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What's It COST To SAVE A Boat?
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Aug 16, 2024
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View Video Transcript
0:00
Here we have a 1998 23-foot Mako that's in dire need of a fuel tank
0:05
and this is also a 1998 21-foot parker that has found itself in the same situation
0:11
Both boats are in great shape with a really desirable haul, a good working engine, and everything else in the boat in pretty good condition
0:19
So does a bad fuel tank make these boats junk? Well, let's show you exactly what it is going to take to replace these tanks
0:25
as well as what it is going to cost to get the job done and save these boats
0:30
Now this is a situation that many old boats find themselves in, and seeing that these are both 98s, they're just over 20 years old
0:38
But that doesn't mean that it's time to turn the boat into the salvage yard. Just running a quick search to get some base numbers to work off of, if you wanted to skip the fuel tank and buy one of these boats
0:48
If we look up a 9823 makeo for sale and see what's available, here's a 1990, 241, $21,000 for $31,000, $79, $27,000
0:58
Here's a 7923 for 8900. That's not too bad. Here's an 89-23 for 28-9
1:09
Here's an 89-23 for 65-5. In 88-23 for 25,000. And 88-231 for 32,000
1:21
Here's a 99-232 for 35,000. 96 23 for 375 95 23 for 50 grand
1:33
99 232 for 33000 and for the Parker this one's your closest to 15,000
1:41
and this 88 23 for 20,000 2004 that's an 18 footer though
1:51
19, 29 23 for 23 so let's give it a number of about $20,000 to say $30,000, and that's when you find a pretty good deal to just buy another
2:01
one of these boats. But again, seeing that we are doing fuel tanks in these boats, you'll want to be
2:07
asking some questions and cautiously investigating the boat before you buy it. Or you might find
2:12
yourself with this brand new to you used boat that is going to need to get the fuel tank replaced
2:17
in it, significantly raising that initial price tag of 20 to 30 grand. There are two main factors that
2:24
drive up the price of the tank replacement on a boat. Number one is going to be the cost of the
2:29
tank. On average, tanks are roughly 10 bucks a gallon, but the prices of pretty much everything
2:35
is going up right now, so this price is going to be locally determined based on if you have to
2:40
have the tank made. So a 150-gallon tank is going to put you somewhere in the area of about
2:46
$1,500, before taxes, and again, depending on the availability of materials, and what the cost of
2:53
aluminum is currently going for. Or if you get lucky in having a more production line type of
2:58
tank to replace where you can find tank builders that are still in business building the exact model of the tank that you are trying to replace this isn uncommon for really reputable boat brands like this Parker for example The tank that goes in the Parker is such a common tank that there are tons of companies
3:15
prefabbing these tanks, and you can get the exact model from the tag that is on the tank
3:20
Then call them and order your tank. This helps to bring the price down to a decent number
3:26
compared to the custom-built tank, which is basically built by the gallon on the price from
3:30
welder. There are companies like RDS or the Welding World that make a lot of these tanks every
3:36
year, so they are pretty common, but the exception to this is going to be the cost of shipping
3:41
Like here on Welding World, you're looking at $1,600 for the 143-gallon tank, plus another
3:48
$700 just to ship the tank to you. And I don't think that that includes tax either
3:53
so you're really looking at a price of around $23 to say $2,400 just to purchase the tank
3:59
So we're going to use that general number there for the tank price being say $2,300 for the tank alone
4:06
So with the tank being the first big price point here, the next expensive portion to the project is going to be that labor charge
4:14
Depending on your area, what the hourly rate is, that is going to drive the price up again depending on the boat
4:20
When we look at both of these boats, they both have to have the console removed from the boat
4:25
This means that everything inside the console, the wiring, the cables, the hose
4:29
hoses and the tubing and anything that is going from the console down through the deck
4:34
will need to be unhooked and left with the boat so that the console can come out
4:39
Then once the console is out of the boat, there is one more massive decider here
4:43
being what kind of access there is to get to the tank. With the Mako example here, there is an access panel in the deck of the boat that can be removed
4:52
giving us access to the tank compartment and will be able to reuse the access when it comes time to put it back in
4:58
based on what kind of shape the panel is in of course. For this example, the deck on this boat was already soft and rotting out
5:05
so the panel had to be record once it was out of the boat. But this is a completely different type of project from the parker
5:12
The Mako needed to get a fiberglass person involved because the deck needed to be record
5:17
whereas the parker doesn't have an access panel to get to the tank
5:21
So no matter what, someone has to get involved in order to do some fiberglass work here to get to the tank
5:26
The console still has to be removed just like in the Mako scenario, but now someone has to cut a hole in the deck in order to get access down to the fuel tank
5:36
And this can get a little tricky based on who is doing the cutting on the floor
5:40
Having someone that knows what they are doing in order to cut the hole out correctly and get us the correct access to the tank
5:46
but still leaving the whole portion that was cut out of the floor in well enough shape that it can be reinstalled into the deck once the tank has been replaced is super important
5:55
So when we start looking into the cost for something like this when you have to get someone involved to do some fiberglass repairs or cutting out the deck that is generally going to raise our price up another two grand depending on how bad it is Obviously if you going to need to redo the entire floor of the boat this is going to cost a lot more But when we are just talking about the basic floor cutout
6:17
or the re-corring of a panel, the number is going to be real close to that $2,000 mark
6:23
which puts our total cost at a rough $4,300 for the tank and the fiberglass work. But we haven't
6:29
discussed the labor in full yet. Before we dial that number in, though, let's talk about some other
6:35
materials that will need to be purchased with this project. Whenever we change out a fuel
6:39
tank in a boat, it's pretty much a given that you're going to want to change out the fuel
6:43
fill hose, the vent hose, and the fuel line from the pickup to the fuel water separator
6:49
bracket. The tanks usually come with new fuel cinders and pickup tubes, so you don't have to
6:54
worry about that. When it comes to the fuel fill hose, they usually come in pre-cut sections like
7:04
8, 10, or 12 feet. And they are usually 1.5 inch inside diameter hoses that are specifically made for
7:11
fuel fillers. I would say to go with the shields hose, it's a super reputable company, and it's what's
7:17
used in most boats. Now, if you get it online, you can find them around 150 bucks, but if you get them
7:23
from, say, a marina, they are generally around 220 or 230 bucks MSRP. Or, like from Westmarine here
7:30
that's 10 feet at 2899 per foot, which is $290. bucks. Now when it comes to the fuel vent hose, these are usually 5 eighths inch ID and they aren't as
7:41
expensive. You're looking at around $50 or so for this hose and these can usually be purchased by the
7:46
foot for however much you need. Then the fuel pickup hose will also not be as bad as the fuel
7:52
fill hose, but this will also be determined by how much you are going to need. Usually around
7:57
$7 to $10 per foot, so let's say that you need five feet, that's just another $50. Then about
8:04
$10 to $20 in stainless steel hose clamps because we're going to need to double clamp everything
8:10
So in hoses and clamps, we're looking at roughly $300 or so dollars more, given that we don't need
8:16
to change out the fittings that are on the fuel fill or the vent or the water separator bracket
8:21
which brings our cost up to about $4,500 to $4,600 in the tank, the fiberglass, and the parts
8:28
So we're still under $5 grand for the project, but we haven't discussed the labor cost
8:34
and detail just yet. Now when it comes to the labor, it can range pretty widely based on where you are located
8:41
If you live somewhere where you can still find shops or mechanics working for, say, 75
8:45
bucks an hour, then that will be way different than say where we are where shops are charging
8:50
$165 an hour. So we'll break this down into an estimation of how long the project will take and you can
8:57
then multiply that by whatever labor cost is for wherever you live
9:02
When it comes to dering the console here and getting it removed, generally as long as we're
9:07
not talking about having to move big objects like say a sea keeper or something like that
9:12
and we just unhooking the wiring the hydraulic steering lines moving some water tanks and some batteries Usually you can have the thing derigged and out of the boat in roughly four hours
9:23
including, say, a live well leaning post or just a straight-up leaning post
9:27
Then once the deck comes up, you could be looking at another two to four hours of labor
9:31
if the tank was super foamed into the boat and won't come out easily
9:35
Let's split the difference and call it a three-hour job, even though sometimes you can catch a break and get them out in like 30 minutes
9:42
But this isn't a perfect science here, and that puts us a seven hours total so far
9:47
Then give it roughly two hours to put the tank in with the hoses
9:51
Let the fiberglass person do their thing and will be ready to reinstall the console and
9:56
the rest of the boat in all its electronics, which is generally going to take a full day
10:01
depending on who is doing the work. With a full day being eight hours of reinstalling the console, sealing everything up, hooking
10:07
up the hoses, the wires, batteries, testing out all the systems, purging the steering
10:12
system and putting some fuel in the boat and testing it out to make sure nothing is missing
10:18
or messed up. This brings our total project cost and time to about 17 hours of labor. Now if you're
10:25
getting a hundred bucks an hour, then that puts you at another $1,700 without tax. Being in Florida
10:31
at 7.5% would bring that up to $1,830. So when we add that to our other $4,600, that brings us to
10:41
a total of a rough $6,430 for the entire project. But if you were looking at $165 per hour
10:49
now that is going to change our price pretty drastically. Bringing the new total to $2,800 before tax
10:57
and $3,015 after tax, which would bring us from $6,400 to $7,615. Now if you start adding things to the project
11:09
which usually does happen, like steering cylinder incaps that start leaking, or through hole fittings, live well hoses, or other electrical connectors or wiring
11:20
that will change the price and it can change it super quickly. But for these examples here, let's call this general project of saving a 21 to a 23-foot boat
11:29
that needs a fuel tank to anywhere from $6,000 to $8,000, which is if you completely pay someone else to handle this entire project
11:39
without you doing any kind of input at all, just footing the bill
11:42
Still, when we go back to talking about buying the same boat at 20 to 30 grand
11:47
spending less than 10,000 and having a great running boat again, is well worth it in my book
11:53
Also, this puts it into perspective for you if you're looking at buying a used boat that is older than, say, 20 years
11:59
You better look closely at that fuel tank or you might find yourself on the verge of forking out another $8,000
12:05
Now, don't forget to visit us at born againboating.com and join our Academy program where we teach you all about these different systems that are in your boat
12:14
and you can learn how to do all this labor here yourself and pick up your own project boat on the cheap
12:20
and get the thing back on the water for a fraction of this cost here