Picking up a winter project boat

[gazza2006au]

Thought i would start a thread based on buying project boats and keeping it within realistic terms

I went in with a 5 year rebuild im just over 2 years, be realistic with you're time frame plenty of guys dont consider budgets, time frame, labor, and extra unforesceen costs

Budgets, i had hope to be all done and dusted for $8000 im in it about $8500 to date next week will be over $9000, i knew it was going to be a struggle financially so i had planned 5 years to spread out the already thin wallet the plan was to just buy what i could when i could

Time frame i think my boat, trailer and engine could have been done over 9-12 months working Sat-Sun 9-5 for me it was a more of 50 hours research 5-10 hours hands on work, the internet is a wealth of knowledge, i set out for 5 years as mentioned amd i slacked off in my first year quiet a lot unfortunatly health problems got on top of me and i had no motivation

Labor, rebuilding a boat is very labor intense tearing out the old hull is piss easy because there is no critical measurements, leviling, cutting, sanding, fibreglassing, i would estimate a demo to be 15% labor of a rebuild the more hands on the job u have the better but unfortunatly if you're like me and u have to do everything by you're self it gets difficult

1 man doing 100% will take many hours

2 men doing 50/50% you'll be done in 1/3rd the time doing it solo

A boat rebuild really is a 2 man job, the amount of times i had to cut a stringer and place it in the boat than climb the ladder and jump in than jump out toss the stringer out for adjustments etc...

If you can for labor and can afford it put a add up on gumtree/facebook asking for a second hand labourer/fibreglassing hand pay this person $100 for a 5-8 hour shift basically someone with some knowledge on boat rebuilding that wants a bit extra cash on the side

Unforesceen cost, you'll be amazed at what u dont calculate so far i would have to be in this project atlease 200 plastic 1.3L mixing cups, probably 10 packets of 10pc sanding disc, cant even remember how many cutting disc for the grinder or even flap disc.. acetone im in it about 20 litres, rags im in it about 5 or 6 packets, all this i never calculated for and hasnt been calculated into my budget yet or the figues above

I rushed out when i bought my boat like a bull in spain i seen "big" i seen "cheap" it fit my budget of $1000 i also seen it looked easy to turn into a centre console what i never seen or figured was the amount of work involved, if you're plan is to convert a boat cabin to CC etc.. buy a boat with good stringers, floor, transom so you can focus on the conversion rather than rebuilding just to have a basic boat to than begin all over again

I would have to say the biggest thing i regret in not doing was not registering the boat from the beginning so i know i 100% own the boat

If you take on a project like mine good luck fellas you wont need it byt we would all like to see a build along

If anyone has anything to add on buying a project boat, what to look for, what and when to buy, etc... feel free to post, the above is just what i have encountered so far

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[Muzza]

Hey Gazza,
i would say, take into account why your doing it. If, like me, you love fishing and being on the water, and if it was going to keep me off the water for a long period, never!! So, I would need a second boat to use while working on the project to get my water fix. I'd never do it now, maybe when younger, I did have a mate plant a cruiser in my backyard for "2 months" to do some work which was there a hell of a lot longer than 2 months. Good mate so I didn't mind.
No such thing as a time schedule, too many variables. If you just love projects and working all good, but on good weather days, where it would always be a toss up to go fishing / boating, or work on boat, in my case no work would get done.
Motor would be the last thing I would buy in case it all goes to shit, in 5 years there may be a whole lot of options to power her you wouldn't have had originally. Even if you resell the motor it is 5 years older and never been run so resale an issue.
If I was to do a project boat I would do a cheapie throw away, get my skills up, then tackle my dream boat.
Just opinions of mine, I only do wiring, small add ons etc, no glassing or rebuilds so my opinion lacks experience. I do admire those that achieve it, but in saying that I would probably never buy a rebuilt boat no matter who did it. I respect the ocean too much and have grandkids

[gazza2006au]

Good points Muzz

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[inveratta]

Well ...its a good topic...but I suspect only those who have done it,are doing it..or again chose not to do it ..will share wisely...because it seems such a low cost way to get a better boat than you want to shed dollars for.. that there will always be a market for those who want to give it a go...

Having been through some of the process....I would offer the following......before you start...be bloody sure the boat you end up with is what you really want...if it is...happiness awaits..if not ,when you try and sell it the jaws of how the market values an old boat will open up.

I figure you need to look at at least ten years of use ..or more post renovation.

Experts like Giddy with all the skills can flip boats because they can finish projects with a budget in mind....knowing how it will play out.in the rebuild..and thats a different proposition...

Theres a lot of enjoyment... between the waves of frustration in project stuff...but as my boatbuilder used to say..if it stuffs up ..you cant just walk home..

[EdBerg]

If I ever think about getting another used boat I will instead try to locate a suitable mold and build from scratch, assuming I can find a suitable mold design and have the room to do it undercover. Done quite a few in my time and tired of having to fix up other people mistakes and repair the damage. This way I provide the labour and materials and know exactly how it's built and it will brand new. Just my thoughts.

[gazza2006au]

I would love to do something like that Ed just if i had 8 hands to lay up a 24-27ft hull that would be wicked

If u could resin infuse the whole job from get go would be handy it would be a stronger and lighter build with most labor in in keeping the resin bucket filled

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[Paul071978]

Hats off to all that give it a shot however I prefer to be out boating than working on a huge project. Might be difficult to find a fiberglass laborer for $100 a day

[EdBerg]

I would love to do something like that Ed just if i had 8 hands to lay up a 24-27ft hull that would be wicked

If u could resin infuse the whole job from get go would be handy it would be a stronger and lighter build with most labor in in keeping the resin bucket filled

Not quite as simple as it sounds and plenty of ways the whole job can be stuffed too and you could loose all your money, it is also more expensive to setup and and you will still need a couple of extra guys so any savings you will save on the resin will be lost on the consumables such as tubes, plastics, fittings, tapes, materials, plus you will need a good large vacuum pump, ( house vacuum pump doesn't cut it ). Once you have positioned and vacuumed checked everything such as the resin and vacuum tubes, the actual infusion doesn't take more than 1-2 hours.

However then you still have to do all the other things like stringers, transom, floors, deck and it all takes time and most of all you need a large area to house all of this in. With 2 guys and myself we did 25ft's, deck and hull in 4 days the old way, but then all the other things I mentioned add additional time probably 3 weeks, then fit out, liners, carpets, wiring, furniture, plumbing, fittings, electrical etc., etc. Joining the deck to hull, windscreens So it will still take a few months to finish, and that is if you know what you are doing and have a large undercover area.

You will still need motor's, fuel and water tanks, waste holding tank, electronics, plumbing, toilet etc, and then fit them, so in the end it will still cost you at least 2/3 rds to 3/4 of the new boat price and lastly you need a suitable trailer, so whilst it all sounds easy and quick, the infusion process is only a small part of a complete build. This is all dependent of being able to get the use of a boat hull and deck mold. The bigger the boat, the harder it all gets, even transporting the large molds to where you are going to do the work will probably set you back a couple of K$. End result is a brand new boat,

At one stage I started to setup to do just that, even got a pump and 300lt vacuum tank but in the end decided against it. As I picked up a new 23ft hull with deck joined and stringers fitted for 5K$. That was 23 years ago though but actually saw a similar hull and deck for 3K$ only a few months ago. So bargains do pop up occasionally!

So whilst you may save 20-30K on a 25ft-27ft, it will still cost about 60K and and several months of work, that is a lot of money to catch a fish.I am at a stage that once I come back from travelling around Oz, I will just stick to charters, while it will cost about $200 per day and it isn't quite the same as owning your own boat, it is however a walk on, fish, walk off situation, you don't have to worry about fuel, bait, insurance and maintenance, cleaning the boat, trailer cost and insurance, registration for both, etc. and will just get a small tinnie for the odd urge to wet a line in between.

I think that will do me!

[Iron Maiden]

Its funny when you consider the ability to fish once maybe twice a month and the yearly cost of running a boat plus depreciation... charter fishing becomes quiet attractive.
But when you have kids its no comparison to fun times and life changing moments.

[shortthenlong]

Hats off to all that give it a shot however I prefer to be out boating than working on a huge project. Might be difficult to find a fiberglass laborer for $100 a day

This is more where I'm at also. I don't currently have a boat and despite the idea that it would some sort of super bargain to pick up an old hull and build myself my dream boat (Haines 580SLF if you have one for free). But at this point in my life I'd rather spend my weekends with my wife and kids, go camping etc etc. I still get a small fix of fishing a few times a year and I don't come to dread the weekends where I have to spend hours labouring on "the boat". If you can find 10G to put into a build over 5 years you can find 10G to put into a bank account and buy a running BMT package.

Just my take

Matt

[gazza2006au]

Interesting Noel

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[gazza2006au]

Matt i had the boat vefore i had my cash so once i started working on the hull it was sink $500 here $1000 there oh look i have $2000 enough to build a trailer lol now i think i am nuts...

Im in it about $9000 but what really does 9k get u? Possibly a modern tinny 4.3m in size

My plan was to go big actually it was a dream that turned into a plan that changed many times with no guided path

At the beginning it was just a basic rebuild toss on a old 120-140hp 2 stroke for $500 than i came across the etec than the merc 90 and still today i am worried of it falling off in the water i keep thinking about it every few days its like its haunting me anyhow

They ally trailer came along the 4 stroke merc came along everything i dreamed of it panned out so far

I was at first looking at 21-24ft boats but didnt consider the GVM than my boat came along i thought u ripper i was lucky the xtrail towed it home

Now since i've had the boat i have had days where i wish i went bigger but days certainly where i thought im up to my chin in work with this 18.5 footer

Just chipping away whenever i can is working out for me i dont work on her all the time just when i have supplies or motivation i gotta say the last 6-8 months i have been putting in some hours

Its just so time consuming if i worked out how many hours im in i donno maybe a good 150-200 hours im probably way off tho a lot of learning in the process i wish i had all this knowledge at the beginning with some effort i could have done it all in 6-12 months

When u take on a boat like mine u need to be prepared to put in the $$$ and the time

I have actually seen a few guys give up and list there boats for sale some barely being touched and some right up to a new floor going in i guess "doubt" plays on us beginners minds i know it sure plays on mine

If i were to sink my engine im down $2000 but i was offered $3900 so i would be at a loss of 3.9k

If my trailer gets nicked im at a loss of $2700

If my hull falls apart im in deep shit $4000

Lol i try to stay positive tho and i believe the help and advice from you guys is setting me down the track to succed i just doubt my own workmanship as i have nothing to test it before the big splash



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[gazza2006au]

Forgot to mention a bloke on facebook said the haines v19 was a modified flop of my caribbean sea camper hull so i may have picked up a really good hull

I thought it was the other way around gee did i raise some eyebrows from the boys on the caribbean group lol

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[shortthenlong]

Gaz you do you. I wasn't really thinking about your project specifically was just giving my take on the whole "project boat" phenomenon.

Also if you spend 5 years (for example) saving for your boat you can probably wait till the right boat comes along. I know of a very good Cruise Craft that recently sold for 10G and a 30 second look on Gumtree turned this up

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/coom...ntent=mweb_VIP

Cheers Matt

[gazza2006au]

Yeah i shouldnt have bought up my boat..

Check out this i would be all over it if i had the cash

24ft Jenks Craft 17k

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