Tritoon restoration

[Jeff J]

I’m thinking about trying to restore a boat that has been sitting for several years uncovered and outside. The 22’ Harris is 12-15 years old with the same vintage Honda 150.
- the deck feels solid.
-Rodents have had their way with the wiring. They left nothing to repair.
-Needs flooring and furniture.
-The motor controls must be replaced.
- The motor itself is unknown. It quit 5-7 years ago with no attempts to make it run again. I have not pulled the cover to see the condition of the wiring.
- The tubes have pitting from corrosion but I do not think they leak.
- The trailer will need 4 tires just to move it.

I have never untaken such a big project. I can figure most of the direct costs but don’t know things like:
- if it is better to install new decking than to just rip up and replace the carpet.
- I can make the wiring harnesses easy enough but I don’t have a rainbow of spools to pull colors from. I don’t know how many of the colors are industry standards so I do not know if I should make the harnesses.
- No clue on what I should offer. An internet value of the boat in great shape is $30K retail. The idea is to flip it so not wanting to provide free labor. I do realize it could end up being free but not wanting to start out thinking breaking even or losing money.

Any advice from those of you that have undertook similar projects?

 

[Scott Danforth]

depends on how bad the decking is. replacing with new is just a tad less work than scraping the old carpet glue off. todays pontoons are made with composite decking and usually seadek or gorilla deck

most of the wires are ABYC standard (colors in the electrical sticky). for about $100-$150 you can get a box of marine wire in all the colors you need.

people rarely make any money flipping boats. the primary point to restore most boats is to get the joy from the project or nostalgia on a specific boat. very few could be sold for a profit after. even the boat in my signature which I could sell today for about $25k would be sold for a loss considering the amount of blood, sweat, beers, and dollars that went into it.

if there is corrosion on the toon logs, you may need to reconsider unless you can replace them. pitting is bad, usually caused by galvanic corrosion

you should price new furniture, carpet, deck, toon logs, wiring, controls, etc. if you want to get 80% of the way to the 30k number you stated. I am not seeing prices anywhere that high for a 15 year old boat. most are in the mid to high teens for a 2010 Harris 220

 

[Jeff J]

I forget which internet valuation I based that on. I was looking for NADA and this other one came up. It was a retail estimate. Boats are high here.

Not expecting to make a ton of money. From a money making standpoint it would be much smarter to work up the cost and hire myself out to do the project. Everything hinges on the motor. It’s really easy to end up with a motor worth more than the package it is part of.

 

[Jeff J]

Swapping logs shouldn’t be a problem other than cost. New logs aren’t cheap and nearly as expensive to ship. I know a welder who would cut off the hangers and weld them to the new if they have to be reused. I don’t know what he would charge but he has done a lot of welding for me and always seemed reasonably priced.

The only reason I don’t like to pimp myself out is everything must be done to the owner’s time table. That and I like working for me more than making more money for someone else.

 

[MikeSchinlaub]

Swapping logs shouldn’t be a problem other than cost. New logs aren’t cheap and nearly as expensive to ship. I know a welder who would cut off the hangers and weld them to the new if they have to be reused.

New toons should come with everything already on them. All of the brackets should line up, but make sure to get every nut and bolt started before tightening any. Usually, the front brackets will not be pre-drilled. Be careful not to pinch/pull wiring when moving stuff.

 

[Jeff J]

More common around here to cut off the old and weld on the new BUT I do not know if they are OEM or aftermarket logs being used or just buying from the nearest manufacturer to save shipping. The SilverWave plant is a lot closer to me than Harris.

 

[Jeff J]

I just remembered. I have in my possession a recent written quote from a Bennington dealer to replace a starboard 22’ pontoon. $7635.70. The log and shipping from Minnesota was $6105.36. They would bolt that one on.

 

[StewartL]

Walk away. This is a money pit, not a flip. The unknown motor alone could cost more than the finished boat's value. You're looking at a total rewire, new flooring, new furniture, new controls, and a trailer rebuild. The costs will far exceed your $30k target, especially once you account for your labor. For a first project, this is far too big. Find a running project with a solid motor.