Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

I got my first little boat, so I have some questions for all the Skippers out there :)

It was very cheap as it needs an outdrive and some interior/exterior work, but it runs and floats, which is kind of important in a boat.

1987 Glassport Bowrider with a mercruiser 3.7 litre engine.

http://britishexpats.com/photopost/d...dium/boat2.jpg

Soooo...

Best place for parts in Canada?
Best place for insurance?
Winterising tips?
Convincing the wife it was a good idea? :blink:

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

Convincing the wife.....................yeah good luck with that!

Can you hide it in the garage, then say oh this old thing? i've had it ages| You know like woman do when they are in a dress you've never seen before?

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

Congratulations! Buying it will have been the second happiest day of your life. ;)

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

I see a little hotrod trying to escape the garage. Have fun on the water:)

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

Surprised you went for an inboard/outboard set up, I'd of thought an outboard motor would have been a better and more fuel-efficient option on such a small boat. Still, if you're good at mechanics it should be fine. There should be loads Merc dealers near you to get parts. If you need bigger parts, new engine, outdrive/leg etc you might want to look down in the States as it’d be more cost efficient to buy there.

Not sure about winterizing as we don’t need to here. I keep mine in the water and use it all year round.

There should loads of places that do boat insurance for seasonal recreational boating.

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

It's often written as an endorsement to house policies, that's an option to consider.

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

This is the company I use as my marina requires certain policy conditions.

Vancouver Marine Insurance | BC boat insurance Port Coquitlam

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

On your last point, you could invite me over for a day on the boat and I will make all the right noises about what a great idea and how lovely this is :)

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

We use Johnson insurance, our boat (trailered) is separate from the house and is well covered. Boat is serviced yearly and we get the shop to winterizing it at the end of the season before it gets put to bed.
Looked at state farm insurance but they won't cover.
Weuse the local dealer, he's fair.

Happy boating!

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

I asked Mrs P. ...... She just laughed like a drain! :rofl:

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

Haha... Caught you- this suggests that your boat is big and therefore likely posh... Which you denied... You were telling porkies!:lol:

Good luck with the boat, great fun, separate insurance policy on the boat and another cash grab forbid trailer to- both separate from the house insurance. We winterize and a very friend keeps it toasty warm in his big garage :thumbup:

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

I know nothing about boats, but looks good to me.... Boats are super fun, so much to explore when ones has a boat...:thumbup:

My wife would be cool with a boat, she loves them too....She would probably get one before I would...lol

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

There are two times you love your boat.

When you buy it and when you sell it!

Money pits especially in Ontario where it can't be in the water or used half the year.

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

My wife actually says I can have a boat :blink: (and also a travel trailer - miracles never cease!).

That's good news as it looks like we have finally sold the last (inherited) property in the UK - one of those pesky retirement apartments [had to drop my pants but the current exchange rate partially cancels that problem out!]

Less than 10 minutes to Alouette Lake from the house (its basically down to the end of the street and turn left!), so we should get regular use - quick evening outings are popular round here in the summer. A Pitt River slip is about the same journey in the opposite direction and the nearest Fraser slip is close by too.

I'm leaning towards something sea-capable for inshore waters however, but whatever we go for it will be out-of-season to hopefully get the right deal.

I've not boated for about 15 years, so one step at a time anyway!

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

Thanks everyone.

The boat was only a grand, including the trailor. Needs about a grand to get in the water along with a used outdrive, life jackets, anchors, ropes etc.

Will be happy if I get a season or two out of it, then we will decide if we want to pack it in, or trade up to something a bit newer.

Chose a bowrider so I can fish at the back while she reads her kindle in the front, lol.

Boat parts seem surprisingly cheap. 70 bucks for a new alternator, 170 for a set of new back to back seats.

Need to start planning next years weekends now :)

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

How exciting! Lots of places around here you can use it too, not just the lake but also the Grand River etc.

Don't forget you need one of these to drive a motorised boat https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/marinesafet...orfaq-2233.htm and an outdoors card to fish http://www.ontario.ca/travel-and-rec...-outdoors-card

I'm sure you will have lots of fun!

:)

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

Individually cheap maybe but start adding them all up!!! ..... Maybe take a bucket to bail out with, just in case, Kindles don't like getting wet!:lol:

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

Very pleased for you. Nothing better when you've been working all day and then spending the afternoon and evening splashing around. In fact it’s great when you have a day off too. It’s just nice to be able to get away from people. I think of it as a shed that floats. Luckily for me, HID is not much of a boater and my moorage is just a short walk from my condo so drinking on the boat is not a problem, not technically legal but the water fuzz are virtually non-existent. The only time I've been stopped when some twat of a bloke was smoking dope on the back deck. I basically just told the rozzers to naff off so they didn't board. One of the cops was a Geordie btw. :rofl:

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

Best part there in my view...lol

Hard these days to find a place on land where nobody else is....:lol:

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

Huh?? You do live in Canada JS, not the most overpopulated of countries!

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

But most accessible places by a small car seem to all be full of people...:lol:

Granted there is a lot of open space, but nearby where we have access to we always run into people, even where you don't think you will....

Suppose if we could get out to the back country or out to a desolate highway there would be less people, so I should have said around town's and city's to go to in the evening for a couple hours.

But I suppose if it's easy to access there will be people around..;)

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

Although I highly dense boarder population.

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

Eh??????

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

I expect he means that the effective population density of Canada is the same as the UK because most of the people in Canada live along the US border. People who rent rooms in Canada are probably dim but that doesn't seem relevant.

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

After your response I'm not so sure either

So it could be ;

1. Really stupid/dim people on surf boards

2. Really stupid/dim people living along the US border

or

3. lots of people living in close proximity (big cities) near the US border



IMHO the 1st option is California same size population but much further away

so I'm with option 2 or 3 :)

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

Congratulations! I bought my first ever boat and joined the boating fraternity last year, and this year was my first season, ive enjoyed it but i have been dogged my mechanical issues that i have tried to apply a band aid fix to.....it doesn't work!

I have now bitten the bullet and have took it in for repair, and am waiting for the thumping bill! I agree with what many people say, boats are money pits, (its a well know fact in the boating fraternity that BOAT is an acronym for Bring Over Another Thousand) however if you go into it knowing that, and you enjoy your time on the water, then in my opinion its money well spent, all hobbies cost money, and as I always say good times cost money!! I live in the perfect location to own a boat, so even with the cost im really enjoying it so far.

I recommend West Marine for parts, they seem pretty reasonable. I got my boat insured through my house insurance broker, although it is a separate policy and company, it wasnt overly expensive, around $650 a year for my boat, which is a bit of a hot rod boat so i was happy with that.

Winterising is a little more tricky, it depends how mechanical you are, a good friend of mine (who is a keen boater) winterised mine with me last year, i know most of the precedure now, i will just confirm with him this year, one tip i would say that catches a lot of people out, is when you take out the drain plugs in the engine block firstly make sure you find them all! there are four in mine (but it is a 5.7 litre V8) and just when you think all the water has drained out, make sure you poke a small screw driver up there to free up any small debris that traps water, many people dont do that and end up with a cracked block! :eek: Just make sure you see that pink anti freeze coming out of every orifice when you pour it in.

Convincing the wife....hmmm....your on your own with that one! lol. Im single, so i only have to convince myself! Good luck anyway! :thumbup:

Hope all goes well.....as i said im enjoying it so far even with the cost, certainly something that I would never been able do when I lived in the UK.

Cheers!

Paul.

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

We had a boat but not for long. The river and lake that we live near are busy and with only a narrow channel for boats. The wakes make it choppy and so the ride is uncomfortable and there's little pleasure in zooming up and down the same stretch of water. Beautiful the first time but after that it's the same old same old. I thinking about how much we were polluting the water. So the boat was sold. If we wanted to spend a day boating it's easy enough to hire a boat, but we haven't. Husband has a small rowboat with a trolling? Or is it trawling motor on it so he can potter about at dawn catching fish.

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

Of course one could adopt the credo of the 3Fs, if it flies, floats or ****s rent it. ;)

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

Thanks Souixie. Got the fishing license last year, just need to get the boating license now, but no rush, boat won't be in the water till next year :(

I might even have found free storage on a farm, but would prefer somewhere indoors.

I would have been happy with an outboard Oink, but wife thinks they look goofy, plus they are more likely to have transom problems.

Funny how many neighbours shout over "You got a boat Dave?" So tempted to reply with some brit sarcasm, but they wouldn't get it, lol.

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

True....there is some credit to that, although if your out on it every weekend in the summer, the eventual cost probably equals out, and it is nice to have your own personal touch to your chosen F! which ever one that maybe. ;)

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

Conversely, When I lived in the UK I had a boat (a 7.5m/200hp RIB) but since I emigrated, I can't afford one. Although possibly having a family now and being young, free(ish) and single(ish) then ha more to do with it than England vs. Canada. ;)

Re: Got me a boat, another tick on the list
 

Really? I didnt know anyone in the UK that owned a boat, not directly anyway, my grandfather owned one, but that was before my time.

Yes maybe being single has a bearing on it, i think i was married with kids, i wouldnt be able to afford one, kids are pretty pricey from what see and hear!