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For those of you that have done restorations, I am thinking a project boat would be fun. Obviously condition is a factor but can you break even on any of these projects or are they just a labor of love?
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I bought my '96 new, put over 1,700hrs on it. Expected to keep it until I retire from skiing in another 15+ years. Last year a friend with a '97 needed to sell it. Very long story short, I was helping him get it ready, got it running, fixed a number of things, and did market research for him. My wife asked if I was interested in getting it as a project boat. Hadn't thought about it, so investigated what it would take. My partial list:
* Perfect Pass Stargazer with zbox ($1,500) (I'm a course skier so had to get a new one to make the boat course-skiable
* All new steering (helm, steering cable, rudder box
* New shift and throttle cables
* New uphostery
* New carpet
* New stereo
* resurface scratched gelcoat surfaces
I added up everything needed (except the stereo and gelcoat work). The costs were me doing all the labor (with upholstery I used Copycat Upholstery so they made the skins and I installed them). So the costs were just for the materials (since he is a friend, my labor was free).
I then subtracted the cost of all of the materials from what I thought the boat would sell for with everything done. I told him that while I was interested, we could sell it to someone else for more (he is not a course skier and had no need for Perfect Pass). I told him what he'd have to sell it below to make it worthwhile for me (even with me doing all the labor) and told him he could probably get $1,500 more. But instead he subtracted $100 from what my 'break even" number was, so I suddenly was the owner of two Nautiques.
I immediately got PP in and redid the steering so that it was course ready. I then spent my time doing a few things on my old boat to get it ready to sell.
At this point, all I have left to do is the carpet and the gelcoat. Will I break even? Maybe, maybe not. But I have a boat with a better slalom wake (everyone in the club wants to ski behind my boat now--one of the best wakes ever made), the engine has almost 800 fewer hours (old one was at 1,700, new one at 940).
So, I didn't get it to make money; I did it to get a better wake and fewer hours (although my '96 GT40 is great at 1,700hrs, I expect it to go to go well beyond 3khrs or more before a rebuild is needed). It was not in as good of cosmetic shape as my '96; my '96 has been garaged since day 1; the '97 sat out for years; hence the additional work on carpet, gelcoat, and upholstery.
This wasn't planned, but it did work out and I'm very happy.
Make sure the mechanics are all good (compression check the engine, check the fluids). Make sure no vibration. Whatever you are planning on doing with it (slalom course, wake boarding, wake surfing, etc), make sure you test it from behind the boat. Keep in mind that the 97 had not been run for nearly two years when I offered to help my friend get it ready for him to sell. It took work (a ton of injector cleaner, all new plugs, wires, cap, rotor, etc.). I do believe I still have a faulty injector; sometimes (not all the time) at idle, it is rough and sounds like one cylinder is not firing cleanly, but other times is fine at idle, and always strong with all eight cylinders beyond idle. I don't know what injectors cost, but depending the cost, I may eventually just replace all.
Hope this helps. Feel free to ping me if you have more specific questions. -
My story is a little different. I want a boat that I can ski and surf. That boat does not exist so I had to figure out a way that I could have two boats. I sold my 211 and then started searching for a ski boat. I found a '98 SN with 400 hours and a lot of elbow grease needed. Did I stop at elbow grease? not really. I think we have about 15-16k in it at this point but that is miles better than getting a new GS and still have a mediocre ski boat and not quite the 230 or G.
So to answer your question, I could possibly make a little on the SN because I was able to buy low and I think it will be one of the nicest TSC1 SN around. And yes, it has been a lot of fun working on it with my brother and dad. Invaluable.Comment
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This would be a father - son project for fun but yes we would run and fun on the boat. I see inexpensive direct drives all the time for sale. I just don't want to spend 10 grand on something only to have it worth 4. I may jump on one and give it a go.Comment
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Nautique Jeff, you have done a few of these but I assume with some discount pricing. How have they turned out for you?Comment
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I don't see you losing much if you pay attention to the desirability of the boat you choose/price/condition and also be willing to sit on it for a little while. I think there definitely is a market but it might be national not just local unless you have a strong skiing demographic locally.Originally posted by srock View PostComment
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Key word in your first post... “fun”. Do it purely for the fun of it don’t expect to make a killing. I suppose if you can get the boat really cheap you could make several thousand dollars
if you don’t have to make the big ticket purchases during the restoration those being things like all new upholstery 2000$-3000$, extensive fiberglass repair work and engine/transmission rebuilding. If the boat requires those big expenses then make sure you factor that into your purchase price. Obviously the more of the labor you can do yourself the better off you’ll be.
My opinion would be if you do a restoration make sure you keep it as close to factory as you can. Don’t change anything or customize anything if the goal is to sell it. Also don’t buy and restore a boat that you wouldn’t want to keep for a few years for personal pleasure that way if the costs of restoration get out of hand and you can’t sell it for what you got into it then you have something you can enjoy for a while and get your money out of it that way before you eventually do sell. My two cents. Enjoy the future project!Comment
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I am not worried about losing a little money or breaking even, I just don't want to take a bath and yes I would run the boat for a couple years.
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