16' Starcraft SS project value?

[bucket of rivets]

I've been looking for a boat to set up for fishing for some time now, I missed out on a few and passed on a few others so far.

I found another not far from here but its a work in progress. Its an early 70's 16' Super Sport that has been torn down to a bare hull, stripped and primed for new paint and its got a new fiberglass covered deck and transom installed. The work was apparently done by a boat builder/marina place up north of here a few years ago. The work looks fantastic.
The guy has two new back to back seats, the boat sits on a painted Shorelander trailer that needs to be sanded and repainted. All of the forward seat pads and bolsters are new or re-upholstered.
He's asking $1800. for the boat and trailer and all of the pieces to put it back together. He's got an early 80's Mercury 70hp that goes with it.

He's calling it quits with boating due to his age, its a project that he realizes he'll never finish.
The big kicker is that the boat has no papers, he moved here from a non title state and there's nothing for me to take to the state here. A title will be doable but its a lot of legwork and possibly another $300 or so by the time I'm done in time and money.
The hull is mint, no dents, no corrosion, it still needs paint, but its already been primed with zinc chromate self etching primer and its been stored indoors.
The deck is done with 3/4" plywood with several layers of glass mat and resin, plus color was added to the last coat of resin.
The consoles and interior will also need to be repainted.
There is no steering, no controls for the motor, and no floor covering, but I figure all of that is not too big a deal.

What I'm looking for is a value here.
Does $1800 sound about right considering the work that's been done?

I tried offering less but he dragged out all the receipts for the work already done. The seats alone were $430 from right here on iBoats, plus shipping. They were bought in 2010. They are blue and white deluxe back to back seats and the front pads and bolsters have been re-upholstered to match the new seats.

I'm not very interested in the motor, I have a newer motor I'd use. The same goes for the trailer, but I can no doubt sell off both and recover some cash. I figure that the trailer is worth at least $400 as it sits, and the motor has to be worth $300 even needing a paint job.

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: 16' Starcraft SS project value?

Don't know where you are located, If you are in the pacific northwest, that might be close.
To me, for an unfinished project it's way to high.

 

[Bwana Don]

Re: 16' Starcraft SS project value?

I'm with Kev, too high for me. Steering will run you a hundred bux, flooring another hunderd bux. Bottom line is you'll have $2500 or so into her before she' water ready. You need to start a list and add up all the costs. Then take that figure and shop around, is it worth it? Hard to say. Having the floors and transom glassed in and done right is way cool. I can see the value in that.

What part of the country are you in? Will he consider a lower offer?

 

[trafferty]

Re: 16' Starcraft SS project value?

$1800 seems awfully high considering the state it's in and having no titles. Rarely will you get the value of all the receipts you have, especially when they are all laying in a pile. If the boat was finished and one did all the work themselves, you might get what you put into it, even more sometimes. But having a boat builder do the work,, that gets expensive quick.
The value of anything all comes down to what someone is willing to pay for it. It's what its worth to YOU. If that's exactly what you're looking for and can't live without it, it would be hard to pass up. Sounds like it's got the solid foundation of what could be an awesome boat. Beings as I'm the owner of a 16 SS,, I'm a little biased. I would read through some of the SS restos here and see what all you're in for. See if your up for it, or if you'd rather have a water ready ride.... Good luck with your decision!

 

[Captmills]

Re: 16' Starcraft SS project value?

Sounds a little high to me as well. I figure to have 2k in mine when it's done and I used the engine and the seats it came with. Granted I did the labor so I'm talking parts but by the time you get done you will have a fair amount of labor in her too. but, as was stated, can you live without her.

 

[starcraftkid]

Re: 16' Starcraft SS project value?

I bought one complete but not finished a few years ago but the floors and interior were already done, plus it came with a late model motor. The guy put $5800 into it and had the receipts to prove it, but let it go for $750. He found he had a baby on the way and the new wife said the boat had to go. I didn't get into what the reasons were, but it had a title and all I needed to do was paint the outer hull and hang the motor and controls. I dumped another $2300 in it between fish finders, VHF radio, different floor covering, and I tossed the original seats in favor of consoles. I can see where if he had continued and finished the boat he would have surpassed $7500 paying a shop to do the work.

I'd be looking to get the whole package for under $500 considering its got no title. I'm in NJ, and its near impossible to get a title here for a boat with no papers now. Depending on what comes with it, I'd probably have to consider it just parts with the strong possibility you will never get a title for it. Sad to say but in NJ, without a title its basically worth no more than scrap weight right now. They've made it nearly impossible to get a title these days. The last boat I had with no title got sold that way, as project to the first person that wanted it worse than me.
In today's economy, I'm sure sooner or later a complete turn key boat will turn up cheap. Most that I've seen have been in the $1500 range ready to use, original but complete. I also wouldn't want to take on someone else's project like that, you don't know what they did that you can't see under the fiberglass layer. You'd be in real trouble if it turned out they used pressure treated wood against the aluminum hull.

Where are you located?
The lack of title can also be handled through a title service for a fee, but again, it costs more money.
You have to calculate what the boat is worth when its all done vs. what it will cost to complete. I'd be guessing at $1800, and still needing to buy all those parts and paint, your going to be close to the cost of a new hull.

 

[HarryO60]

Re: 16' Starcraft SS project value?

No Title..... Far from finished......older motor and steel trailer...he's high about $1000.00....I can say most state4s only require a notorized bill of sale to register a new to you boat....

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 16' Starcraft SS project value?

These guys are spot on. A shoebox of receipts really doesn't mean a whole lot for that seller unfortunately. Without photos and just going by your description I'm thinking $500 give or take. Any way you shake it that boat is still a total rehab project.

If that boat was FINISHED he may have been able to break even.

 

[still afloat]

Re: 16' Starcraft SS project value?

A couple of years ago he may have had a chance at that price but with all the boats being dumped these days you can find a ready to run boat if you look hard enough for a song. I looked for two years and not a thing under $1000, even for a bare hull, but as both the economy tanked some more and the price of aluminum took a dive, aluminum boats have become pretty cheap.
After years of looking I finally bought mine for $275, it had late 90's Honda 50hp with solid decks and two new seats.
The original paint is even decent. The only problem now is its been too hot to fish.

I'd offer $400-500 tops, if he won't take it walk away. There's far too many deals out there these days to dump that kind of money into a complete basket case. Even as a do it yourself project, there's a hundred hours or more left in completing that boat, plus the cost of all the missing parts and anything you intend to add.

Mine didn't need anything at all but I still somehow ended up dumping another grand into it in electronics a few nicer seats, and a spare prop. I don't know about you, but I'm the type of guy that would want to see what was done under that new deck. If they used PT wood, or even if they didn't bother to Gluvit the lower hull, that boat could be a real nightmare.

Let him sit on it, when he's about ready to scrap it, then see what he wants. Its not likely there will be many people willing to assume such a project these days for that kind of money. ESPECIALLY WITHOUT A TITLE!
The no title part is the killer for me, being in NJ, they make getting at title for a boat like that nearly impossible without any paperwork. If that boat don't have a notarized bill of sale from the last registered owner or a NJ title, you will need a court order to get one and there's no telling how long that could take. I gave up on a very similar boat a year ago after I hit dead end after dead end, I never even was able to get it in front of judge, and the fees it would have taken were more than I thought the boat was worth to me. I walked away and found one with a title.