Mark_VTfisherman
Lieutenant
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2008
- Messages
- 1,489
Re: Hard top for a 14' Niagara? Should I do it?
From several requests from iBoats and elsewhere I update this thread. I will begin a new thread when the project actually starts unfolding.
To make a long story short - the Edinboros I was chasing last fall didn't pan out. I wish they did. The other thing is that sketches and visualization of a hard enclosure on a Niagara reveal there is no way to make this look "right" and there are too many compromises. However, scaling a hardtop onto an Edinboro looks OK on paper. But I haven't been able to connect with a donor hull on a trailer for the $100-$300 I am willing to pay. I don't want a nice boat to start with: I want an undamaged hull that won't make me feel guilty when I take the sawzall to it!
So I transferred my energies to the 19' Starcraft, got a 90HP for it, worked on trailer, etc. At least if I get it on the water it will be both usable and salable. As we know, 'project' boats (sic) without a motor and without being able to try out are only worth a few hundred, while a clean, good running, and well set up 19-footer should sell for $3000 or more. Along with the boat project I needed a tow vehicle. The 14' Niagara is fine behind my BMW 318 because it tops around 1000 or 1100 pounds even when loaded. But the Starcraft will weight hundreds more than that empty. So I have acquired a 4.2litre to drop into the jeep so I can at least tow the starcraft.
Come October, though, I know me: I will be getting project-antsy and be scouring the ads for the long Edinboro again. I have already made up my mind: my winter project this year will either be an Edinboro getting a hard-top or I am going to buy an old basket case CB175 or CB200 that I have been wanting to build for the last 6 years or more. If I don't score a suitable Edinboro by December, I am going to buy an old CB175. That is my final answer
From several requests from iBoats and elsewhere I update this thread. I will begin a new thread when the project actually starts unfolding.
To make a long story short - the Edinboros I was chasing last fall didn't pan out. I wish they did. The other thing is that sketches and visualization of a hard enclosure on a Niagara reveal there is no way to make this look "right" and there are too many compromises. However, scaling a hardtop onto an Edinboro looks OK on paper. But I haven't been able to connect with a donor hull on a trailer for the $100-$300 I am willing to pay. I don't want a nice boat to start with: I want an undamaged hull that won't make me feel guilty when I take the sawzall to it!
So I transferred my energies to the 19' Starcraft, got a 90HP for it, worked on trailer, etc. At least if I get it on the water it will be both usable and salable. As we know, 'project' boats (sic) without a motor and without being able to try out are only worth a few hundred, while a clean, good running, and well set up 19-footer should sell for $3000 or more. Along with the boat project I needed a tow vehicle. The 14' Niagara is fine behind my BMW 318 because it tops around 1000 or 1100 pounds even when loaded. But the Starcraft will weight hundreds more than that empty. So I have acquired a 4.2litre to drop into the jeep so I can at least tow the starcraft.
Come October, though, I know me: I will be getting project-antsy and be scouring the ads for the long Edinboro again. I have already made up my mind: my winter project this year will either be an Edinboro getting a hard-top or I am going to buy an old basket case CB175 or CB200 that I have been wanting to build for the last 6 years or more. If I don't score a suitable Edinboro by December, I am going to buy an old CB175. That is my final answer