first boat a restoration?

[gextyr1]

Re: first boat a restoration?

Once again, thanks for the great advice. I want a boat that I can take friend's out on, possibly water-ski (not priority) but also something I can fish from (doesn't have to be a shallow draft bass boat... really anything that floats ) <br />I was thinking about something like a 14 foot open-bow, or something similar. (Found a 1965 14' steury project boat recently I was tempted to buy.)<br /><br />As for building my own boat, as cool as it sounds, it is also kinda intimidating. I think I'd like to get a restoration under my belt first.<br /><br />As for the expense, spending a few thousand over the course of a year doesn't bother me... However, spending $20k for a new boat all at once would. Spreading out the cost over time is second priority to my eagerness to learn the ins and outs of boat repair, but I think they go hand-in-hand.<br /><br />I've been going through a lot of the boats on shareproject... man some of those sure are beautiful. I hope after a few years of hacking away at an old boat in my garage, I can gain the skills to make something I'd be proud to post pictures of

 

[fuzzeywiggler]

Re: first boat a restoration?

Hiya I'd suggest you might want to go 1/2 way... fine to buy something that needs some work, but buying a wreck of a boat and an outboard that needs major work could easily be a very expensive project that is measured in years, not months. You say you already know the time and money arguement, but I'm not sure that you realize that doing major work to boat and motor would cost you a lot more in the long run than buying something in a bit better shape at the start. (like rebuilding a lower unit for a big OB or I/O outdrive is usually in the thousands of $$$)My guess is that if you look at some boats that the seller calls "good condition", it'll have more than enough to keep you busy for weeks/months. E.g. refresh interior (if so inclined), new accessories or fix those that are broken, catch up on neglected maintenance on motor, wet sand or otherwise restore exterior, replace or at least repack wheel bearings, probably replace tires, maybe re-wire trailer... that doesn't include anything like rotten floor or stringers, or surprise issues with the motor (which there could well be).think buying sight unseen from ebay is just beggin' for troubleAnother issue is that since you haven't owned a boat before, how do you know that the boat you choose for your project will be "the one" to best suit your boating needs? It'd be a shame to put countless hours rebuilding a boat and then find out it doesn't handle chop as well as you'd like, or that you should've really bought a bigger/faster boat or a cuddy cabin/center console/ bow rider or whatever from the start. Lots of the project boats are done by people knowing exactly what they wantIf you buy something that gets you on the water sooner, you can figure out what your "dream boat" is and make that your next boat (the project). Maybe you could affort to keep boat #1 around so you can still boat during the projectanyway, that's my $.02

Gawd wish someone had told me this before I would say get a boat with 1 or 2 of the 3 things right. like a good trailer and motor or motor and trailer is good.