Re: 1976 22' Starcraft Islander Rebuild
for the price not bad but a mercruiser equipped hgher priced boat in better shape would have been easier and cheaper n the long run.
Hey bigski, your boat is a real beauty!!
Easier for sure, cheaper probably not.
I saw/see a lot of Islanders/Chieftains out there in the $3K range that are in need of complete gut jobs including floors, seats, wood and the like, along with questionable motors that also need attention. Often times the seller, or the buyer, or both just don't know it yet. Many times they look good on the surface, not so much underneath. A quick look in the resto forum proves that. So a $3k boat turns into a $5K boat pretty fast.
Now, I certainly could have spent around the $5K range and had a water ready boat needing no attention. I didn't have $5K and sure won't any time soon. Um, yah, not even close.
So far, I haven't put a whole lot of cash into this rig and have already sold off some stuff to offset the initial investment. By the time I sell off some of the other gear and one of the trailers I should come pretty close to breaking even to this point, though probably not quite. We'll see. From here on I'll certainly have some money into wood, aluminum, vinal, gluvit and related stuff but it'll be in small chunks which should be fairly easy to handle financially. Never smoked and gave up drinking many years ago so a little hobby money is AOK. I have a ton of outdoor gear that will go up on eBay and craigslist to help with costs along the way too.
And, I'll do everything I can to tackle the load myself. I really enjoy the work and love having the kids hanging out right there with me. It's been a great project so far!
When it's all said and done, I am guessing that I might have roughly $1,000 to $2,000 into it - only an educated guess at this point but I bet I'll be close. That Merc V6 may throw me a curve ball which would certainly change things, but I am hopeful. A price range like that doesn't buy a whole lot these days, 14 footer with an outboard probably. Shoot, I sold my 14' Starcraft with a 25 hp Merc this last summer for a bunch more than that.
Time will tell, it always does.
Cheers!
