Marinette Boat Forum

I've spent lots of time and money on my 28 that I will never recoup in $$$, and it's easy to get discouraged because it seems like the projects keep coming and most of them just want to fight you. This thread reminded me of the day someone stopped me on the dock to confirm the rumor that I was seen walking down the dock with the kitchen sink. I know every screw, every inch of my boat, I have enough stainless steel fasteners and electrical connections to start my own hardware store and seem to have something of a reputation! But when I emerge from a job cussing under my breath and sweating blood, I get a rush and a big grin when someone tells me how much they like my boat.

Those clorox bottles with tiny windows just can't compete.

Money has nothing to do with it--it's all about the love of your boat.

For example: Between the annual bottom painting ritual, some needed parts replacement---and the usual Spring failures (of things that always worked perfectly before)--we spent nearly a grand on her this year alone. And we're selling it for $4,000. See my point?

Jeff

Let me say I have spread the "love". I'm not dreaming of rolling around on the deck naked......yet, but I get a huge smile on my face when I see her and often dream of our future adventures together. Can you marry a boat in this country yet? If one was to marry their boat would she be considered the head wife or merely a sister wife? Jeff if you were married to your boat you would be getting a divorce which sounds costly, have you considered a trial separation? I think we should all get together and contribute to a save Jeffs "marriage" fund and buy the boat, mothball her, and wait for the holiday road welcome to wear off. In that way we can preserve his friendship, blog availability, and relationship. Anyone?

just think in many fiberglass boats you actually need a sawzall to remove the fuel tank.

One of the many (12 in two days) inquiries into buying y 32 footer comes from a Marinetter with a 28 footer.

So, she might remain in our 'family' after all!

Jeff

I am going to echo what thanksdad said....there are some things you cannot put a dollar value on. For me, the experience of boating in a marinette is one of those things.

I bought my 28 for $6000 and it came with a kick-butt trailer. The boat needs a lot of work but I started with the projects that pertained to safety (such as replacing extremely old packing box hoses) and will continue at a snail's pace on the cosmetic projects. I don't have a ton of extra money to throw at a boat but I grew up in a boating family and its just part of who I am. I wanted something big enough to stay on for a 3 day weekend with my wife and dog. To me NOTHING can beat a marinette when you combine factors of price, ruggedness, performance (fuel!) And ease of maintenance.

Just talked with a friend who has a steel houseboat with a single Chrysler 318. He says he gets .75 mpg no matter what. I need to do more accurate calculations but I believe I am getting 2.5 or better mpg at 1000 rpms and 1.3ish or better mpg at 2500 rpm cruise speed (21 MPH) not bad for a cabin cruiser.

Would take my grungy old marinette 28 over a million dollar plastic tub any day.

In my opinion - do you use your boat? The value of any boat is how much you use it. I can tell you half of the boats i see never see the water, and the half that do, most just sit at the dock most of the summer - don't get it. I think we might be the first ones to actually wear their boat out! I think most of us consider the work on our boats therapy.

You can count me in with the "dumped too much money in the project and will never get it back" group. I replaced everything except the original mahogany, which was ran through a planer and then re stained and varnished. I have $12,000 in the paint job, welding up of old screw holes, and 4 foot extended swim platform alone, not to mention every wall, ceiling, and floor was replaced. I even replaced the sliding glass windows and tracks. I finally finished the boat this spring after 5 years of weekend working, and have spent almost every weekend on it. I love the compliments I get and thumbs up from people as I drive down the lake or pull into a marina for gas. Everyone that sees it has to touch it when I tell them it is made of aluminum. They think it is made of wood. They all say it is beautiful. And she is! We just bought a home on a canal in Florida and I can't stomach the idea of having it sit in salt water and air. So I currently have it listed on the boat trader for $32,000.00. I don't expect to get anything close to that, but that's what it would take for me to let it go, or something close to that number. Next season it will be a year old on the restoration and I will let it go for less and so on, and so on until it finally sells. But I must say I have enjoyed the project and enjoy the way people react to her. I only hope she goes to someone who will love her like I do.
Enjoy your boat and don't look back. It's not for everybody, but for those of us that know the feeling, it's a good one.

Well i can say this on my 47 th bday night if my first boat would had been an M at the age of 16 i would have saved alot of money! Keep them floating From Rabbit Hash KY.

Jessica and I bought our 28' with one goal in mind: enjoy the water. We paid $5K in cash and have put about that much into it. The boat is our summer vacation home fifteen minutes away from home.

Our vessel isn't sexy, she doesn't have all of the amenities and there are maintenance moments that drive me absolutely bat shit crazy. However, the hull will never rot and maintenance is relatively inexpensive. In the end, we didn't want to be boat poor.

We will likely sell for less than our total cost. Boats are not profit generators. We own the boat for enjoyment.

Our next boat will be a 32'. We will likely buy it cheap, set it in the driveway for two years and refurbish it.

Eric