How good AS's?

[gcapehart]

I have asked this before without a reply. I have an 1982, 25XF. The surveyor passed her last spring with flying colors.  He said he'd buy her if looking. I hired him. He wasn't recommended by the yard. We'll Suzy and I ran her(i.e. Sally Carol over three hundred hours last summer without a hitch except our inabilities with such a big boat for newbies. Nothing serious though. The surveyor checked her for water with that funny meter. He popped all the hatches, above, below, forward aft etc; We ran the motor, electrics, etc; Now my vanity is at stake here!!!!!!!!!  I read somewhere that this site is somewhat analogous to a cultist movement. "."After the Revolution all will be AS's, fuel will be free, laws restricting sport fishing and no wake zones will be rescinded, and a new government canal building spree(ala Henry Clay's American Plan #2, the sequel) will gurantee saltwater access to even to citizens in the Great Basin." But, how good is my boat? When she was built in 82 did she have all that handlaid fiberglass? Is she cored anywhere? When swamped, and engine and crew etc; did anyone ever test if they did float? Did Elvis ever own an AS? Are we poor cousins to Makos, G-W's, Robalo's, etc; etc;etc;? Does owning a AS reduce body and increase your sex drive? All kidding aside, I see many of you running AS from the 70's. Can I expect such from our girl if we treat her right?  Thanks,   Gary

[JimCt]

Treated with sanity, your beloved AS will outlive you.  Biggest danger to the boat up around your way is thumping an (unmarked) granite ledge somewhere in the fog.  Keep on top of the little chores and you won't be facing big ones anytime soon.

Rule #7:  "If you value it, take care of it".

[RickK]

Now my vanity is at stake here!!!!!!!!! I read somewhere that this site is somewhat analogous to a cultist movement. "."After the Revolution all will be AS's, fuel will be free, laws restricting sport fishing and no wake zones will be rescinded, and a new government canal building spree(ala Henry Clay's American Plan #2, the sequel) will gurantee saltwater access to even to citizens in the Great Basin."

I'm all for that!!
As for your boat Gary, I own one older than yours and one younger than yours.  The older one was built by Aquasport, the older by Genmar.  I've been under the sole of the older but not the newer one.  Are both perfect - no, but both are great boats and both fit the purpose I bought them for.
If you treat her right (just like your wife), she'll treat you right.

Aquasport is just a fine boat, period - cultist movement or not  

[RickK]

To add to this, I was talking to Dave recently, who worked at Wellcraft for 20+ years and during the time that the Aquasport boats were made in his facility (and he bought one made there).  He explained that the process of making these boats is very labor intensive still, to this day.  There is no magic button that you push and, walla, the boat is done.  Designs, processes, tools and materials have changed over the years, of course, but human expertise is still what makes the boats - good or bad.

To explain a little of what he told me, the hull molds are hand inspected and retooled after every hull comes out of one.  During the build, you have a bunch of guys shooting gelcoat, resin, laying glass mat, shooting chopped glass, rolling it into the resin, all kinds of operations but it is still "hand laid" so to speak.  None of these manufacturers make enough of the same model to automate much of the process.  And they farm out a lot of it to littler companies.

The industry has been really hurting at the lower end for years now due to fuel costs.  At the upper end, the people that can afford them don't worry about the cost of much.

I would love to watch a boat go from start to finish at one of these big plants - it would be extremely fascinating to me.

[gcapehart]

Jim and Rick,
    Thanks for the replies. We trailer ours and each day as she sits in the driveway I look at her lines and admired the design. Water, displacement, fuel, etc; she's part of our plans. Yep, maybe we'll replace the 225 VRO one day with a 4-stroke, but unless Newton is proved wrong, her hull still seems very attractive and efficient, so why replace her? We love our boat.  Gary and Suzy

[gcapehart]

I did inquire as to, or meant to ask, does owning and operating a AS reduce body fat and increase your sex drive. Sorry, a bit risque, but well you "we" are marching, whoa, "planning to the beat of a different drum". Thoreau, sort of.

[bluedolphin]

Well, Gary and Suzy, since you kept asking, I don't have any evidence to prove or disprove any effect of Aquasport boating on sex. I can attest to the fact that after an hour's worth of boating, I am totally relaxed and I can't wipe the smile off my face. I "can" boat 365 in Ft. Lauderdale, and I do go out as often as I can. I have an older (1972) 22-2 with a 1992 200hp 2 stroke Mercury V6, and the boat is perfect for me. It's always on the water behind my house, so I don't need to trailer it anywhere, although there is a ramp 3 blocks away. I took it out yesterday for an hour on the river, and it felt great. I will be out on it again tomorrow (day off for me) and likely the weekend as well. If there's one thing every one here keeps saying, USE THE BOAT OFTEN and the boat will not have as many problems compared to not using it. Good Luck.

[gcapehart]

We are lucky even as I complain to much. Our boat is a ball! When we cast off I generally give someone else the helm. Suzy or I keep an eye on things. Whoever it is from my 8 year old nephew to my retired father-in-law, all of them glow. The ladies young and old take the wheel too. So we'll be on the water and come back into Bangor for the parade, and it won't get much better than that! Thanks for the tips, replies, and have a great holiday.        ................... And risking my PC'ness, I'll say a prayer for the young warriors , men and women, being the best we got.     Gary

[jdupree]

Gary,

You have any pictures you can post of your boat?

[gcapehart]

I'll try to get them on tonight.  Gary