I need some advice on my tinny...HELP..

[tintug]

I have a 17' 88 blue fin sportsman (aluminum) with a 50 hp force on a galvinized trailer. It started as a project that has been going on for over two years. I just don't have the time I used to have to work at it anymore. I bought the boat knowing its problems which was that it had bad spots in the deck and the motor runs but has low compression.The boat was in decent shape other than that. Everything else is there and nothing is broken or missing. I mean everything. The boat was being used when I got her. I since "taken" it apart not "torn" apart saving everything that was on the boat. I removed all the old foam and I took it down to the bare hull and checked all the rivits. I had to rebuck 6 rivits and I used gluvit on her and there is now no leaks 0 zip notta leak. I pulled the old tramsom wood out and made a new one sealed it and put it back in and sealed everything up back there. I started to cut the decking out and place it back in with also the rod locker under the deck and in and am currently at the last piece on deck in the bow being made now. I got some pics of some of the repairs so far and will try to find them and post them here. I had the hull on a craddle for awhile in the garage and redid the bunk boards and put new lights and wiring through the whole trailer to eliminate all the old splices that was going to be a headache later on.

As I said before there is every piece of this boat here and intact all the glass is perfect..dash board and gauges..controls and wiring harness perfect and marked where everything goes..the motor as I said also is in great shape but needs gone through to freshen it up. I saved all the old wooden side panels to use as templets for the new ones.. both consoles are still together to be used also to make new ones from..

My question I guess is this even worth trying to sell?...Or do I just count my losses and scrape it...ohh it hunts to say that. Or just let it sit till someday that I might get back at it...I know I would have to wait for the right guy to come along to buy it but how do you sell a boat in a box...LOL..I need some advice here guys.....HELP me........

 

[sublauxation]

Re: I need some advice on my tinny...HELP..

If you like the boat, don't mind the project, have free or very cheap storage, and want to use it in the future I'd say keep it. Somebody will buy it but they wont pay much for it. Your boat sounds more put together than mine but I only paid $350 for it with a Merc that had good compression. What you have already done wont rot unless it's sitting outside. Chances are unless you buy new, whatever boat you buy in the future will need to have everything redone sooner or later. At least the one you currently have will be the equivalent of new when done.

Whatever you do, don't scrap it. That would be a shame, sounds like a nice hull and a great project for someone.

 

[Av8nBill]

Re: I need some advice on my tinny...HELP..

C'mon, you don't really want to sell it...you know you want us to talk you out of it.

My tinny is the same kind of project. When I bought it all the wiring was "hot-glued" to the sides and was all corroded. The transom was cracked. The original outboard lasted four and a half outings.

Now it has all new tinned wire, a new glassed transom and an outboard that cost more than I originally paid for the boat, motor and trailer combined. Still needs rivets re-bucked and paint for the hull and the trailer, but she floats and doesn't leak much.

Nothing says the project has to be finished to be useable. I'm hoping to be able to get some more done this off season, but if I don't I'm still going fishing come next spring (maybe even a few times this winter if the weather and schedule cooperate).

If you've just lost interest, then go ahead and sell but know you're going to take a loss. It doesn't sound like you had bought it with the intention of making a profit anyway, so if it was me, I'd at least get the enjoyment of doing the project and using it for a while before "tradin' up".

Just my .02 (adjusted for inflation).

 

[bonz_d]

Re: I need some advice on my tinny...HELP..

1st off, only you can decide where your heart is with this project. Having limited time to devote to a project can make it difficult to complete though losing desire makes it almost impossible.

My currant boat was also a project boat that when I found it, it was just a hull and trailer. No engine, the floor decking was soft, wiring was gone as were the plywood seats. During the 1st season I was able to acquire a tiller steer outboard for it and fished out of it that whole season. Towards the end of that season I located a nice 35hp remote steer engine and mounted it. During the off season my wife and I started looking for and acquiring fold down seats, pedistals, lights and wire. Second season the wife and I first started by replacing the plywood seat tops. Then later in the year we finally found time to tear the plywood deck out and replace that and the carpet. Again we had great fun doing it together.

So if you really want to do it and finish this you will somehow find the time. If you've lost interest then yes try and sell it as-is. Someone will find an interest in it.

 

[IslandManMitch]

Re: I need some advice on my tinny...HELP..

You are in it this far stick with it.

 

[cyclops2]

Re: I need some advice on my tinny...HELP..

There is ALWAYS A BUYER for anything.


You just have to adjust the price to any time slot.

 

[Raystownboater]

Re: I need some advice on my tinny...HELP..

I agree with sublauxation...........If you like the boat, keep it. It sounds like you're already past the halfway point and well on your way to having a finished boat. You may not think you have enough time but do what you can, when you can and she'll be back on the water in no time.

 

[5150abf]

Re: I need some advice on my tinny...HELP..

Absolutly don't scrap it, if you are going to get rif of it sell it and give someone else a chance at it, no sense scraping a perfectly good hull.'I think you already know the answer to your question, noone here can answer it for you.

I can tell you haveing done it that is very satisfying to take out a boat you built yourself, 3 years ago I stripped mine to the hull and rebuilt it just the way I wanted and it really nice.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: I need some advice on my tinny...HELP..

As mentioned there's a buyer for just about anything. My buddy got through about 1/4 of building a kit plane then decided after a couple of people killed themselves in that particular model to sell it all. He took a huge bath but did find someone willing to fill a U-Haul trailer with the bits and pieces and haul it away.

If you honestly think boating is no longer or will never be (careful!) a priority then why have it hanging around reminding you of the good intentions gone south. Sell it but realize it won't fetch you much.

If you have the space to store it without tripping over stuff every time you come home from work and figure it's just a matter of time before you can get back to it then certainly hang on.

If you want to do the project but it feel really overwhelming, try to do a few small things that will show some progress but not bury you. Ask yourself, what is the very next step I need to do to make a start on X part of it. It might be as simple as cleaning up your work area, organizing parts and digging out the right tools or buying a couple of things in preparation. Certainly hanging out in the resto section should give you some inspiration. There's some guys in HUGE over there.

If you do think you are going to put it away for awhile, do yourself a favour and round up all the bits, label stuff and store them where you know you won't lose track of anything. I just got to work this summer on a tinny I had when I was a kid and have stored for my kid for most of the last 20 years behind various garages and at the back of woodlots. Real glad I hung on now.

Good luck and let us know what you decide!