Quote :

"A galvanized trailer will most certainly rust. You people must not be boating anywhere near the coast."

Maybe I should have qualified that with "very quickly". You'll get years and years out of it at which point it won't be worth anything anyway.

[Edited on December 1, 2010 at 2:54 PM. Reason : s]

12/1/2010 2:53:54 PM

^Still not true. I've seen them rust within a few years.

12/1/2010 5:13:34 PM

^He's right.

My 2006 aluminum trailer has rust on almost everything but the trailer frame.

I've had to replace whole brake kits, springs, tires, wheels, lights in the four years I've had the trailer and that's with rinsing it off and flushing the brakes after use.

Of course, that's putting it in the ocean, which the OP might not be doing....but the trailer can be lots of maintenance also depending on your situation.

12/2/2010 11:03:51 AM

when we come back from the coast and wash the boat we just spray off the trailer too.

my dad just got done putting new springs on his trailer, due to rust. also sprayed cold galvanize stuff on the axle.

boats are expensive, but you gotta pay to play. worth every penny if you love the water.

12/2/2010 11:29:15 AM

I mentioned in my post that your springs and hardware will rust even on a galvanized or aluminum trailer. The frame and axle should last quite a long time with minimal maintenance. You guys are acting like a decent trailer is going to turn to dust within a few years.

12/2/2010 11:48:42 AM

This is a boat that has caught recent attention. Velocity 26, from 2001 with a 496.

Anybody know anything about these? Short near coastal runs and chopy ICW runs. How long does the gelcoat last as far as oxidation, stress cracks, or general issues? ANy handling issues/hows the ride in the bolster's I've had boston whalers, cobalts, and baja's and this seems to be built better than the baja.....but now looking to switch gears.



[Edited on February 2, 2011 at 7:57 PM. Reason : .blah]

2/2/2011 7:52:37 PM

I don't know anything specific about Velocity. You might want to check with Seriousoffshore.com and Offshoreonly.com for specifics on how they handle.

It's a 2001. Defects in the gel coat would show up by now.

Oxidation is largely a byproduct of neglect. Keep it polished, keep it waxed, and keep it covered and you should be fine. You can always remove it with a strong cutting paste and buffer or wet sand if it's really bad. If the boat looks fine now I wouldn't worry about it.

Stress cracks are a similar story. Small spider cracks in the gel around hardware mounting points don't worry me most of the time. Nor do spider cracks in the deck over the bow. Large flat sections of fiberglass are going to flex a little and sometimes the gel coat cracks as a result. If the cracks are down the side near the waterline you might want to think about structural damage. I can think of one boat that had some notable cracks running parallel to the water and when I pulled the carpet back I could see stress in the fiberglass. The boat was fine for normal use as far as I could tell, but I'm sure it was weakened and I wouldn't want to stress it hard.

2/2/2011 9:28:42 PM

^^ let me know what you find out. i want to buy something similar, and have also looked at those Velocity boats (as well as the slightly smaller models, like the 22).

2/2/2011 9:38:27 PM

Alright, I agree (skack/duke) with everything you said about the fiberglass/gelcoat. If you are looking for a small sportboat 60+MPH everything depends on your budget. Im trying to get into a used 26 for around 20K. If you're looking for a 22' i owned a 21 Baja Outlaw. It was a great boat and I ran the boat as hard as it would go all day everyday on the NC coast, Albemarle Sound and throughout the OBX. The boat handled extremely well at 67MPH on GPS with a slight chine walk at 60. This is still a little slow for me. The smaller Baja's are stripped with only the essentials. I have also never owned a boat with a powder coated trailer. I work offshore on an 80 ft boat in the gulf and our powder coated items are solid. The salt is crazy here! Anyone have any thoughts on powder coated trailers around extremely salty areas?

2/3/2011 12:59:24 PM

yeah, I'd really like to crack the 80 mph mark. I'm probably OK with something in the 21' range, as long as it can handle rough enough water that I can take it all over the intracoastal in the panhandle of FL. Mobile Bay would probably be about the most open body of water I really need it to handle.

In other words, I don't need true offshore performance capability to outrun the DEA or anything, but a river rocket like a Hydrostream or STV isn't going to cut it.

[Edited on February 3, 2011 at 5:01 PM. Reason : ^ Gulf? Where are you?]

2/3/2011 5:01:19 PM

yopu should wash your boat anyway to minimize spread of pathogens and aquatic life between watersheds and bodies of water

2/3/2011 5:34:27 PM

North Padre Island/Corpus Christi TX........

2/4/2011 8:45:14 AM

pretty nervous. Just placed an offer on an awesome boat. Looked at it on Sunday. Turns out, someone placed an offer $500 lower than mine on Sunday, but the owner hasnt had a chance to review the offer. Wondering if we are going to start a bidding war in a buyers market Boat is significantly less than NADA value, and practically flawless, so I'll be willing to go higher...

2/14/2011 1:38:41 PM

bust out another thousand

2/14/2011 4:11:00 PM

^ For a bigger stereo?
He's looking at a 2 year old boat that comes with a 5 year warranty.

2/14/2011 5:05:27 PM

Only thing free about a boat is the water its sitting on.

You have to pay the ramp to get it in the water through.

2/15/2011 1:14:24 AM

Make sure the warranty is transferable and you fill out any necessary paperwork...and dont think just because it has a warranty everything will be covered.

2/15/2011 8:31:03 AM

I actually just decided to join the local Freedom boat club instead of buying a boat, for me, it made a lot more sense. They had a special going on, so I only paid $2750 for the initial payment, and $250 a month.

I get to use any of the dozen plus boats they have here in Charleston, which seemed awesome to me.

I go make the initial payment this morning.

2/15/2011 9:25:19 AM

The offer was accepted. The Supra's have a 4 year transferable warranty. Getting that worked out this week, and having a mechanical survey next week. Dont expect much wrong on a 2 year old boat with 70 hours, but who knows?

Pretty stoked =)

2/15/2011 10:24:10 AM

Congrats man!
I can't wait to sac that thing out with about 3,000 lbs of ballast + 14 people and sink it this summer!

[Edited on February 15, 2011 at 10:29 AM. Reason : s]

2/15/2011 10:28:49 AM

hehe, yeah, I'll buy the extra insurance that covers stupidity

I hope this boat isnt too good to be true. It is really priced well under what it should be. According to the broker, the pro rider just wants to flip it quickly, as he is sponsored by Supra and gets a new boat every couple of years. It certainly doesnt look abused. I couldnt find a scratch on the bottom or top.

[Edited on February 15, 2011 at 10:32 AM. Reason : .]

2/15/2011 10:30:30 AM

Might not be a bad idea to get a hull survey done as well. Probably not as big a concern on a boat being used in the river(or lake) but sometimes they can turn up things that you would never find until after you bought the boat. That said, I didnt get one done on my boat and everything turned out ok!

2/15/2011 1:46:55 PM

On a freshwater boat with no signs of repair work or delamination on the bottom I wouldn't worry about it. Supra hulls have a lifetime warranty against defects, so all you really have to worry about is if it hit something and received a shoddy repair.

2/15/2011 1:56:36 PM