Well, I'm still currently in the middle of the restore on my 1984 Skeeter, but I was given a lead on another old boat about 20 miles away that may be an easy restore for a quick turnaround on cash!
I'm still trying to get more information, but the story is that this old lady has a 1972 fiberglass trihull boat sitting in an enclosed barn. The boat belonged to her son. He bought it brand new in 1972 and a few weeks later he was shipped off to 'Nam, where he later lost his life. The boat (make/model unknown) has never been used. In fact, the 55hp Sea King (?) motor is still in a cardboard box in the barn. The boat has never been moved from where her son left it back in '72. It has never been exposed to sunlight or water. It is dusty, but apparently the color is still crisp underneath the dust. The tires on the trailer are toast, of course. I'm sure the wiring has also been a rat snack over the years.
The lady told my lead to take it for $400. He lives over 5 hours away and doesn't want to mess with having to fix the trailer, dealing with wiring, etc. He's thinking that he may only take the motor so I offered to take the hull/trailer. He's thinking it over, so I figured I had better think it over and get some opinions myself.
Again, this is a sight unseen for me, but it sure sounds like it could be a gem with a quick turnaround (if I can find a motor cheaply enough) OR I could use it for parts/hardware for my boat and try to make a buck or two on what's left... or I can mount my 70hp Mariner to it and have a working boat until my project is done.
My main question would be what is the possibility of having rotten deck/stringers/transom if the hull is in truly in the condition mentioned (never used, kept in an enclosed barn)? The wiring is no problem, but if I can get away with not having to do any major work to it, I'm more inclined to fix what is broken, use it while I work on my project, and then sell it for a profit when I'm done.
I'll keep this thread updated as I get more information. My lead is coming back up in 2 weeks to get a better look at it. The lady isn't in the market to sell it to anyone but my lead (they're family friends) so it's not anything we need to make a quick decision on. Hopefully I can get some more details and pictures when he is back to look at it. Until then, it's all just speculation. What do you guys think?
I'm still trying to get more information, but the story is that this old lady has a 1972 fiberglass trihull boat sitting in an enclosed barn. The boat belonged to her son. He bought it brand new in 1972 and a few weeks later he was shipped off to 'Nam, where he later lost his life. The boat (make/model unknown) has never been used. In fact, the 55hp Sea King (?) motor is still in a cardboard box in the barn. The boat has never been moved from where her son left it back in '72. It has never been exposed to sunlight or water. It is dusty, but apparently the color is still crisp underneath the dust. The tires on the trailer are toast, of course. I'm sure the wiring has also been a rat snack over the years.
The lady told my lead to take it for $400. He lives over 5 hours away and doesn't want to mess with having to fix the trailer, dealing with wiring, etc. He's thinking that he may only take the motor so I offered to take the hull/trailer. He's thinking it over, so I figured I had better think it over and get some opinions myself.
Again, this is a sight unseen for me, but it sure sounds like it could be a gem with a quick turnaround (if I can find a motor cheaply enough) OR I could use it for parts/hardware for my boat and try to make a buck or two on what's left... or I can mount my 70hp Mariner to it and have a working boat until my project is done.
My main question would be what is the possibility of having rotten deck/stringers/transom if the hull is in truly in the condition mentioned (never used, kept in an enclosed barn)? The wiring is no problem, but if I can get away with not having to do any major work to it, I'm more inclined to fix what is broken, use it while I work on my project, and then sell it for a profit when I'm done.I'll keep this thread updated as I get more information. My lead is coming back up in 2 weeks to get a better look at it. The lady isn't in the market to sell it to anyone but my lead (they're family friends) so it's not anything we need to make a quick decision on. Hopefully I can get some more details and pictures when he is back to look at it. Until then, it's all just speculation. What do you guys think?
