Marlin questions

[nodima]

Looking at moving up to a Marlin. There are a few around, and several that look promising. The intended use is mostly fishing, but also the family wants to overnight here and there. We are in New England, and will likely end up overnighting on a mooring rather than at a slip. That said, how important is the generator and A/C given New England summers? My preference is to go without, just from a complexity point of view. But if it will make it livable on those August nights, I'll focus on boats with it. Also having not overnighted in a harbor before - do boats often run the genny's all night, and if so, how loud is it while sleeping?

We are looking at boats from roughly 2001 - 2005 and there is also the question of the changes made in 2004 and what would be nice vs needed.

One of the boats I've looked at has not been fished, and does not have the rocket launchers on the hardtop nor are outriggers on the boat. Looks like it would be reasonably straightforward to add the riggers, but can the rocket launchers be added easily as well?

How is the access to the rear bilge area on the post 2004 boats? Found the access on an 02 pretty reasonable under the bench seat in the rear. Obviously, doing a lot of work would be easier with a deck panel removed.

 

[Fishtales]

If you have them, you will use them. Get 4 people in that cabin on a hot night and you will use the AC. You'll need the genny for it.
The other option is a couple of clip fans and a portable honda generator that you can put on the transom and strap down. I think the latter is the better option unless you are staying over on it a lot.

 

[Fishtales]

You can add hard top riggers or wish bones. Search the threads here and you will find some that detail both.
My advise is to start with out rodders and see how that goes. You'll get 4 lines in the water no problem. I do this 85% of the time. If you find you really want the riggers, you can do it later.

Rocket launcher is a bolt on. You can have one fabricated or order a stock one from Winterville Machine Works in NC. Access is ok 2004+. There is a fold down door. You can remove the floor but you have to cut the caulk. I do this at the end of the year for access and winterization. All the thru hulls have extension rods, can get to them through an access port.

 

[MA208]

I have a Marlin with the diesel generator. It’s not exactly quiet, though in the cabin with the door shut it won’t be annoying. Might be for your neighbors though. That being said, in New England you won’t need to run the AC all night. I sleep on mine at the dock and don’t even run the AC all night plugged in to shore power, nights stay cool for the most part and the hull is in cold water so it doesn’t heat up much.

Mine is a 2005 and I like the folding aft bench of the 2004 update, as well as the cabin cushion color change, and I believe 04 was the year they updated the hull for 4 strokes. I have 225’s and they push the boat fine, don’t believe all the hype you will read about needing 250s or greater.

 

[Legend]

If buying the 04-05 make sure the exhaust on the Yamaha has been replaced - if not you could be in for significant repair or possibly engine(s) replacement.
I have a Honda portable generator and rarely ever use it for cooling at night in NE as mentioned above. It does come in handy for a little heat on cool fall nights.

 

[nodima]

Thanks for the feedback - taking all of it into account. Where is the generated physically located in these boats?

 

[MA208]

On my 2005 generator is behind a hatch located behind the folding aft seat. It’s in an enclosure that is its own box. Also in this compartment is the fuel selector valves, so you will access this area fairly frequently to change tanks.

 

[hinmo]

I have a 1999, no ac, no generator . I do have a honda E2000 to strap on the transom. I spent most of my first summer (last summer) in repower mode, so did not to sleep on her yet. I will do mainly mooring sleepovers as well. I have a couple fans that will hopefully help out with the heat.

 

[Fishtales]

I have a Marlin with the diesel generator. It’s not exactly quiet, though in the cabin with the door shut it won’t be annoying. Might be for your neighbors though. That being said, in New England you won’t need to run the AC all night. I sleep on mine at the dock and don’t even run the AC all night plugged in to shore power, nights stay cool for the most part and the hull is in cold water so it doesn’t heat up much.

Mine is a 2005 and I like the folding aft bench of the 2004 update, as well as the cabin cushion color change, and I believe 04 was the year they updated the hull for 4 strokes. I have 225’s and they push the boat fine, don’t believe all the hype you will read about needing 250s or greater.

I agree 100%. The genny makes noise, prob not going to run it at night that much. If I were buying new in NE, I'd skip the thruster, ac and generator. Just cost and maintenance drivers if you ask me.

 

[kirk a]

This is quite helpful. I totally get the cost and maintenance increase with some of these bells and whistles. Wife is much more impressed with the 2004 interior than the 2003 and previous, specifically the corian counter and SS sink. Her main issue is that if this is indeed the rest of life boat (I'm 50) will it look dated at that point? I'm actually pretty ok with the Fiberglass as it is easily cleaned, etc.

 

[MA208]

04 and up is essentially unchanged in the cabin to today. Different cushion fabric is all. Looks like you can be in an 04 for less than $70k. I do like my bow thruster quite a bit around the dock, but I came from a 20 footer so this is my first “big” boat.

 

[Harpoon]

I just bought one last August, a 98. I'm in New England. I do not have a generator and prefer it that way. We do however plug-in at the dock and have ac for sleeping which is very nice. a 2000 watt Honda would be perfect on a mooring.

If you are a fisherman and are buying a boat from a non fisherman be sure to consider all of the items that will need to be fixed or upgraded for regular use offshore.
Canvas, zippers, batteries, ground tackle, latches & closures, lighting, electronics etc. When you run offshore all this stuff gets way more important.

Its a great boat to fish from and very nice to sleep on. Access to the bilge is good, I just repowered myself so I've spent some time doing bilge yoga.

The bow thruster is nice while getting used to docking something bigger. But I don't tend to use it much. It was great for driving onto the trailer.
Mine has a good trailer which means I save on winter storage. They tow fine with a 250/2500.

 

[SwiftCloud]

Marlin sounds great for your use! I'm also in NE with a 2004... Couple of additional thoughts for you:

I don't think you be allowed to run a generator late evenings / early morning in many populated places -- so consider how useful A/C and a generator will be. I use my A/C and heat the few nights i have access to shore-power, but otherwise find it tolerable without.

The bow thruster is really nice -- I have lots of experience, and wasn't looking for one when i bought, but do find that i use it a bunch.

 

[drbatts]

I currently own a 305 express but looked hard at both the express and marlin when I was boat shopping. Both boats are similar and the following is probably applicable to both models.
The generator and A/C are both really nice to have on hot summer nights even in NE. This is my first boat with A/C and having it is really nice. I do not really hear the genny running with the A/C on in the Cabin, you can hear the HVAC but not the Genny running. This is also my first boat with a bow thruster. I do not use it all the time, as the boat handles pretty well with the twin engines. However it is very helpful in tight or windy docking situations, especially when docking solo. It also makes also parallel parking at restaurants and gas docks a breeze.

As far as the outriggers and rocket launchers go, they are basically bolt on parts. My current boat did not have either rocket launchers or outriggers. I ended up buying the rocket launcher from WMW the OEM supplier for grady. My hardtop had backing plates for Taco outriggers, so I bought them and installed them, Fairly easy job with a helper. My previous Grady(265) had Lee jr. riggers which I installed on the side of the house. Grady provided diagrams for that install. personally I prefer the top mount/hardtop mounted riggers as they are out of the way on top of the hardtop. There are a couple of different outrigger options also available to.

It was mentioned above regarding the years you were looking at and the yamaha engines. The F225 came out in 02, so most boats made from 02-05 will have these engines. the F250 came out in 2005 so most boats after 05 will have the F250's. All Yamaha 4 strokes of this vintage are subject to exhaust corrosion and I would plan on replacing the exhaust systems if they have not been done yet. That being said the boats you mention are 14-18yr old so some may have already been repowered. If you are looking to repower, you may want to consider a pre 2002 model with 2 strokes as they will be priced lower then the 4 stroke boats.

 

[Fishtales]

All good stuff here. Some others:
- The 30 hull rides like a bigger boat. I could not believe the difference from the 282 to the 300.
- The boats are fairly spartan with a lot of glass but can be customized/updated fairly easily,
- Cushions can be redone, drapes changes and small items added to change the interior look.
- Proven design and rational updates along the years. 2004+ have most of them.
- Removable floor hatch is a recent add. I wish it was in mine.
- Easy to get parts and COTS items as most are fairly standard marine items that are still available for purchase.

 

[kirk a]

You guys are great. Validating everything I've read, plus adding more data.

I'm fully aware of the exhaust issues and have concluded that the genny/AC is not a requirement, but a nice to have and will work with that assumption. At this point, I think I've seen every post here that mentions "Marlin" LOL, but yet I still keep searching.

 

[kirk a]

Follow up - update and questions. I have had an offer accepted and am lining up the survey etc. for the next week or so. Both surveyors I've spoken to have recommended a Yamaha Tech come out and look at the engines. The PO has indicated that the exhaust work has been done, though I've not been able to get a copy of paperwork or other validation. That said, if I'm able to verify the work is done, is there still a concern to have the motors scoped? For instance if the work was done 10 years ago? My gut says yes, look but I've not been able to find any definitive information on this.

 

[Harpoon]

You can tell a WHOLE lot by dropping the lower units and looking up with a flashlight

 

[Harpoon]

Swift Cloud, I just repowered with F225's. What props are you running ?

 

[Scott D]

I have an 04 Marlin but I have Suzuki 300’s. I have the diesel generator as well. Honestly I usually run the AC at the dock with shore power and rarely run it away from the dock. We may use the boat differently than some though in that we do not sleep on it on the hook.

I’d have any original engines scoped and I would also assign little to no value to 14-15 year old engines. I’d also make sure you have a thorough and competent surveyor. Mine had tons of small things that I have upgraded and at this point it’s better than new.

It’s a great boat that I’m sure you’ll enjoy.

Good luck,
Scott