best place to find cheap old boats?

[The motor guy]

I'd think up north would have tons of old boats that people just want gone because they pay $250/month for it to sit in a storage unit and can't be used, but a few month out of the year, or hasn't been used in years. Then again most of those probably have cracked engine blocks from the cold. I watched a youtube video where the guy paid $500 for a 23 foot bow rider and it only needed a new gimble bearing, other than that it ran perfect.

 

[ctechbob]

There's a place we pass on the way to Blue Ridge a few times a year.

I'm kidding of course, but there's no such thing as a 'cheap' boat.

 

[The motor guy]

There's a place we pass on the way to Blue Ridge a few times a year.

I'm kidding of course, but there's no such thing as a 'cheap' boat.

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I mean of you're handy, you can get stuff going for cheap, but good luck getting a shop to fix one of those boats up and come out with your shirt still on.

 

[Snagglefoot]

The trick is to catch them before they are too far gone.

 

[ctechbob]

I mean of you're handy, you can get stuff going for cheap, but good luck getting a shop to fix one of those boats up and come out with your shirt still on.

I was given a pair of ski's a while back that needed some minor repair. I got about halfway done with one of them and gave it to someone else to deal with.

I didn't like installing stereos in boats back in the day, and discovered I hated working down in the engine bay of them 20 years later.

 

[4WD]

The trick is to catch them before they are too far gone.

That day gets missed often

 

[wings&wheels]

The most expensive way into boating is a cheap boat......

 

[ctechbob]

That day gets missed often

Probably because you can kludge your way through a lot of fixes to the tune of 'its only temporary if it works' and then in short order you're at the point where you really need to fix it right and discover that it isn't worth it.

 

[joekingcorvette]

There's plenty of cheap boats around but when you consider what it costs to fix them it's a wash. Outboards are easy to replace on boats but make sure the transom is good and the boat doesn't leak. If it's an aluminum boat 20 years old chances are very good it would need a new transom. Buy the 4 stroke engines too.

 

[4WD]

Probably because you can kludge your way through a lot of fixes to the tune of 'its only temporary if it works' and then in short order you're at the point where you really need to fix it right and discover that it isn't worth it.

Yep - and it’s often a surprise how much maintenance is required - Oh, it’s really a boat, motor, gear, and trailer - something to tow with. Even when having a boat barn/lift - well that’s over/in the foggy water and needs PM as well … (mine brackish) …

 

[ecotourist]

There are lots of old boats around here. One local marina has a row of (often wooden) boats being disassembled for scrap. The government has been warning about heavy fines for abandoning boats on the water. Abandoned boats have been a major nuisance and cost to the public.

It's said that it annually costs about 10% of the initial purchase price to insure, house and maintain a boat. I used to own half of two small sailboats. I formally gave them (meaning with paper work) to my sailing partner so there would be no future liability concerns.

The old joke is "The two happiest days for a boat owner are the day he buys it and the day he sells it."

 

[AutoMechanic]

I owned a boat one time but it hadn’t run in so long that I just ended up giving it away. It was given to me. This was in 2021 and the boat had not seen water since 2007. It was old and falling apart too. I had big plans for it but they fell thru oh well I guess. I’ll have to dig way back in my camera roll to find the pictures of it. It was a Capri something boat I think.

 

[The motor guy]

I owned a boat one time but it hadn’t run in so long that I just ended up giving it away. It was given to me. This was in 2021 and the boat had not seen water since 2007. It was old and falling apart too. I had big plans for it but they fell thru oh well I guess. I’ll have to dig way back in my camera roll to find the pictures of it. It was a Capri something boat I think.

That's what I'm talking about. So many people just give them away cause they haven't been run in years

 

[wings&wheels]

it's been mentioned, but should be repeated just how maintenance hungry anything beyond a basic outboard is, especially in salt water. Also, while many are successful with the quick fix approach to maintenance, it really has no place in boating beyond calm ponds.....

That said, rescuing an old boat is a good experience. Oh, no old I/O ever needs just a gimbal bearing

Have fun!

BTW, this is my rescue; abandoned at the marina, under a layer of crud, leaked from every packing, bit smelly, mousy, old hoses, deck wood soft, switches/gauges inop, a few cheap replacement fittings, BUT low ours and solid and a surprisingly original and decent interior. Paid little more than the value of the nice trailer. It was a year long project and not inexpensive, learned some new skills, met some nice folks who sell original fittings, and....

 

[Donald]

No one wants old power boards unless it's a vintage Chris Craft.

Sail boats seem to be a different story. People keep them for a long time. Rebuild the engines and varnish the teak.

In 2020 or 2021 I gave a 1987 24' power boat (where everything worked) to a charity. They sold it on EBay for under $100.

 

[The motor guy]

it's been mentioned, but should be repeated just how maintenance hungry anything beyond a basic outboard is, especially in salt water. Also, while many are successful with the quick fix approach to maintenance, it really has no place in boating beyond calm ponds.....

That said, rescuing an old boat is a good experience. Oh, no old I/O ever needs just a gimbal bearing

Have fun!

BTW, this is my rescue; abandoned at the marina, under a layer of crud, leaked from every packing, bit smelly, mousy, old hoses, deck wood soft, switches/gauges inop, a few cheap replacement fittings, BUT low ours and solid and a surprisingly original and decent interior. Paid little more than the value of the nice trailer. It was a year long project and not inexpensive, learned some new skills, met some nice folks who sell original fittings, and....
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Plenty of boats sit in the slings in front of people's houses that never move. I look at 3 across my canal that moved maybe twice in the 5 years I lived there. I thin they're just in the slings to justify the boat dock and boat house etc

 

[Jim K]

He found a good cheap old boat.

 

[wpod]

There are old boats but boats aren't cheap.

 

[DriveHard]

I owned a boat one time but it hadn’t run in so long that I just ended up giving it away. It was given to me. This was in 2021 and the boat had not seen water since 2007. It was old and falling apart too. I had big plans for it but they fell thru oh well I guess. I’ll have to dig way back in my camera roll to find the pictures of it. It was a Capri something boat I think.

That would most likely be a Bayliner Capri...the "Ford Escort", or "Chevy Chevette" of boats...

 

[Elkins45]

The sweet spot for freshwater boating is a 16-18 foot aluminum with a 2-stroke outboard from the era before emissions controls but after electronic ignition. People tend to put a premium on welded over riveted but for something with accessible rivets like a Jon boat I wouldn’t care either way.