Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

[erikgreen]

I'm toying with the idea of doing work on a boat this winter to sell in the spring. I'd either buy a popular type of fishing or classic boat and restore it, or else build something that would sell.

The whole point of this would be to give me something to work on all winter, and a fun project, and also to give me some extra cash for boat stuff in the spring... I'd be doing this work exclusively to sell the boat in question.

Which should I do?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

that is hard to do. and make money., if you can find a decent base boat, for next to nothing, go with a rebuild. i actually think over the years i've been doing this, i have come out even. although i do have 3 very good usable boats that are paid for.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

Well, I probably wouldn't make a profit, or much of one.

Think of it like a goofy savings plan.... it'll keep me busy, and with luck I can make back most of what I spend in materials for it when I sell it. I'd consider the time spent on it just fun time, so if I could break even on materials I'd be happy, plus I'd get that cash back at a good time to buy some new toys

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

i guess the boats i have, paid me about a 50 cents an hour.

 

[oops!]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

erik.....this is common......your mbs is acting up.......quickly epoxy your hand to a beer keg....and youll be ok !
















.with all the leftovers you have....ie glass...epoxy.....ect....

i think you might have fun this winter......

the only variable is the boat you pick.......now thats the breaker.....

lets say you pick up a candidate for 6k and it needs hullish type repair's....say a name like donzi........all mech is good......could you make money by fixing it and giving it "lipstick"........yep....i think ya could......but ya gotta wait for the person coms by that wants one !....if the area is all river boat..(alum jet)....then its a tough go.......but you allready know this........

i think it all comes down to the candidate boat....and your shopping abilitys for parts.......

say you get a cheap b-liner like i did...2k boat...2k mech....lots of putzin around....ill have a free boat for this year....but when all is said and done.......it will be in the group with all the other b-liners 4 sale......
and if im lucky.......50 cents an hour wages......bang on td's estimate


but really bud.....you got all the skills....all the integrity......but do ya got the hair left????

 

[redfury]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

This is fishing country far and foremost. I'd take a basic glass boat and turn it into the ultimate fishing machine....get rid of the back to back seats, casting deck up front, livewell and baitwell, a good clean upgraded dash and steering wheel and a solid motor.

What I've noticed the most out of our craigslist ads is that most of the affordable boats are garbage, and the more expensive ones are just too expensive if you want all the bells and whistles. You get a solid motor on it that starts up on half a key turn and you'll have whomever's wife convinced that the boat is a good buy... Seems to be the big factor on used boats, no one trusts the motors that come with them, which is the reason my buddy went with a new boat...the wife didn't want to pour money into an older boat in repairs and not be able to use the boat.

This is the direction I'm going with my boat anyway. It's also the reason I haven't given up on it yet. I've only seen 2 other 17ft Glastrons for sale ( one was my exact boat ) and for decent condition with everything being factory finish...they wanted 2-3 grand for them.

If you know how to market the boat, you'll be able to sell it for a tidy profit as long as you make it so that it stands out from the crowd. That's what I'm hoping to have when I'm done...this ain't no restoration, it's a custom!

( of course, I have to actually start working on it and get something done other than dream about it )

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

It's getting hard for the dealers to almost give boats away and even some new ones don't sell for much money, so to make any kind of profit you need to find just the right boat and then just the right buyer, not easy.

If what you want to do is have a winter project (and don't count on it as a savings account) and like doing that sort of thing, then go for. If you have better things to do with your life (every weeknight and weekends) like a family or friends, then you might choose something less involved or at least more profitable.

 

[eaglejim]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

I did what you are talking about,at the end of last summer I bought a 15ft tri-hull with a 60 rude on it(300.00) we joke that I bought a trailer with a boat on top.Had no idea if it would float or if the engine ran,worked on it in my spare time(about 1 day a week) during the winter. The goal was to have it in the water at start of the boating season,long story short 900.00 later we have a great boat and it is paid for, and it was fun doing some stuff I have not done before, this winter got some more ideas to do to the boat thanks to this site. I am not going to sell it because it is like the boat my Dad used to take me fishing on and now when he comes up I take him boating

 

[zach103]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

i say go with a fishing boat.. alota people arent into that classic style. i think people will always need a good fishing boat.. but try for a one in the 20' ranger if you can. i like the look of those size fishing boats i think their perfect size

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

You can find some old deep v aluminum pretty cheap and not near as hard to refurbish back to original look. They arent worth what a wooden boat or very nice glass could be but more likely to get most of your money back or make a little.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

I was thinking of going with one of two possible types of boat, being that this is for sale.

First, I could do the fishing machine. That's really what sells around here, and there are several different types. There's the bass boat, which the hardcore lake fishermen like. There's the multipurpose, which gets used by the Dad for fishing and also tows a tube now and then. There's also the walleye boat, which gets used on leech lake or mille lacs, and is designed for walleye fishing, bouncing leeches off the bottom. A fourth type might be a big water fishing boat, like gets used on the great lakes, but those are rare.. this would be something like the bigger lunds (Nisswa?).

The second major type of boat I could do is the "compensation" boat... this is the sort of thing that the rich folks drive around minnetonka. I'd have to get a cigarette style hull, or maybe one of the old hydroplanes, and trick it out with a shiny new paint job, maybe some custom decals, a luxury interior with a big stereo, and an engine that's the max the boat can take. Then I'd sell the whole thing to one of the aforementioned rich folks. Extra easy to sell if it's a unique hull, like the pink caddy boat posted here, or the bat boat, or a rarer vintage boat.

Hmmm...

 

[GO OVRIT]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

I don't know about your area, but around here its center consoles that sell. You can pick up Makos, Privateers, Sea Oxs, V-20s etc... for cheap because they need new decks and transomes. You might be better off doing an ordinary boat thats in better shape than all the others. If you get too custom or purpose specific, you cut your buying population down.

 

[wca_tim]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

I don't nkow about you.... but if I'm truly honest about alll the little things I spend in working on toys like boats, I rarely if ever break even... and that's before i add in something for my time. It sounds like you may be in a smiliar boat... I find that it is easier if I keep the money separate and just "write off" money I spend on toys... doesn't mean I don;t make anything when I occassionally turn something over, it just means that when I turn a "profit" it's a bonus, and when I don't, it's not a dissappointment.

Around here, boats for sale, across the spectrum, are generally not selling for anything near the asking price. the majority of tehj ones you see sell, are going for well under what people are asking, owners straped for cash or trying to get out from under a payment. It appears to be true for everything from little fishing rigs to the Fountains, Baha's, Formula,s etc...

The economy is probably not going to get so much better by spring that this situation is going to change dramatically - especially with respect to fuel prices and the high cost of boating as a hobby....

Just food for thought - no matter what you do, just make sure you enjoy it...

 

[tcindie]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

Erik,

There's a guy in Lake Elmo selling a 16' 1960 Larson.. looks like it's in good shape. I spoke with him last Saturday and it was still available. Never got a chance to go take a look at it, but as far as I know it basically just needs a new transom (replacing the floor probably wouldn't hurt either).

Looked like a decent boat for the $650 he's asking....

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/boa/775398967.html

I would guess with a bit of work you could easily double the investment -- unless you put a ton of extra money into it to fix it. But with a new transom and fresh paint/upholstery you could probably resell it for $2k or more

 

[oops!]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

erik....i just saw rob j's boat.....

its a fishin/ski/family open bow.....

it was condemmed when he bought it.....he did a total restore......

the other day his boat was parked at a swanky dock with some really high end boats......

it fit right in.......awesome job....he put 4 grand in......you could do it for less (he was keeping the boat and no money was spared..)

i think it would go for around 8k here...he says 5 or 6 in vancouver.

it is a wide appeal boat, that would be easy to sell to ma and pa kettle...
you might make 3-4k with the right candidate boat

if you do a custom (donzi or scarab)....the money will be a lot more...but the buyers a lot fewer and farther between.....

your call....

(love to watch the posts on the proj)

 

[oops!]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

any thoughts on weither your gonna do this build erik?

i think youve got a great idea.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

I am gonna do the build, but I have a couple of dive trips to do before I can spend the cash to acquire the project.

I'm kicking myself because I had to pass on a 26 foot wellcraft in decent shape (but with a bad engine) for $2k.

I think what I'll end up doing is getting some cash together in the next month and then waiting for the right boat to come along on craigslist or ebay.

That'll also let me get a bit further into the perfect time of year to buy, too.

Erik

 

[oops!]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

I am gonna do the build, but I have a couple of dive trips to do before I can spend the cash to acquire the project.

I'm kicking myself because I had to pass on a 26 foot wellcraft in decent shape (but with a bad engine) for $2k.

I think what I'll end up doing is getting some cash together in the next month and then waiting for the right boat to come along on craigslist or ebay.

That'll also let me get a bit further into the perfect time of year to buy, too.

Erik

what direction are you leaning to for the build?......fishing or go fast (like the wellcraft.....or a family boat?

 

[SnappingTurtle]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

Erik the only people I know that are making money, are restoring and selling mahogany runabouts for the “well to do” market. Those who never suffer in a down market.

I have a friend who designed and built custom furniture for the villas in Florida before the market crashed, and he shares space with a old guy who does about 6 a year. My friend is now doing them, and can knock out about two.

He is not getting rich, but it is still enough in a double income family to live pretty well.

They have orders for the next two years (won't even answer the office phone anymore), and just purchased 16 never finished new mahogany hulls from a company in Italy that went bankrupt.

Might be worth a try.

I have been looking at the Donzi Sweet 16's, and the prices seem to be stuck in the $10-12,000 range for near perfect older boats. If you could find one of these cheap maybe ...

P.S. what happend to the poll, it is closed.

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Re: Should I restore a craft or build new to sell?

I'm toying with the idea of doing work on a boat this winter to sell in the spring. I'd either buy a popular type of fishing or classic boat and restore it, or else build something that would sell.

The whole point of this would be to give me something to work on all winter, and a fun project, and also to give me some extra cash for boat stuff in the spring... I'd be doing this work exclusively to sell the boat in question.

Which should I do?

The answer is yes, but you really have to know what you are doing. That is if your doing a complete recon........just how fast can you cut out the floor and stinger's...are you good enough to cut and glass stinger's in a day or so can you prep a boat for paint in 8 hrs

Bottom line here is knowing what is coming and where your going...labor cost's involved and just how good you are at finsihing show room quality that is.

Very few people or business's go there to much......it takes expertise and with that comes money...but above and beyond that If you have the overall expertise...its a shoo in...

But Low Sell High....It's the American dream.........

Ok now im about to go off to DockSide and blow some steam on big oil......