1961 19ft Bellboy

[Easton24]

I purchased a Bellboy from a buddies family to help with funeral expenses, with the thought of refurbishing it. I ended up having a kid shortly after and being a first time father, overestimated the amount of extra time and money I would have available to get it done. With that I am now trying to figure out if it's worth anything, or if I should just scrap it and take the loss. Any helpful pointers, or info anyone can provide so I don't make the mistake of getting rid of this piece of history in an insulting way?

 

[jbcurt00]

Even w/out pix, there is no real 'worth it' w 99.9% of old boats, esp abandoned project boats, they are simply old.

Motor & trailer might have some value but are typically given away to 'convince' someone else to take the boat too.

It is not a 1961 Vette that just needs some cleanup.

Unless you find someone whose family had 1 & they want that particular boat, maybe, but those are hard folks to find.

Otherwise it's heaps of work, effort, time & money and in the end you're likely to spend 5X what it's worth once rehab'd. Even factory correct restos only have a very slim appeal.

Live near an AOMCI meet or vintage boat club? Might find 1 of those hens teeth fellas thats gotta have it.

Else post it as a give away. Unless motor runs great,.

You could also strip it for parts & part it out on craigs or ebay. There's virtually zero market w/in 100mi of me, for vintage parts, so parts sales was a lot of work for little $. YMMV

 

[Easton24]

Even w/out pix, there is no real 'worth it' w 99.9% of old boats, esp abandoned project boats, they are simply old.

Motor & trailer might have some value but are typically given away to 'convince' someone else to take the boat too.

It is not a 1961 Vette that just needs some cleanup.

Unless you find someone whose family had 1 & they want that particular boat, maybe, but those are hard folks to find.

Otherwise it's heaps of work, effort, time & money and in the end you're likely to spend 5X what it's worth once rehab'd. Even factory correct restos only have a very slim appeal.

Live near an AOMCI meet or vintage boat club? Might find 1 of those hens teeth fellas thats gotta have it.

Else post it as a give away. Unless motor runs great,.

You could also strip it for parts & part it out on craigs or ebay. There's virtually zero market w/in 100mi of me, for vintage parts, so parts sales was a lot of work for little $. YMMV

Thank you for the info, may have bitten of more than anticipated! Appreciate your input.

 

[jbcurt00]

Thank you for the info, may have bitten of more than anticipated! Appreciate your input.

Many do.

I among them.

I swapped to old tin/aluminum boats and was much happier.....

 

[briangcc]

I'd say it all depends and only you can decide if it's worthy of a restore...

IF you're not in a rush to get on the water, have an understanding admiral (wife/s.o.), and like the boat, it could be a project for yourself. It may take longer BUT you can piecemeal it as funds and time allow. Who knows...you may actually take a liking to the classic lines of the boat.

I wouldn't expect to make $$$$$ flipping it though as boats, with certain exceptions, generally aren't equivalent to older cars. What you end up with after restoring an older boat is....an old restored boat.

 

[3rdtimesthecharm]

List it on fiberglassics site.