Differences between trailer stored and slip boats

[MI Ben]

Couldn't fit the whole question in the subject

Ive been running my trailer-stored, no-bottom-paint boat for the past 2 seasons and have a pretty good handle on the labor and cost of doing that.

Many of you have undoubtedly gone from this setup to a larger, slip-stored boat(say from a 24 center console to a 28 for the sake of the argument) and I was wondering what happened to the routine labor time and cost. Big jump in both? Perhaps less routine setup/put away time with the trailer out of the mix? A lot more relative costs(forget gas for a moment) or not so much? I know the hobby is $insane$ but lets put aside that known for a moment.

Any wisdom will be read with much interest!

[Guest]

What is your question, costs for maintaining a 28 foot boat including slip, maintence, so forth?

[MI Ben]

Oops

Forgive me for not getting to the point.

Has a slip-kept boat turned out to be much more expense and hassle than a trailer-kept smaller boat in your experience?

[Guest]

I moved from a 28 Center Console to the 28 CC. And yes it is more expensive to keep and maintain a slip kept larger boat with inboards then a smaller one on a trailer with outboards. Hassle. Not really although there are somethings I can say are a hassle, it is a trade off. As going to the boat, casting off the lines and heading out is a lot eaiser than the trailer deal.
The bigger the boat the more $ it is going to take to maintain and operate. That's just the way it is. Before you make such a purchase you need realize and accept that up front.

[MI Ben]

Costs/hassle

How often do the diesels on a new CC28 need to be serviced and what ballpark $$ is it? Does diesel power regular maintenance work out to be more expensive than gas outboards?

Please excuse the basic questions

[TwinFin]

a quick reply

I moved from a 24' center console trailer boat to a CC28 2 years ago. Consider the following

Slipped Boat
diver - bottom scrubs - maybe 1 per month @ $28/mo
Slip rental - varies quite a bit - $400 - $600/mo maybe
electricity at the dock - $10/mo
Service visits - maybe $85/hr and they include travel time to & from your boat
Your driving time and fuel to do any of your own maintenance
Pull boat and have bottom paint stripped and redone - maybe once every 2 - 3 years - depending on water temps and growth rate at your marina
more limited fishing grounds - you can't tow 100 miles, then launch
If you live in a cold area - you need to consider annual pull-outs

Trailer boat
storage yard fees - mine was at home and free
trailer service - $250/year if you take good care of your trailer
added fuel costs - need to drive a truck or other tow vehicle
More options as far as wider fishing grounds
But... Trailering is a hassle, especially as you get older


Over-all I like having a slipped boat much more - but it is quite a bit more expensive.

[backman]

10K/year before problems

The slip is 185/ft and going up to 195$ this year - 6K down.

Annual paint is ~$500

One end of season haul, power wash and spring launch is another 500$.

Shrinkwrap is another 500+.

Winter layup/spring recommissioning of engines is ~1K per engine; thats oil and filters change; air filters; impeller, belts; anodes and any other "regular" preventative maintenance. Problems are extra

I used to complain about 5 hr/450% labor bills for oil and filter changes till I did a couple myself and realized end to end it took me 7 or 8 hours. Don't underestimate the time and complexity of maintanance on 2 engines. Its more than twice the time of a single; especially to do it "right".

[Nicky M]

backman where do you summer store your boat for 185.00 a foot disregard backman i see your from cape cod

[MI Ben]

Appreciate all the feedback so far guys. Sounds like its largely a trick of where you keep it, being that slips costs can be all over the place.

I have twin outboards, backman - are inboard diesel regular maintenance/winterizing/etc costs much more than outboards?

[backman]

I think so

outboard winterization and maintenance was always a lot less for me than diesels'. Fog and change the lower unit oil; change the plugs; impeller and thermostat every few years and even with labor it wasperhaps 4-500$ for a single engine. 2 hr's labor at a guess; 200$ parts and fluid.

With a diesel its got to take 2 hr's for oil change and fuel/oil filter change; 1-2 hrs to change the transmission oil; perhaps another 1-2 for raw water flush with antifreeze; remove and replace the impeller and belt change, maybe another hour of lube and general PM. Change the air filter; break out and check the exhaust elbow; add another hour.
Bottom line its close to a full day of labor per engine and easily 3-400$ parts and fluids.

Obviously you can do it yourself, but having a pro go over my engines twice year is well worth the cost in terms of identifying problems early and also goving me peace of mind.

[MI Ben]

Makes sense. I wouldn't do this stuff myself only to find I did it wrong 60 miles offshore. Dealer I talked to down south told me it would run around $750 per engine every 200 hours (Cummins). Assuming the current rate of ~200 hours a year, $1500 seems a bargain for peace of mind.

[Graceland]

I have the 25 which is the baby of the family, and it's trailer kept, but I do run a diesel and the maintenance is very similar. I haven;t been into the engine room of the 28's and up but I would think they have as much room as I do and probably more.
Oil change is no big deal. Get an electric oil change pump and a 5 gallon bucket. Warm up the motor, then hose clamp the pick up of the oil change pump to the dip stick and pump her out. Change out the filter, put some oil absorbinbg clothes under it before you spin it off. Refill with oil and you're done. Cost-about $40 in oil, $20 for filter, takes 20-30 minutes including the warm up of the engine. One time cost of about $125 for the oil change pump.
Since I am on a trailer and have no power in the yard where I park her I do have to lay up the cooling system in the winter when the temps drop. I ended up using a Groco 3 way for an emergency bilge suction on the cooling line at the sea cock. The Groco is basically teed into the cooling line. The third leg has a quick disconnect plug which can be replaced with another plug that goes to a garden hose fitting. To lay it up I plug in the garden connection and run a short length to a bottle of Marine Anti Freeze, shut the sea cock and run the motor. When anti freeze comes out the exhaust you're good. Using this method the engine takes me less than 5 minutes to lay up. It usually takes about 1 gallon. Buy the concentrate and mix it yourself. You can ly up your salt water and fresh wtyare washdowns the same way, just remove the suction side hose and drop it in the antifreeze and run them to you fill the system.
Belts are jsut like an automobiles and use a tensioner to adjust them. It's a pain on mine becuase it's on the forward end of the engine and I have to stand on my head to do it.
The water pump is no big deal. Unfortunately on the Yanmar to get the pump cover off you have to pull the entire pump off the egine block. Once it's off, pop the cover, remove the old gasket and old impeller. Replace the parts and bolt it back on. There are two bolts holding it o the engine and three screws on the cover.
Cooler zincs are also really easy. Locate the plugs on the coolers, remove them, screw off the old zincs and install the new ones.
I've got an out drive and have never owned a straight inboard so I don't know the first thing about servicing the transmission. For the outdrive you have to change the fluid every 100 hours. Easy to do on a trailer but impossible to do in the water so you'll have to get it hauled out.
This is my first inboard and first diesel. I was lucky and found a really good diesel mechanic. He walked me through all the maintenance, and made sure I knew the service intervals for everything. He'll put eyes on it at least once a year to make sure everything is good to go under the hatch and that's she performing up to specs.

[Agitator]

I trailered a 26' Bertram Moppie w/gas IO's for 12 years and had a great time and kept expenses low by doing some of the maintenance.
I got a CC28 w/ IB 4BTA250's in Sept 2002. It has over 550 hrs on it I keep the CC on a lift. The inboards are much easier to live with than the outdrives and the diesels are easier than the gas engines. There is hard bottom paint on the hull for those trps where the boat stays in the water for a week or more. The bottom and running gear stay clean and there is no chance of stray voltage causing corrsion. I use the boat year round, so a heater in the cabin and one in the engine bay are all that is needed for winter.
The 250's are simple and, thus far, inexpensive to maintain. I do not have a generator, so there is lots of space forward of the engines from which to gain access to the belts, oil filters, fuel filters, etc.
I change engine oil and filters every 100 hrs , 1.5 hrs, and gear oil every 300 hrs, .75 hr. I have an engine oil change pump and it is worth every $. I use a hand pump for the gear oil.
The fuel filters are easy after the first set, clearly installed by a gorilla, are removed. Be sure to fill the new filters with fuel and use the primer plunger, 1hr.
The AirSeps are washable and take less than 1.5 hrs to service.
The zincs are easily accessable, with the lower intercooler zincs lasting less than 125 hrs and rest going about 300 hrs. They can all be changed in about 45 min.
The port impellar requires a contortionist, cool engines and patience. I would not want to try to change it offshore. I do not remember how long it took to change. The starboard impellar is not easy, but a piece of cake in comparison, about 1 hr. Newer 250's have a cresent shaft key which can be a pain.
The spin on Racor fuel water separators are easy to change. Once a year seems to be fine, 1 hr. Be sure to fill new filters with fuel and use the primer pump.
I know that this is a lot of stuff, but none of it is hard to do ( OK... the impellars are hard to do ) and you are looking at some serious money saved for that $3/gal fuel, not to mention having it done when you want it. The bigger value may be the knowledge of the engines and attendant systems when things do not work as planned and a mechanic is not at hand. I am not a mechanic and do not have huge toolbox.