Used boats and their worthlessness

[gregyoung]

Hello everyone,
I'm a new user, I own a power boat. Ontario, Canada is a boat mecca as there are so many lakes. There are countless communities whose econonomies are almost totally supported by boating.

Perfectly good boats go to the dump all the time when they could easily be fixed up.

I would genuinely appreciate opinions on this.

Thanks in advance.

Greg Young

 

[JimMH]

Re: Used boats and their worthlessness

Just go to the restoration threads. There are some boats there that were resurected from the dead!

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Used boats and their worthlessness

Hello everyone,
I'm a new user, I own a power boat. Ontario, Canada is a boat mecca as there are so many lakes. There are countless communities whose econonomies are almost totally supported by boating.

Perfectly good boats go to the dump all the time when they could easily be fixed up.

I would genuinely appreciate opinions on this.

Thanks in advance.

Greg Young

Depends on what extent people want to work on them. A lot of folk want a plug and play outfit.
Welcome to iboats

 

[oops!]

Re: Used boats and their worthlessness

hi greg....welcome to i boats !

this site is the best on the net for anything boating.

the only real problem with used hulls....is that the cost of a re power is prohibitive.

for a i/o 1t can be as high as 15,000.....and that is just a base alpha set up.
an out board can be done cheaper if you look for the deals.

then the hull it self will uasually require work.

however ......if you have the motor and transom assemble and the drive leg or a spare out board.....
finding a hull you like with all the ammenitys you want can be a fantastic thing.

weight the cost before you leap....


cheers
oops

 

[gregyoung]

Re: Used boats and their worthlessness

Hey Jim, labor outstrips value, what to do?

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Used boats and their worthlessness

not all boats are repairable for less than it would cost to buy a ready to go boat. In particular if the transom and floor are rotted or if the original factory power system is DOA and you can't get a replacement easily. (bayliner L-Drive, i'm looking at you!)

so in many cases, you might see what looks like a perfectly good hull going to the scrap yard. the whole truth would be it might cost you thousands in parts and a hundred hours in labor to get the thing back on the water.

 

[JimMH]

Re: Used boats and their worthlessness

Sometimes people are long on time and short on cash and the labor becomes a labor of love. They have saved a lot of classic hulls. I picked up a very cheap boat that had a great engine on it, 1984 checkmate 17ft, Had a rotten floor and transom. I worked all winter on the floor and transom with a guy that had a fiberglass shop that made columns and Light polls. He guided me throught the process and we fixed it right. I paid $750.00 for the boat motor and trailer and had $1200.00 in materials. I was a Loan officer of a Bank at the time and if I put a per hour number on it I would have at least another $5K in it. I sold that boat four years later for $3,800.00. Did I get my money out of it, yes in my mind as I got a whole lot more than 7K worth of fun for me and my family.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Used boats and their worthlessness

One thing that depresses the market is that some buyers need financing for a boat purchase, and banks don't finance old boats much.
You can go to the junk yard and see some nice looking cars getting crushed, too--like during that cash for clunkers disaster.

 

[northernmerc]

Re: Used boats and their worthlessness

Getting rid of the old boats and cars makes the wheels of the economy go round and round.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Used boats and their worthlessness

Old boats are routinely run over by front end loaders at our local landfill and crushed into the ground. Kinda sad to see. Last fall I was dropping off some junk and saw a nice little boat - kind of like an Arkansas Traveler waiting for her fate. I'm sure her floors and transom were gone but I know there are many here who could have overcome that.

However, she didn't go before I rescued a nice 70s era speedo and throttle box - so part of her lives on...

 

[osborn159]

Re: Used boats and their worthlessness

imho, if you have the time and desire resurrecting an old boat is certainly worthwhile, im restomoding a 1978 15'9" osborn dual side console into a centerconsole, my buddy bought a 16' carolina skiff added front deck, center console, livewell/baitwell deck, poleing platform, custom alum trailer, 40hp yam. he has almost 15k in his boat,
i got mine for a few hundered dollars, knowing it needed a floor, stringers, transom, by the time im done i'll have a very similar setup to his without a payment, at this point i have less than $1500 in it, and by the time im done it should easily b under 5k,
yes i could have bought a used boat in decent condition for that, i will know mine wont fall apart in the next few seasons, and i will more or less have a custom built boat, in my mind that is the kicker, if you cant find what you want for what you want to spend, its the way to go, i know ill prob never recoup my expense, but i should be able to use this boat for many years without a payment, i dont like payments. id rather spread the expense over time as $$$ allows to rebuild.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Used boats and their worthlessness

I actually enjoy building stuff, or rebuilding stuff. Now for me its tough due to time, working 50 hours a week and having a new house, but when I get the chance to work on the boat, I enjoy it. Also knowing it will be exactly how I want it when done is a nice feeling as well.

 

[This_lil_fishy]

Re: Used boats and their worthlessness

not all boats are repairable for less than it would cost to buy a ready to go boat. In particular if the transom and floor are rotted or if the original factory power system is DOA and you can't get a replacement easily. (bayliner L-Drive, i'm looking at you!)

Yup, and in Ontario, if the boat isn't winterized properly, the motor is most definately junk, and possibly the outdrive too. This is why it's so common up here to see a reasonable looking hull on it's way to the scrap yard. Typically used boats are first time or novice buyers, that don't properly prepare them for our -40 weather...well this year not so much!

Ian

 

[Tig]

Re: Used boats and their worthlessness

The bulk of the boating market is the get in and go crowd. They want shiney with warranty and they will borrow money to get that. Project boats are a dime a dozen.
I'm also it Ontario and I have a 1966 14' boat and motor that I want to get rid of but I refuse to scrap it. It's sound and dependable so I'll spend a couple hundred dollars to shine it up so that I can sell it. For the price I will ask it's cheap entertainment for as long as they take care of it.

 

[Aviator5]

Re: Used boats and their worthlessness

I found that here in Ontario used boats (most of them) are way overpriced.As well as boat parts, gear, supplies. Sometimes when I get quote for parts it feels like dealer buys them in US retail, adds his 100% markup and then sells locally, plus taxes.

 

[moonfish]

Re: Used boats and their worthlessness

How long do they finance new boats for? I walk by them at basspro and it's like $130 a month for 8-10k. I haven't read the fine print.