I am a newbie, so let that color your response appropriately.<br /><br />Last week I bought my first boat, a 15' fiberglass 1963 HydroSwift with a 1976 85 hp Mercury outboard. The interior is relatively clean, but the previous owner painted it white. The seats were replaced maybe 3 yrs ago and the boat seems to be in good condition ... no leaks, good compression and the motor runs strong. The exterior paint has faded badly and the wood supports for the seats have begun to rot. The floor was re-carpeted when the seats were replaced so I cannot see the floorboards, but there are no soft spots nor creaks. In general, the previous owner took very good care of the boat. I paid $800 for the boat, motor, and trailer I paid another $200 for a tune-up and to have the shift linkage adjusted (there was no reverse). I asked the mechanic if I got a good deal and he said that the boat itself was worthless, but the engine was worth $1500. The problem (??) is that the boat has a flat hull and from what I can gather, people just do not want these. The boat is fairly large and is rated for six people (see photo at http://film2000.free.fr/hydroswift.jpg). I took the boat out twice and she does go, however when you hit a big wave from a water ski or other boat, the boat does pound it (first time it scared the heck out of me!). The boat also seems to easily rock in the water when you are walking around, but I guess this is normal with small boats.<br /><br />So why am I writing this post? Well, the boat that I really want is a 2003 Bayliner Capri, but the $13K is not happening. After doing a thorough reading of this forum, I believe that I can sand, prep, and paint the HydroSwift, which would improve her appearance 100-fold. What I do not know is if the boat is worth the effort, especially given the mechanic's comment and the pretty new boats that I see when I go boating. If I restored the boat, I would like to rebuild the seat supports (they look like 1x6's), add upholstery (vinyl) to the inner walls, wire in a fuse panel, add a permanent gas tank, and add a speedometer and tach. For those of you who have finished projects, what do you think? Should I just sell this boat and wait until I can afford something better?<br /><br />Also, since the boat did not come with a tach and speedo, how difficult are these to add? I mean, where do you find the pickup sensors?<br /><br />Thanks very much!
Tacks and speedos are not too tough to install if you are handy with tools and follow instructions. I installed a fish finder to use primarily as a depth sounder and was a piece of cake 
