Clustergear

I believe one of the major draw backs to collectibility of old offshore boats is size. When someone collects something they like to display there collection so they and other can look at it. With boats you would need a big building, which most people don't have room or zoning will not allow. What fun is it to have your favor collection sitting outside under tarps where it can't be seen and enjoyed.

c_deezy

That's it right there. Overall size and everything else that goes along with a big boat.

Most everybody has a garage they can park a car (or even a motorcycle) in to keep it out of the weather. When you start talking about big boats you start talking about big buildings, and big trucks to pull the boat, etc.

olredalert

----I certainly dont own the 4 boats I have because I expect a big payday down the road. With that said I hope to at least break even on one or two of them. Im not sure that the lack of borrowing power has too much to do with things. There arent a lot of big car collectors that borrow to feed thier addiction. I do see growth in interest in "Classic Glass" and thats a good thing. ACBS now accept fiberglass boats earlier than 1976 and two of my boats have been fairly well accepted by the "woodie set"!!! That this thread is now three pages long gives me a bit of hope, as well........Bill S

TrippM

Personally, I am glad that classic offshore boats are not skyrocketing in value because that attracts speculators who drive the prices higher and push them out of reach for many potental owners. I've seen speculators at work in the classic car hobby, most have little or no interest in the significance of the car, for them it is merely another quick profit opportunity. I believe that these pieces of history deserve to be owned and cared for by people that know about the boats and can appreciate them for what they are.

scarab63

Cars are more collectable because they speak to almost everyone. Everyone has been in / around cars their whole lives. " I remember my grampa had an old j10 jeep" or " man my mom used to drive a cutlas exactly like that one"
People have personal experiences with cars everyday.

A lot of people have never even been on a boat, never mind a family member, or themselves owning one.
That's why old boats are less collectable. Less demand for them. That will keep the cost down.

f_inscreenname

I not saying get rich but I wish they would be worth at least what you have in them when done. For the love of it only pays so many bills.

Cary 29

I agree with all that has been said. Only a handful of special men have truly enjoyed and been enpassioned with these boats. They are costly hard to really use for the average guy. A lot of work.time. etc... However that is what makes us appreciate what we have. The true history is amazing of this hobby. The masses can enjoy cars but that is good also. It is unbelieveable though to own a boat that is one of maybe 6 boats and not have many people understand its true significance.

articfriends

Never going to happen, too big and too expensive. Collector car market is going DOWN slowly too, I believe other than adjusted for inflation collector cars will NEVER bring the money they did 5-10 years ago when tons of baby boomers with houses paid off and flush with cash bought the cars they COULDN'T have when they were young. Heres a couple examples, I am very into 2nd gen transams, a 73 or 74 T/A SD 455 would bring 60-120K a while back, now they languish on Ebay for 45K and never seem to sell. A numbers matching1965 425 hp BBC 4 speed Vette with 33,000 miles sold for 31,000
1965 Chevrolet Corvette - Repocast.comŽ
a 1970 AAR 340 6 pack Cuda sold for 30,000
I would have though these cars would fetch at least 1.5X what they did but again, I been watching 73/74 SD T/A's for years and they have been steadily going down, old boats are somewhat of a liability, you have to store it and keep it from rotting away,if you get sick of a bb vette you could always firesale it and it will be gone immediately, get sick of a 1979 42 ft Cougar and it might tale 3 years to sell it even for 1/2 of what you would think its worth, Smitty

f_inscreenname

See thats the thing I dont understand. Cars are expensive in every way. I can buy a boat, fix it at will and go to DNR and buy $12 sticker and I am on the water with whatever I can get there with. It could be a rowboat with a 6 hp outboard to a 2000 hp full-blown drag boat. No inspections, no insurance to carry all year long, license plates with $50 stickers every year and most of all I can go as fast as I want to until I run out of gas (I understand I can't in 6 mph zones) and never have an issue. In a hot rod on the street you can be pulled over just for looking fast and you know you're getting a ticket for it. Not to mention all the stupid drivers out there. At least on the water I have a much better chance of either seeing your stupidity or at least have a way to get away from you. On the street you're at the mercy of the yellow lines and even though you can avoid some things there's usually a ditch or telephone pole waiting for your next move. Just as an example I have been rear-ended three times in four years in my truck. An old hot rod would either mean lots of money out-of-pocket or my insurance going through the roof.
Most of all the expense would come from my lead foot and the points that I would get and how my insurance would correspond to those points. Little too old to lose my license for some stupid thing like drag racing up route 10. So that's why I do boats. But at the same time I don't want the same boat that you have so that's what leads me to unique boats. That's why have a 1959 Biesemeyer that they only made four of. Also a Allmand Nova 19, one of about 70 built and one of only two on the water today. A 1970 Monza, little more common but you don't see them everyday.
And then there's the race boat. The holy grail of unique. I will bet my house that you will never see the same boat even though they built thousands of them based on the design. Not only that but having number one of any series is always a good thing.
It's not a family boat but it's our family's boat and we take pride in that. Yeah she's a trailer queen and for that matter in the next couple weeks the trailers getting about $2000 in upgrades and yet she's still a trailer queen but for people who have done a few boats in their past I almost feel like it's their obligation to rescue some of these pieces of history. For me to see a boat that at one time was in a magazine or some offshore history book deteriorating behind someone's warehouse or in someone's backyard or woods or whatever it drives me nuts.
One of the reasons why these boats never get fixed (I hope no one here takes offense) is because the owners think they have bricks of gold sitting in their driveway/backyard/woods when they have bricks of crap with some history attached. I've inquired about a couple race boats and for something that been sitting in the weeds for 30 years they still want $20,000 for. Insane. I understand there's history but I also understand that the boat is well on its way to being history. I just wish they would show a little respect to the history of the boat and realize that if they ever want to see the boat saved they have to give it up and if they don't they're being a bit selfish if you asked me. Sticker shock has scared away more than one guy that wanted to restore an old race boat.
Then you have the purest that scare anyone they can who would attempt to do one. I don't know how many times I've been told that if I wasn't going to do it their way then I should have left the boat in the weeds. They would rather see the boat turned to dust then say have a Chevy motor in place of a Ford. I wish they would just help and layoff little bit.
Then there is the theory that it's going to cost you $200,000 to fix up a $10,000 boat. Not saying the first boat you should jump into is a unique race boat but if you have rebuilt a couple boats over your lifetime they are not much different. You search eBay, you check websites like this, call in favors and don't be afraid to get your hands dirty and most boats can be done for a fraction of what most people think.
Then it's the people themselves. Not sure why people equate fiberglass with brain surgery. You can screw it up, grind it off, screw it up, grind it off and on and on and on and on until you get it right. Bodywork is bodywork if you can do it to a car you can do it to a boat. 12 volt electronics are simple. Most of all old race boats were designed to be as simple as can be. I think most people sell themselves short when it comes to this stuff. They also put ridiculous time restraints on projects like that. I don't know how many times I've heard people think they'll be done in a summer when I would look at it and think it will take more like two years. Then when not done in the summer they give up. Once you accept it's going to be two years or some other realistic time period and spread out the cost over that time it makes things a lot easier.
Once people get past those four things you find that is no big deal. I would do another one in a heartbeat but after my race boat they got much bigger and I dont have the room.
Last I have to say that a fiberglass boat can last pretty much forever as long as you take care of it. I guarantee you one day even if it's 20 or 30 years from now it will be worth something. LOL. My race boat is 46 now. What you think a 76-year-old race boat would be worth?

mr3dman

F_inscreenname, you are my hero man. So well said