Never thought I'd see the day...

[starcraftkid]

As of today, my only Starcraft is glass. I was cutting my grass this weekend and I had a guy stop and start asking questions about my Starchief which was sitting at the end of the driveway. I had the motor off to clean up the mounting area and to repaint the wood panel behind the motor.
One thing led to another and he made an offer, a good offer, and it's gone, boat and trailer, minus my fish finder and GPS for far more than I'd have ever asked for it.

I never thought I'd see the day where there's no aluminum Starcrafts in my driveway. I still have my 15' glasser which I use for fishing the back bays in the saltwater, but I guess I get to start over.
I was sort of thinking of downsizing, and I do miss the 16' SS project that I sold last year but that too brought far more than I'd have ever thought it worth.
I did get an offer from a buddy to trade his project SS for the motor off my Starchief, a 1990 115hp Evinrude that was completely rebuilt three years ago. I've got about $1600 in the motor but used it for three years and part of the cost was a new power tilt and trim unit and new power head. The only thing is that I really don't need another boat, with 8 or so to my name now, four of them aluminum, I probably should appreciate the new found space in the yard.

The SS is a complete project, but it does have a new deck and new transom, both done by me. The hull is spotless but in primer ready for paint. The rest is just assembly and minor details. The only drawback to the trade would be that I would have most likely hung the 115hp 'Rude on the SS and stuck on some 85hp logos.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Never thought I'd see the day...

he made an offer, a good offer, and it's gone, boat and trailer, for far more than I'd have ever asked for it.

I do miss the 16' SS project that I sold last year but that too brought far more than I'd have ever thought it worth.

That's odd, I'm getting the impression from my Starcraft flipping thread that there's no market for these. Hmmmm.

 

[starcraftkid]

Re: Never thought I'd see the day...

I was out cutting my lawn and some guy stopped and walked right back to my boat, looking it over like it had a for sale sign on it. I shut off the mower and walked over and asked what he was doing. He flat out asked how much, I said it's not for sale. He said how about $5,000. I said its not for sale. He says he don't want the motor, just the boat, he didn't even care about the trailer. For $5,000, minus the motor, minus the electronics, I started thinking. I didn't say anything at first and comes back with $5500, you keep your motor. I said, $5500 and I keep the motor, GPS and fish finder, he agrees. I said how about the trailer? I don't need it if the boat is gone, so I said make it $6200 and take the trailer, we agreed on $6,000 flat, he had cash in hand. I had seen him driving by before, taking long looks down the driveway, I just though he was another junk guy looking for scrap metal.

I grabbed my engine hoist and wrenches, pulled the motor, oil tank and controls, removed the electronics and cables, dug out the title and off it went. I had no intentions of ever selling it but my thinking was that it's the end of the season, there was a bunch of stuff I wanted to do to the boat that would make it a long term project, including a repaint and rework of the cabin and back wall. I was thinking that I don't need the cabin, and that a smaller boat would serve the same purpose since there would be no cabin in the way. Thinking of all the time I'd have to spend covering it up for winter and all the work I'd have to do next season to make my changes, plus the fact that I had less than $500 in the boat including the new deck and transom two years ago, I figured I'd best take the money and run.

I sort of regret it already but figured I could find something nicer for half of what it sold for.
I already have my eye on a mid 70's 16' SS, that comes with two 'parts' boats. If I can put that deal together, I may go for it and have an SS to work on real soon. It too is a project, but most of the work is done. I'd rather just find a real clean older boat but again, I don't really need any more boats. I may just sit back and wait and maybe sell a few of the boats I have here first before adding another. I don't really need so many boats.

As far as flipping any boat, lately they don't seem to sell, I think this and when I sold my SS was just a case of the right person, with cash, finding the boat he just had to have. I didn't advertise either boat. I sold my Jupiter after finding the SS, but regretted selling that after the same thing happened midway through restoring the SS. It at that time also left me without a Starcraft aluminum boat. In my search for another boat several years ago, I found the Starchief that just sold. None were super clean, but the hulls were solid and they didn't need any structural work.
Right now the only boat I have left is an early 60's Sea King (Starcraft), and a 15' Starcraft glasser which I figured to be either a 1960 or 61 model. (It has a state issued HIN and the state deemed it a 1962 for some reason.
I don't use it much due to the 15" transom and lack of motor options.
I do like all the added room since it don't have the huge spashwell like the SS or Jupiter did. The lack of splashwell area actually make the 15' glass hull more roomy than the Jupiter. Its also a drier ride due to the flared bow.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Never thought I'd see the day...

That is a ridiculous amount of money. Nice deal for you! You could buy pretty much what you want with that cash.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Never thought I'd see the day...

Did you just say you sold that boat for $6K

Oh my goodness. Unbelievable.

EZ, have you ever considered flipping Starcraft boats? I hear there is a great market up in the NE part of the country. Money to be made!

 

[barato2]

Re: Never thought I'd see the day...

i think the location factor would be key to making it work. buy in midwest or mid-south, sell in PNW or NE

 

[starcraftkid]

Re: Never thought I'd see the day...

That is a ridiculous amount of money. Nice deal for you! You could buy pretty much what you want with that cash.

The problem with that thinking comes when you realize fuel is over $4 per gallon at the marina.

I'm also inherently cheap, I rarely buy any boat unless it's a steal. Every boat I've owned was either from an estate sale or a trade of some sort.
With gas being as high as its been I'm thinking nothing larger than 16' with not more than 50 or 60hp. Like many others I've downsized my truck, downsized my boats, and these days think twice before running long distances on the water. I find myself using my 15' tinny with a 25hp on it more than any other boat. I can launch it quick, get where I need to go to catch fish without burning 20 gallons of gas. A tank of gas lasts several weeks. I think this was in the back of my mind now for a while. If I lived closer to bigger water then I'd be more apt to keep another bigger boat but most of my fishing is in the back bays and rivers. I don't ski, I don't just go riding around for the fun of it. If I'm in my boat, I'm fishing.

My idea of the perfect boat is a work boat with an outboard. No carpet, no fancy wood to maintain, no skis, no tubes, just bait and tackle onboard.

My ideal boat would be a small pilot house boat, when I bought the Starchief, that idea was on my mind but the lack of inside controls made it less than the perfect layout. I think that a Mariner or even a Holiday with a three sided enclosure may be the ticket. Something that would allow me to fish in the rain and still stay dry. Of course, having a small area that could be kept heated would also be nice since I fish well into the colder months. Since I often fish in the rain, I've also been told that I should look for a glass boat to avoid lightning but I'm not sure how much difference that really makes, and I prefer an aluminum boat. My Starchief had a full enclosure but it got in the way. With only a few feet of uncovered boat in the stern, casting a landing big fish was a real pain. I rarely used more than the main top and front curtains. mostly just to keep dry in cold weather.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Never thought I'd see the day...

The problem with that thinking comes when you realize fuel is over $4 per gallon at the marina. With gas being as high as its been I'm thinking nothing larger than 16' with not more than 50 or 60hp. Like many others I've downsized my truck, downsized my boats, and these days think twice before running long distances on the water.

Oh I hear you there. This weekend I was supposed to join the Chesapeake guys for a "fall colors run" but when I looked at their intended route (long) and factored in my drive down and back with the tow vehicle it was probably going to be like $150 or more in gas. That's just too much $$ for a couple hours of running around so I'm bagging it.