got a new hull for £500 !!! but I heard someone bought the moulds, this is back in '94.
Then I bought a nearly new Marlin 22 ( Miss Deameanour) which was made just outside Exeter and put on a new Yamah 230 hp and it was amazing in the sea, you could drive it flat out in all conditions and seriously peed off my snooty neighbour who had a Ring (called IN the RED) with a Merc XR 200, and couldn't catch me.
Any one know what happened to Marlin, I know they went bust as thats how I got a new hull for £500 !!! but I heard someone bought the moulds, this is back in '94.
derekh
Well-Known Member
my worst and first was a 28' reniel. It was an american boat. I only used it for 1 month in the year due to business overdraft requiring lots and lots of man hours inputed. after three years I sold the boat. The guy who bought it moored it and didnt look at it for a month. leaky boats and flat batteries don't mix and the vessel went to visit davy jones locker. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
Chas25
Well-Known Member
Well the first was probably the worst, given that it tried to sink!! a 17ft 20 year old Glastron speedboat with 70hp O/B was more of a lake boat really and turned out to be quite uncomfortable in the solent chop. Off stokes bay we realised that our two 5gal fuel tanks were floating, and one was still full of fuel!! Made it back to Gosport and got it on the trailer where we spent 15 minutes watching water come out of a split in the hull!!
But then the next one was bad for different reasons, it was a Searay 180 bowrider around 5 years old on the face of it seemed ok, but at its first service things went from bad to really bad /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif ended up with a 2k bill which represented more than 20% of what I'd paid for the boat. Most of the time I owned it there was one electronic problem or another.
Which one was worse.... depends how you look at it, when the searay worked it was a far better boat and we had alot of fun in it, but we had to throw alot of money at it to keep it going. The problems with the Glastron were serious but by comparison alot cheaper to repair and as an added bonus I got the money I paid for the boat + the repair back when I sold it /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif whereas lost around 5k on the searay in 18months.
But then the next one was bad for different reasons, it was a Searay 180 bowrider around 5 years old on the face of it seemed ok, but at its first service things went from bad to really bad /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif ended up with a 2k bill which represented more than 20% of what I'd paid for the boat. Most of the time I owned it there was one electronic problem or another.
Which one was worse.... depends how you look at it, when the searay worked it was a far better boat and we had alot of fun in it, but we had to throw alot of money at it to keep it going. The problems with the Glastron were serious but by comparison alot cheaper to repair and as an added bonus I got the money I paid for the boat + the repair back when I sold it /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif whereas lost around 5k on the searay in 18months.