Donor Boat

[Jimbob]

I'm coming on the home stretch on my boat. Everything is new on my boat . Looking back, I probably could have saved money by buying a donor boat and taking what I needed. The trailer probably could have been modified to fit my boat. New boat trailers ain't cheap!
Maybe next time.
Jim

[Hercdrvr]

Jim,
I’m using a mid 80’s tournament ski boat as a doner. Most have a 351 engine with 240hp and can be picked up for $4000-6000.
Matt B

[BillJ]

Ive been wondering if finding an existing boat, motor, and trailer, to rob from might be a good idea for me as well. From what I understand, older 2 stroke motors are more powerful, weigh less, and are less complex, than the newer 4 strokes. Plus, by finding a donor boat, will give me something positive to work on while I get organized before starting the boat build. Then again, it all may be valuable energy spent on dealing with old tired equipment that I may not really want to involve myself in.

[sproggy]

I've been facing the same decision as I plan to buy at least an outboard this autumn (fall) when prices are lower. I can probably get a boat, motor and trailer for not much more than the cost of the motor alone (and there's the potential of testing the motor properly on the boat before purchase). And I'll have steering gear and other bits and pieces too. But then I'm faced with an old boat to dispose of, probably a tired trailer to refurb and modify to suit my needs (most come with rollers rather than bunks) and other stuff that's probably not what I'd choose if buying stuff new or even used but individually. Is the extra effort involved worth the potential, but by no means guaranteed, saving? I can't decide, but I keep an eye open anyway for the perfect motor/trailer combo anyway. If that doesn't appear in time I'll buy a used motor and worry about the rest later. After all I'm a long way from actually needing a trailer.

[BillJ]

Sproggy,

I think what I'll do is act like I'm going to buy all new, then maybe the right deal will fall into my lap. If it doesn't, then I'll happily spend full price money with the knowledge that things would not have worked out to my satisfaction grinding it out with someone else's old stuff.

BillJ

[mrintense]

Like Sproggy said, I too have struggled with this decision. For me it has the added complication of trying to find a dual axle trailer and a boat with an acceptable outboard. These two combinations don't seem to be too common these days. Lots of single axle trailers and lots of larger boats but with big iron engines inboard mounted.

In the end, I'll probably end up with mostly new equipment and a used trailer and outboard that I will have to refurbish. New outboards in the size range I want are anywhere from 8 to 14K new. New trailers are ridiculously priced because they can be.

[BillJ]

Oh yeah, those new large outboard prices will buckle your knees. I like tandem axles.

[BillJ]

Well I came close to finding a really nice donor boat over the weekend but at the last moment the deal fell through. The only negative about it would have been the size of the outboard (115 hp). Even though the boat, trailer and motor were all mid 80's, talk about excellent condition. Always garaged kept and covered. Not the first flake of rust anywhere. I was even planning to sneak it up to the Gathering for opinions on how I could adapt, modify, and use the 300 pound outboard. But alas, all gone now, back to plan A.