Re: Speedboat Restoration
Morning anglersam. Yes I've seen lots of those type of boats on eBay, but from what I've seen most would need a lot more than £250-300 spent to make them sea/river/lake worthy. You could be lucky though and get one that needs less work, you really need to be able to check it over before you buy it though, don't rely on the sellers description, remember they want to get rid of it!<br />I'm not saying they would deliberately lie about the condition, but the words "restoration project" cover everything from a simple repaint to a total rebuild!<br />One thing to remember, a boat like a Fletcher is going to be fast, or should be, and as such it needs to be very sound as it'll take a lot of pounding. Any repairs you do will have to make the boat as good as, if not better than new.<br />I don't want to put you off, but given your lack of experience and limited budget I'd suggest you start with something less demanding, maybe even build your own boat from scratch? That may sound daunting, but may well be a lot easier and cheaper than a restoration job!<br />I'm thinking maybe an open or partially decked flat bottomed or shallow vee type, these can go pretty fast with a modest size outboard, and can be built for a few hundred pounds worth of materials. And plans for these type boats are cheap, even free if you look around on the net. <br />Or have you looked at aluminium boats? My local marina has brand new 12' aluminium boats for under £800, a good used one would be much cheaper, well within your £450 budget and you'd probably even get a motor for that too!<br />Do you have a trailer already? Don't forget to budget for that, a good roadworthy trailer with lightboard may cost another £200.
