Re: HUGE PROJECT!! 30' Scarab Sport overhual
I think this is what people expected, and this is what you are now facing.
I think although they are right, they might have accomplished the same, had they just said it once. Now they can say, I TOLD YOU SO!

about another twenty times, and things will calm down the further you get into the project.
You can now get on with the job at hand. Restoring & rebuilding your boat to be something you can be proud of.
It is not the end of the world, it can be done, and some here will help you do it right, with words of wisdom & experience. Some of us will just offer encouraging words.
When you are finished, you will have not only something you built, you will also have a boat that has no hidden surprises. Had you purchased the same boat, same year in a optically good condition, you would have paid close to the same, as you will pay in the end for your restored version, if not more. You would just have a boat that probably needed the same hidden structural repairs, but was complete.
Your budget is rather low balled, for the size of the boat, but the market is also in a situation that you can use to your advantage.
There are areas of the project where this will help save money, and areas where it won't. Anything you have to buy new, is not going to be any cheaper, than it was several years ago. This is the stage you are at now, and it is also what people were warning you about.
The good news (for you, not them) is there are a lot of people hurting now, and sitting on slightly used gear they can't get rid of. This you can use to your advantage in the latter stages of the project.
Don't get discouraged, get on with the job at hand. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, it is just a little bit further off, than it was the day before yesterday.
