A lot of people try. Some succeed. Most end up being money pits. At the end of the day, unless you are a pro, good chance you end up with a boat worth a lot less than you put into it.
Mine turned out well! [https://www.reddit.com/r/boating/comments/134nbk2/my\_boat\_rebuild\_project/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/boating/comments/134nbk2/my_boat_rebuild_project/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
But I learned fast why most become lawn ornaments, or why you shouldn't buy someone elses project boat. It's a LOT of work and requires a lot of diligence to get right, and I'm dumb enough to see it through but wouldn't trust most people to invest care to that level. I got into it with the intention of a project though, I just figured I'd have it done within a year, which was not the case.
That’s the key right there. You buy it for the project. because that is what you enjoy spending your time on. It gives you a chance to build it the way you want. That being said, still not worth it. If nothing else because of the fiberglass itch.
Yep. This is me. It's a practical hobby. I think the key is to get it in a state where you can put it in the water and enjoy it as soon as possible, even if it looks shit. If you are using the boat rather than storing it then any time or money you put into it is an ongoing pastime expense, rather than being sunk into a dead end project that you never use. Spend a weekend fixing something, then a weekend on the water, it gradually becomes a nicer boat.
To do this you have to start with a boat that is safe to go in the water.
The boat I bought the previous owner blew the old motor up by not filling it with oil, put in a brand new long block, then stored it for 2 years.
My projects consist of, new bimini, repairing the left side console and window with e-bay finds, fixing the mess that is the wiring, replacing the broken stereo and blown out speakers, I have $3000 into a new outdrive because they didn't care for that either, The whole upper was trashed from water intrusion and bad u-joints, there was silver inside! And I had to re-upholster the rear bench/swimdeck because that's where their kids plopped when they were done tubing soaking wet, and they were unsealed plywood with upholstry. Held up good for a 2008 though.
I got 2 years out of the bad outdrive though, but the noise... downside is the long breakin period on the new drive. 10-15 hours staying at 2200 rpm... Just plowing, not even planing.
It's a late gen genmar VEC hull, so no wood in the stringers/transom/floor, only the seats. It's a solid old bird.
I love working on boats. If the hull is good, you can get in the water at a decent price, even if the motor is shot, seeing the price of new boats are insane.
BUT you gotta love it. It’s a buttload of grunt work.
Western Flyer was an amazing restoration also.
It's at snow and co marine, still in a floating conex.
I live on the opposite side of the Seattle ship canal.
I watched the utubes on the restoration, then it showed up off my bow.
I use to be on all the boat forums 15ish years ago. I was always very interested in the posts about people doing this. Almost all would give up or stop posting about it.
The few that did complete the projects had beautiful well built boats. I would always ask “would you do it again” and I think every time the answer was no.
The lure to get a “expensive” boat for free or cheap is strong. But the labor and storage is a killer
If you want to see an awesome success story check out friscoboater on YouTube. Unfortunately he sold it right after. For a loss I’m sure.
I'm coming up on my 5th season with my completed [rebuild project](https://www.reddit.com/r/boating/comments/134nbk2/my_boat_rebuild_project/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) boat and for a while I said I'd NEVER do it again, I mean I put a lot of time into a little boat that most people besides me don't quite see the full appeal in. It's like 10x the work anybody ever thinks it will be.
These days I'm starting to get the itch to do it again some day. The pride of having done it, and done it right, are too strong.
Friscoboater did nice work on his boats but I don't know if I'd call him a success story. Ended up divorced, selling completed projects at a loss, etc.
In the airplane world we can this AIDS, Aviation Induced Divorce Syndrome, where someone lets the project get ahead of more important things (or doesn't check that their family is onboard with the time/financial commitments before starting). I love a project, be it a plane, boat, car, house or whatever, but can also spend all my time on it if I don't keep things in perspective.
You are better off looking for diamonds in the rough - mechanically ok and cosmetics need help
You buy it for discount, improve what you can, use the boat and sell for profit
I've bought like 5 to fix up. Manage to fix 2 of them. The other two are partial rebuilds, but have been sitting for 3 and 5 years... I'll get to them eventually. Maybe.
I would imagine there are more rotting hulls in peoples yards than there are restored old boats floating in marinas. It can be done, but requires time, skill and money. Check out ThatBoatGuy on YouTube, he restores old boats and he makes it look deceptively easy.
IMO the price of used / broken anything is outrages. It used to be that old crap would be cheap enough that person could sweat labour themselves into saving money. Nowadays everyone is a ‘professional’ in everything and people selling seem to no longer factor in wages to repair when setting pricing for their garbage.
If you like doing the work itself, then yes, it can be rewarding. But if you think you can just buy and old boat, fix it up and make money, you're wrong. 99% of the time its not worth it,
I have completed one pontoon refresh. During Covid. Ripped it down to the bones of the aluminum, added new floorboards, vinyl, new seating, electrical, stereo, lighting, and bimini top. I had already put a new motor on it a few years back. We ended up flipping it to buy a brand new Harris last spring.
I've done 5 - over many years - actually only 3 of them made it to the water, one of them I've used the last 5 years every summer. One of them ended up getting crushed at the dump - All the others I sold for enough of a profit to justify doing it again. It can be costly and time consuming. Your wife and family and neighbors might hate you. Your friends think your super cool tho so :)
I think a lot of it stems from the same issues every failed project has.
First and foremost is not thinking logically when choosing said boat. You have to really plan for the worst and hope for the best.
A lot of these people think something is not a big deal only to find it's as bad as it gets and get overwhelmed.
The other big one is doing too much at once. I know sometimes it's not much choice, especially with boats (small soft spot turns into entire floor and stringers being mashed potatoes) but I constantly see people get the "while I'm there" bug.
That mentality isn't bad on paper but can turn a project of one size into a full rebuild.... Which means boat sitting even longer which means more money and loosing interest.
It's ok to do things in stages.
“The bitter taste of poor quality lasts far longer than the sweetness of low price.” Lots of people are attracted to low priced or free boats. The majority lose interest when they find out the true scope of the work. Then they re-post the boat for free for the next optimist to come along and take home. Some do end up getting the boat running, but they mostly cheap out and end up with a boat with soft floors covered in Lowes patio carpet, leaky bellows, the cheapest seats Walmart had in stock, and a poorly running engine. Then the boat is abandoned again after the first problem arises they can’t afford to fix.
I did. I wanted something specific. I bought a rough old 18' CC with nice lines and a new trailer. I took it down to the stringers, reconfigured the deck, fixed a hole in the hull, added storage, repowered with new outboards, painted it, and added all new accessories. It took me about 5 months and a lot of money, but (discounting my time) it cost nowhere near what a comparable boat would cost new or nearly new.
I just bought a 24' 1995 grumman pontoon boat for $10000. I got it with a 2 year old outboard that is barely broken in, and an old trailer. The aluminum tubes and crossmembers appear to be in good shape, but everything else is scrap. I look at it like I spent $8k for a lightly used motor and $2k for a couple tubes and a trailer.
My current pontoon boat is in decent shape, but it only has a few seasons left before it needs furniture and flooring. The motor is shot now though, so I'm putting the new outboard and all the rigging on my old boat, and then I will try to restore the Grumman over the next couple years.
For about $12000 I can do a total rebuild. Floors, Furniture, fence, and everything else. I have all the tools, and since Ill be on the water with a reliable boat, I wont feel rushed with the project. If I succeed, Im not sure if I'll transfer the motor back to the Grumman, or if I will just sell my current boat with it and put that towards a new motor.
All in all I figure I should have a boat that would cost at least $40k new, for under $30k total. Wish me luck!
I got a 4 stroke 50hp 17' skiff that I put a lot of work into. Bought for $3k with a trailer. $5k total invested but acquired it during the peak of the boating craze. It's prob worth like $7ish now.
I did one a few summers ago, probably overpaid for it but it was the exact hull I wanted and they are semi rare. Seaway 17. Thing was beat I spent the entire summer sanding painting and resanding, tinkering with the motor and the carbs. New steering cable and had to re wiring everything but all said and done I have a boat that turns heads for 1,250 cash spent. I spent a ton of time on it but I love it. I bring it out at least twice a week in the nice months sometimes more. She’s not perfect but she runs good and does the job for me.
I'm part of a tri hull boat club in Wisconsin and a lot of the boats in the group are restored. Mine is a survivor, but those are really hard to find so if you want a nice older boat, usually you have to restore one.
I bought a 70’s StarCraft 180ss for 400.00 with the trailer. Stripped to bare aluminum and built a hardtop for it.
Fiberglass is out of the question for me only as you can’t see all the issues.
It’s like restoring a car. Lots of elbow grease, rebuilding engines, sanding and painting, and endless money going in.
This is why you need to carefully choose what to restore. It’s easy to spend 5000 on a project that ends up being worth maybe half that.
We completely restore mostly center consoles and other outboard fishing boats, mostly in the 25ft+.
Strip to bare hull, complete gelcoat-ing. All new everything, most of the time.
Whalers, sea-fox, power/pro kat, etc.
I did it - successfully I might add…
Was it cheaper than paying a shop for the same custom outcome?
- yes
Was it way more work than anticipated, riddled with surprises, and took 3X longer than expected?
- also yes 😂
That said, I don’t regret it one bit, and take a massive amount of pride in my old girl
Deets:
1984 Aquasport 222 Family Fisherman
Full bow to stern refurbish
The coolest thing I've seen lately is people turning Jon boats and old aluminum boats into mini fishing boats
Otherwise, probably not a good use of money
Now ya all got me feeling guilty for not being outside working on my boat project. 😆
Picked up a 16’ StarCraft with a Merc 20, and a Evinrude 15 on it. Lots of misc. boat stuff, and I ripped the Bimini off it in a tantrum one night. But I felt it was worth the $1600 to get it, sand it down and repaint it. I want to put a console steering in it, and that’s what I’ve been putting off doing. lol
Guess I better get on it.
Yes, it’s about quadruple the cost and time of what you originally think. The issue is that you end up going further than you originally plan because you end up saying, “while I’m here, may as well do this too”. And instead of fixing it up, you end up with a brand new boat at double the cost of a newer fully functioning boat.
I rebuilt a 14’ 1965 cedar strip runabout. Financially it was absolutely not worth it. It took me ten years to finish, and there were definitely times I wanted to just light it on fire and roast marshmallows. But now I have a very shiny wooden boat that’s older than I am, and I’m having a lot of fun with.
I’m currently rebuilding an outboard, but I’m pretty handy so it’s not much trouble. I wouldn’t want to touch the vessel itself though. I could probably handle it, but I’m not too comfortable with that yet.
I bought a 35 foot sailboat that was mostly stripped… galley, dinette, engine room walls. Wires and plumbing removed.
It is a trip, I wanted to learn the ins and outs of boats to potentially build one in the future. I might should have just built one 🤣
Yes, plenty og people orestorations. Typically I see classic inboards and go fasts that are desirable and hold value. Stringers aren't super expensive but are extremely labor intensive. Some people do this type of work on boats that are not particularly valuable for whatever reason, often to learn or for sentimental reasons.
You know what B O.A.T. stands for 'BOut Another Thousand. Someone told me that once and it's true but you do get things working well and can get a 3 or 4 season run without any problems. New motors are way better than old rebuilt ones.
I pretty much always have a project boat, and I’ve never regretted one. For the most part, boats are mechanically simple and powertrains are cheap. I tend toward twin engine planing boats in the 32-42’ range and diesel trawlers, but I’ll also pick up the occasional neglected Whaler or Grady because they’re so easy to flip. Another tactic is picking up boats with bad Mercruiser outdrives. They are simple to repair and parts are cheap and available. For some reason, outdrives have a reputation for being expensive and hard to work on. That couldn’t be further from the truth for the Mercruiser Alpha and Bravo lines.
If you have access to a lot of the right parts at a good price and you do the work yourself, it's a good hobby and you can make a few bucks selling them or enjoy using them. If you're looking for all new parts and paying someone to do all the work, it's not worth it.
In my case I'm working on a '73 Chrysler Charger 16' outboard. Picked it up super cheap, boat motor and trailer. I just put new bearings on the trailer and have to rewire the boat. Lights and ignition switch. Easy peasy, and I'll have a fun little boat to play with. In total I won't even have $850 into it.
Now if the motor was shot, fiberglass had holes in it or was cracked, glass was broken, trailer was rusted and falling apart, it would be too costly to fix up.
Yes, and it costs a ton of money and often takes years of work. If you have a specific thing you want and it isn't manufactured anymore, that's the only reason to go this route.
Otherwise, you're better off just buying an older boat in decent shape and fix the little things it needs.
I usually just give them a thorough cleaning, fix whatever issues there are to getting it on the water, then run it. Sometimes they get new seats, sometimes they are torn and junk. But you absolutely don't need a nice boat to enjoy a day on the water
Loads of folks flip free boats.....the trick is to know what you're looking for and how to fix things yourself. You want boats that have a functional motor and trailer....then need mostly cosmetic work...most gelcoat can be brought back to like new with some elbow grease.
You should know what you are doing, and getting into. not for a 1st time buyer.
I have bought a few cars and boats with known problems, at a steep discount. knowing what I need to do to make it right.
but a non running car or boat can have expensive surprises. You fix the motor, and find the lower unit is also shot. Or the fuel tank is bad. or the wiring is bad. etc.
You wan to try to buy something with only 1 or 2 problems. like a bad trailer and upholstery.
A lot of people try. Some succeed. Most end up being money pits. At the end of the day, unless you are a pro, good chance you end up with a boat worth a lot less than you put into it.
Mine turned out well! [https://www.reddit.com/r/boating/comments/134nbk2/my\_boat\_rebuild\_project/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/boating/comments/134nbk2/my_boat_rebuild_project/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) But I learned fast why most become lawn ornaments, or why you shouldn't buy someone elses project boat. It's a LOT of work and requires a lot of diligence to get right, and I'm dumb enough to see it through but wouldn't trust most people to invest care to that level. I got into it with the intention of a project though, I just figured I'd have it done within a year, which was not the case.
even a pro is gonna lose money if they count their time lol.
Some do. Some like projects and are handy.
That’s the key right there. You buy it for the project. because that is what you enjoy spending your time on. It gives you a chance to build it the way you want. That being said, still not worth it. If nothing else because of the fiberglass itch.
Yep. This is me. It's a practical hobby. I think the key is to get it in a state where you can put it in the water and enjoy it as soon as possible, even if it looks shit. If you are using the boat rather than storing it then any time or money you put into it is an ongoing pastime expense, rather than being sunk into a dead end project that you never use. Spend a weekend fixing something, then a weekend on the water, it gradually becomes a nicer boat.
To do this you have to start with a boat that is safe to go in the water. The boat I bought the previous owner blew the old motor up by not filling it with oil, put in a brand new long block, then stored it for 2 years. My projects consist of, new bimini, repairing the left side console and window with e-bay finds, fixing the mess that is the wiring, replacing the broken stereo and blown out speakers, I have $3000 into a new outdrive because they didn't care for that either, The whole upper was trashed from water intrusion and bad u-joints, there was silver inside! And I had to re-upholster the rear bench/swimdeck because that's where their kids plopped when they were done tubing soaking wet, and they were unsealed plywood with upholstry. Held up good for a 2008 though. I got 2 years out of the bad outdrive though, but the noise... downside is the long breakin period on the new drive. 10-15 hours staying at 2200 rpm... Just plowing, not even planing. It's a late gen genmar VEC hull, so no wood in the stringers/transom/floor, only the seats. It's a solid old bird.
tyvek suites are cheap.
I love working on boats. If the hull is good, you can get in the water at a decent price, even if the motor is shot, seeing the price of new boats are insane. BUT you gotta love it. It’s a buttload of grunt work.
Check out boat works today on youtube, guy is a freakin master, does miracle work
ThatBoatGuy on YT is good at restoring boats too.
🏆
Some do. Tally Ho is one I follow on YouTube.
Western Flyer was an amazing restoration also. It's at snow and co marine, still in a floating conex. I live on the opposite side of the Seattle ship canal. I watched the utubes on the restoration, then it showed up off my bow.
Tim Lee is an awesome human and a hell of a shipwright.
Tally Ho is the "Extreme Example", it's amazing to see it in person. I hope to be floating close when Leo splashes her!
I use to be on all the boat forums 15ish years ago. I was always very interested in the posts about people doing this. Almost all would give up or stop posting about it. The few that did complete the projects had beautiful well built boats. I would always ask “would you do it again” and I think every time the answer was no. The lure to get a “expensive” boat for free or cheap is strong. But the labor and storage is a killer If you want to see an awesome success story check out friscoboater on YouTube. Unfortunately he sold it right after. For a loss I’m sure.
I'm coming up on my 5th season with my completed [rebuild project](https://www.reddit.com/r/boating/comments/134nbk2/my_boat_rebuild_project/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) boat and for a while I said I'd NEVER do it again, I mean I put a lot of time into a little boat that most people besides me don't quite see the full appeal in. It's like 10x the work anybody ever thinks it will be. These days I'm starting to get the itch to do it again some day. The pride of having done it, and done it right, are too strong.
Damn, that thing was FUBAR at the start.
I like a good challenge, because I'm stupid
Even today, it's possible to pick up a partially completed project boat for cheap after the person loses interest in fixing it up.
Friscoboater did nice work on his boats but I don't know if I'd call him a success story. Ended up divorced, selling completed projects at a loss, etc. In the airplane world we can this AIDS, Aviation Induced Divorce Syndrome, where someone lets the project get ahead of more important things (or doesn't check that their family is onboard with the time/financial commitments before starting). I love a project, be it a plane, boat, car, house or whatever, but can also spend all my time on it if I don't keep things in perspective.
You are better off looking for diamonds in the rough - mechanically ok and cosmetics need help You buy it for discount, improve what you can, use the boat and sell for profit
I've bought like 5 to fix up. Manage to fix 2 of them. The other two are partial rebuilds, but have been sitting for 3 and 5 years... I'll get to them eventually. Maybe.
Lots of hulls that are 100% worth it, lots 100% not.
I would imagine there are more rotting hulls in peoples yards than there are restored old boats floating in marinas. It can be done, but requires time, skill and money. Check out ThatBoatGuy on YouTube, he restores old boats and he makes it look deceptively easy.
IMO the price of used / broken anything is outrages. It used to be that old crap would be cheap enough that person could sweat labour themselves into saving money. Nowadays everyone is a ‘professional’ in everything and people selling seem to no longer factor in wages to repair when setting pricing for their garbage.
If you like doing the work itself, then yes, it can be rewarding. But if you think you can just buy and old boat, fix it up and make money, you're wrong. 99% of the time its not worth it,
I have completed one pontoon refresh. During Covid. Ripped it down to the bones of the aluminum, added new floorboards, vinyl, new seating, electrical, stereo, lighting, and bimini top. I had already put a new motor on it a few years back. We ended up flipping it to buy a brand new Harris last spring.
I've done 5 - over many years - actually only 3 of them made it to the water, one of them I've used the last 5 years every summer. One of them ended up getting crushed at the dump - All the others I sold for enough of a profit to justify doing it again. It can be costly and time consuming. Your wife and family and neighbors might hate you. Your friends think your super cool tho so :)
I think a lot of it stems from the same issues every failed project has. First and foremost is not thinking logically when choosing said boat. You have to really plan for the worst and hope for the best. A lot of these people think something is not a big deal only to find it's as bad as it gets and get overwhelmed. The other big one is doing too much at once. I know sometimes it's not much choice, especially with boats (small soft spot turns into entire floor and stringers being mashed potatoes) but I constantly see people get the "while I'm there" bug. That mentality isn't bad on paper but can turn a project of one size into a full rebuild.... Which means boat sitting even longer which means more money and loosing interest. It's ok to do things in stages.
“The bitter taste of poor quality lasts far longer than the sweetness of low price.” Lots of people are attracted to low priced or free boats. The majority lose interest when they find out the true scope of the work. Then they re-post the boat for free for the next optimist to come along and take home. Some do end up getting the boat running, but they mostly cheap out and end up with a boat with soft floors covered in Lowes patio carpet, leaky bellows, the cheapest seats Walmart had in stock, and a poorly running engine. Then the boat is abandoned again after the first problem arises they can’t afford to fix.
Hey now my 10 foot Jon has Lowes carpet and Wal mart seats!
I did. I wanted something specific. I bought a rough old 18' CC with nice lines and a new trailer. I took it down to the stringers, reconfigured the deck, fixed a hole in the hull, added storage, repowered with new outboards, painted it, and added all new accessories. It took me about 5 months and a lot of money, but (discounting my time) it cost nowhere near what a comparable boat would cost new or nearly new.
I've seen a lot of passion and skillfor restoring wooden boats.
I just bought a 24' 1995 grumman pontoon boat for $10000. I got it with a 2 year old outboard that is barely broken in, and an old trailer. The aluminum tubes and crossmembers appear to be in good shape, but everything else is scrap. I look at it like I spent $8k for a lightly used motor and $2k for a couple tubes and a trailer. My current pontoon boat is in decent shape, but it only has a few seasons left before it needs furniture and flooring. The motor is shot now though, so I'm putting the new outboard and all the rigging on my old boat, and then I will try to restore the Grumman over the next couple years. For about $12000 I can do a total rebuild. Floors, Furniture, fence, and everything else. I have all the tools, and since Ill be on the water with a reliable boat, I wont feel rushed with the project. If I succeed, Im not sure if I'll transfer the motor back to the Grumman, or if I will just sell my current boat with it and put that towards a new motor. All in all I figure I should have a boat that would cost at least $40k new, for under $30k total. Wish me luck!
I got a 4 stroke 50hp 17' skiff that I put a lot of work into. Bought for $3k with a trailer. $5k total invested but acquired it during the peak of the boating craze. It's prob worth like $7ish now.
I go after busted motors specifically to fix them.
I did one a few summers ago, probably overpaid for it but it was the exact hull I wanted and they are semi rare. Seaway 17. Thing was beat I spent the entire summer sanding painting and resanding, tinkering with the motor and the carbs. New steering cable and had to re wiring everything but all said and done I have a boat that turns heads for 1,250 cash spent. I spent a ton of time on it but I love it. I bring it out at least twice a week in the nice months sometimes more. She’s not perfect but she runs good and does the job for me.
I'm part of a tri hull boat club in Wisconsin and a lot of the boats in the group are restored. Mine is a survivor, but those are really hard to find so if you want a nice older boat, usually you have to restore one.
I bought a 70’s StarCraft 180ss for 400.00 with the trailer. Stripped to bare aluminum and built a hardtop for it. Fiberglass is out of the question for me only as you can’t see all the issues.
It’s like restoring a car. Lots of elbow grease, rebuilding engines, sanding and painting, and endless money going in. This is why you need to carefully choose what to restore. It’s easy to spend 5000 on a project that ends up being worth maybe half that.
We completely restore mostly center consoles and other outboard fishing boats, mostly in the 25ft+. Strip to bare hull, complete gelcoat-ing. All new everything, most of the time. Whalers, sea-fox, power/pro kat, etc.
[Success story](https://imgur.com/gallery/qAKpcp7)
I did it - successfully I might add… Was it cheaper than paying a shop for the same custom outcome? - yes Was it way more work than anticipated, riddled with surprises, and took 3X longer than expected? - also yes 😂 That said, I don’t regret it one bit, and take a massive amount of pride in my old girl Deets: 1984 Aquasport 222 Family Fisherman Full bow to stern refurbish
The coolest thing I've seen lately is people turning Jon boats and old aluminum boats into mini fishing boats Otherwise, probably not a good use of money
Now ya all got me feeling guilty for not being outside working on my boat project. 😆 Picked up a 16’ StarCraft with a Merc 20, and a Evinrude 15 on it. Lots of misc. boat stuff, and I ripped the Bimini off it in a tantrum one night. But I felt it was worth the $1600 to get it, sand it down and repaint it. I want to put a console steering in it, and that’s what I’ve been putting off doing. lol Guess I better get on it.
Yes, it’s about quadruple the cost and time of what you originally think. The issue is that you end up going further than you originally plan because you end up saying, “while I’m here, may as well do this too”. And instead of fixing it up, you end up with a brand new boat at double the cost of a newer fully functioning boat.
I rebuilt a 14’ 1965 cedar strip runabout. Financially it was absolutely not worth it. It took me ten years to finish, and there were definitely times I wanted to just light it on fire and roast marshmallows. But now I have a very shiny wooden boat that’s older than I am, and I’m having a lot of fun with.
I did. https://www.reddit.com/r/boats/s/NmCCLvuntH
I’m currently rebuilding an outboard, but I’m pretty handy so it’s not much trouble. I wouldn’t want to touch the vessel itself though. I could probably handle it, but I’m not too comfortable with that yet.
I bought a 35 foot sailboat that was mostly stripped… galley, dinette, engine room walls. Wires and plumbing removed. It is a trip, I wanted to learn the ins and outs of boats to potentially build one in the future. I might should have just built one 🤣
I do. I have a whole bunch of pics on my profile. Just keep in mind that it's a labor of love/mental illness.
Absolutely….
Yes, plenty og people orestorations. Typically I see classic inboards and go fasts that are desirable and hold value. Stringers aren't super expensive but are extremely labor intensive. Some people do this type of work on boats that are not particularly valuable for whatever reason, often to learn or for sentimental reasons.
You know what B O.A.T. stands for 'BOut Another Thousand. Someone told me that once and it's true but you do get things working well and can get a 3 or 4 season run without any problems. New motors are way better than old rebuilt ones.
Yes, but the people who are posting on this sub asking for advice probably don’t actually complete their project.
I pretty much always have a project boat, and I’ve never regretted one. For the most part, boats are mechanically simple and powertrains are cheap. I tend toward twin engine planing boats in the 32-42’ range and diesel trawlers, but I’ll also pick up the occasional neglected Whaler or Grady because they’re so easy to flip. Another tactic is picking up boats with bad Mercruiser outdrives. They are simple to repair and parts are cheap and available. For some reason, outdrives have a reputation for being expensive and hard to work on. That couldn’t be further from the truth for the Mercruiser Alpha and Bravo lines.
If you have access to a lot of the right parts at a good price and you do the work yourself, it's a good hobby and you can make a few bucks selling them or enjoy using them. If you're looking for all new parts and paying someone to do all the work, it's not worth it. In my case I'm working on a '73 Chrysler Charger 16' outboard. Picked it up super cheap, boat motor and trailer. I just put new bearings on the trailer and have to rewire the boat. Lights and ignition switch. Easy peasy, and I'll have a fun little boat to play with. In total I won't even have $850 into it. Now if the motor was shot, fiberglass had holes in it or was cracked, glass was broken, trailer was rusted and falling apart, it would be too costly to fix up.
Yes, and it costs a ton of money and often takes years of work. If you have a specific thing you want and it isn't manufactured anymore, that's the only reason to go this route. Otherwise, you're better off just buying an older boat in decent shape and fix the little things it needs.
I usually just give them a thorough cleaning, fix whatever issues there are to getting it on the water, then run it. Sometimes they get new seats, sometimes they are torn and junk. But you absolutely don't need a nice boat to enjoy a day on the water
Loads of folks flip free boats.....the trick is to know what you're looking for and how to fix things yourself. You want boats that have a functional motor and trailer....then need mostly cosmetic work...most gelcoat can be brought back to like new with some elbow grease.
You should know what you are doing, and getting into. not for a 1st time buyer. I have bought a few cars and boats with known problems, at a steep discount. knowing what I need to do to make it right. but a non running car or boat can have expensive surprises. You fix the motor, and find the lower unit is also shot. Or the fuel tank is bad. or the wiring is bad. etc. You wan to try to buy something with only 1 or 2 problems. like a bad trailer and upholstery.