Re: Restored Boats Worth?
Right.
It can either be a classic boat or one with a history.
I'm about to buy an older boat, early 60s, that was one of (perhaps the) first model of jet boat ever made. That may help it sell for a bit if I restore it, since it has the combination of being a vintage boat (that'll be in great shape) and also the "fun" of being a jet boat.
Other similar models have sold for a ton of money because of their history. One model sold for $15k because it was one of only 6 ever made, and another one sold for $60 (sixty) thousand because it was documented as the first jet boat on lake tahoe.
Another thing to think about is the boats being show boats. Once a restored or vintage boat is polished to show quality and taken to a boat show, you have documentation and pics that not only help it sell but raise the price.
It's not uncommon for show winners to get top dollar... for example, a classic mahogany runabout that would sell for $30k after restore could fetch $50k or more with an award or two attached to it. There are collectors of certain types of well restored show quality boats that enjoy owning the boats, not restoring them. Kinda like Jay Leno showing a car at a show, for him the enjoyment is in owning the car and competing, paying a team of detailers to do a last minute polish of the thing before judging.
For the most part, the boats you see restored here aren't classic or vintage, they're just good quality boats from years past. A lot of people don't seem to like the newer boat models for one reason or another.
Then there's the cost of getting a boat that's exactly what you want. We exaggerate here a lot about not saving money on these restores, but I at least do. I can get a boat that's exactly the way I want for a tiny fraction of the price of a new boat. Of course, I can't make my investment back by selling it later, but I'm not buying it as an investment.
Like you say, the cool factor is there.
Inboard boats from the 60s or 70s are going to be the easiest to restore because the drive gear is pretty standard or has an easy replacement in modern gear. Outboards are next because even though older motors can be hard to get parts for, you can usually dig something out. Plus as a bonus you can replace it later easily if you want something more modern. I/O drives are cheapest to buy usually, but older than a certain age and you will run into issues getting parts (even at high prices), especially for OMC drives.
Final note: Restore a boat if you like working on boats, not if you just want to own a cool older boat. It's a lot of work, and those of us that do restore work would happily sell you an old project that's done so we can get a new project
Erik
