repair deck and transom or buy another boat

[tbird175]

I dicovered today that the transom on my 69 Thunderbird Seminole (Cathedral Hull) has rot damage. I had already planned to replace the soft spots in the deck. My question now is do I replace the transom and deck or look for another hull. It has a good 1978 Merc 175 HP Black Max engine. I could do the repairs myself. If it is best to look for another hull, how do I go about finding one? I welcome the advice of you experienced boaters.

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: repair deck and transom or buy another boat

Really, it's up to you.
Do you love the boat, or does it have sentimental value?
Do you have the time, space, money and skills to do it?
If you choose "yes", then realize that you will probably never recover any of the money that you put into the boat. It will still be a 1969 Thunderbird.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: repair deck and transom or buy another boat

what he said..... search craigs list 3-4 times a day in every major city you would be willing to drive to.... limit your search to say $1500.... LOTS of deals out there.... also ebay works too.... you can find good stuff for cheap.... like my 28'er... I bought it on ebay for $543.00 and drove to new york to get it

 

[tbird175]

Re: repair deck and transom or buy another boat

The boat does have great sentimental value. I am good at wood working and all types of construction, but I have no fiberglass experience, but I do have experience with body work (bondo or similar products). The boat has not been used in several years and I would like to have a boat for the grandkids this summer. How would I go about finding a good boat for my outboard engine?

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: repair deck and transom or buy another boat

well if it is sentemental then you might choose to pay more than the boat is worth and put in LOTS of work to fix it.... for that money you can buy a whole boat motor and trailer though
http://bham.craigslist.org/boa/1674041713.html
just an example.... found it in less than a minute
or this.. needs seats
http://bham.craigslist.org/boa/1673047994.html

again just examples I found with a short look.... I looked for a year for mine

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: repair deck and transom or buy another boat

If the deck and transom are shot, there's a high likeleyhood of the stringers needing to be replaced as well. It's not unreasonable to guestimate $2k to rebuild so take that into account when you're looking at replacements. You'll never recover resale value from rebuilding but you should recover ability to use the boat. Then ask if you replace a solid, just rebuilt hull and known engine for $2k? Or, are you just trading problems for that price range?

But maybe it's time to upgrade instead - boat prices are pretty low with some good deals to be had.

 

[RWilson2526]

Re: repair deck and transom or buy another boat

maybe try to do both? you'll have to pull the motor off anyway to do your restoration....find a hull like the others mentioned so you can boat this summer with the grandkids and then take your time on restoring the boat with sentimental value.

 

[tbird175]

Re: repair deck and transom or buy another boat

I thank you all for all the advice. I will begin looking for another hull and will have to decide on rebuilding the old Thunderbird.

 

[109jb]

Re: repair deck and transom or buy another boat

The boat does have great sentimental value. I am good at wood working and all types of construction, but I have no fiberglass experience, but I do have experience with body work (bondo or similar products). The boat has not been used in several years and I would like to have a boat for the grandkids this summer. How would I go about finding a good boat for my outboard engine?

If this is the case, then you may want to consider fixing it. I did my Sea Ray last year that DID NOT have any sentimental value to me and I don't regret it one bit. I wound up with a boat that is solid and I know it is solid. No matter what you buy you can't say that you know how well it is put together. I can on my boat and that is a big benefit as far as I am concerned.

Most of the work of replacing the deck stringers and transom is grunt work. IMO it the pain is in the removal of the old. You don't even need good woodworking skills since you aren't building a cabinet. The fiberglass work isn't hard, nor is it that expensive if you use polyester resin. On my 17 foot Sea Ray I spent less than $1500 total and that was replacing the deck, stringers, transom, carpet, upholstery and seats and I have a boat that looks like new now.