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That vent hose is simply too small to do any good as far as the smell issue. It may pass a bit of air into the tank while pumping out and thus prevent the tank from collapsing but as far as getting air, oxygen, into the tank it is useless. My advice would be to install a bubbler system to help...

But remember that the water that gets into the deck to leak inside is still there when you put the boat in the boathouse and continues to cause rot and damage, unless you have no wood in the deck core.

Absolutely, no engine room photos then I pass. My thought process is what are they afraid to show?

Unless you are into old things like This Old House the main reason to buy an older boat is price. But if you can fit a newer boat into your budget then that is what I would do. I have bought and refurbished many older boats mostly because I loved working on them but things are changing in the...

As in post #41…

The losses in Texas have made homeowners insurance more difficult and much more expensive to obtain. Your boating experience may get you a discount but won’t help get insurance on an older boat. Some carriers have an age cutoff and they won’t go older. There are still some companies thet...

And some marinas still won’t take an older boat even with insurance. Check before committing to buy. Your area may be fine with older boats or it may be worse.

I did a search and couldn’t find a manual for it either. Their website kinda sucks for manuals. I guess you might have to call them.

Fiberglass isn’t known to deteriorate except the surface finish. It is the wood things that do like the core in a deck, wood trim, wood in stringers. I have seen 50 year old boats that were like new but that isn’t the norm. Usually the lack of proper maintenance is what ruins a boat. Having...

I don’t suppose that you are excited at all…. Congratulations.

You are certainly an optimist…

There are a bunch of rust converters on the market. The oil industry has been using them for decades. The one I use works pretty well. It is called Exrend.

That is what I have on our current boat as well as our last boat. The only reason to have a remote battery switch is if the contacts weld together and the thruster won’t shut off, then the remote would be nice.

I had a battery switch at the batteries. If you want to be able to turn it off at the helm put in remote controlled switch. I think Blue Seas make one.

The major things, IMO, to check on an older boat, brand doesn’t matter. Are soft decks, rotting stringers and window leaks. The things like bad drain hoses, minor wiring issues are peanuts in the overall picture. This is about a 50 year old boat, so expect a myriad of small problems that you...

Agree that the as built specs will likely not be what is there today especially on a 25 year old boat. As you search for them have a pad of paper and make notes as to what needs work.

Much less exterior teak is still too much…

I put in new SMX pumps on my Cummins a couple of years ago. I say I put them in, I paid the mechanic to put them in. The starboard engine took him about 15 minutes to do. 2 hoses and 3 bolts, simple. The port engine had terrible access. Formula put in a small hatch in the aft cabin locker...

Yup.

I have not heard that. We used it on our bathroom cabinets. We used a HVLP sprayer to paint them and they look awesome. Fortunately we have a good supply of Brightside so if I need to do any repairs I have plenty. Never thought that I might have to do any repairs but our Devil Dog Lab puppy...

My Formula has fuel tanks outboard of the engines. About 4 to 5” of room. Formula put a hatch from the aft cabin to access the water pump on the port engine. But it was waaay to small. I cut out the bulkhead and put a larger hatch to be able to work on the pump. My mechanic loved it when he...

One concern if you break a belt and don’t have a spare in place be extremely careful about removing the hose with the engine hot. I read an article about someone pulling the hose and got burned so badly he had to be taken to the hospital and took a long time healing. So have a spare belt in...

Welcome aboard. I would guess in the 26 to 28K pound range.

Yes, I am having more and more problems doing some of the work required on our boat. So far I have been able to get it done but where I used to be able to work 10+ hours in a day now it is more like 2 or 3. So everything takes longer. Good news is that I have most of the heavy lifting done.

Well, that is pretty much the situation in working on boats. Just have to figure out what is the best way to get it done.