i had an interesting conversation with a gentleman

i had a very interestign conversation with a gentleman concerning a boat he was interested in purchasing.the boat was a 29 blackfin,no engines,no gears,been sitting for a little while was what he said.he also told me the electrical system was new as well,he wanted to "build a beast" as he put it.i asked hte gentleman what his abilities were,be honest i told him...he had little to know experience,and he also had little to no money...this is a bad combination...i spent an hour or so on the phone with him,explaining to him and giving him a rough idea of what things cost,engines,gears,numerous items...he got the idea of how big this kinda stuff is,so he dropped the idea...then,he called me again,his new idea was to put an outboard bracket on the boat,and drop a set of 350 hp yamaha 4 stroke engines on it...
first,i'm gonna show you the boat...

here's the boat...

pretty intense huh ?

what would you guys think would be required to get this going ?
let's hear it...

Ahh,, couple of bucks and she will be good to go. Ive seen what cleaners and fabric repair products go for on the info-mercials. 19.95 to fix the ripped seats and 12.95 for getting that hull into a sparkling clean shine. The floor? A tube of 5200 and a sheet of plywood, oops, make that exterior plywood, I know, I know, Its a little more money, but you wont regret it in the long run. Now motors,, Cant we mount bow thruster all across the transom? We can do it on a huge bracket, maybe 5 or six. That should be plenty of juice, and just think of the looks you will get with all those propellers. Woohoo. So, my price is 89.95 total. plus i will throw in a sham wow. God what a dump of a boat. lol joe

Im in if you sweeten the offer with two sham wows

I'm guessing the tire is included????
What about the log blocking the boat up, could be used for the fire to collect the insurance money...

Two to three times the original budget. At least four times the original time estimate. And your determination to finish the job will be SEVERELY tested. I have done three total restorations on quality hulls and I look back now and say to myself, "What was I thinking"? However I just finished the last one which took me five years, and quite frankly, the only thing that makes sense is that I have a tremendous feeling of self satisfaction. It really is a labor of love.

i didn't post this to show how smart i think i am,or to "make fun" of this guy.the idea here was to show what's required to rehab something like this.it takes money,BIG MONEY !!!
here's a quick guide here...
diesel engines,reman,complete engines with gear,cummins "b" series,approx 50k for the pair
shafts,props,dripless boxes approx $3,500
fuel tank(s),rewire the entire boat,repalce all electrical equipment-approx $ 8,000 materials and equipment-no navigation equipment-figure another $15k for nav equipment-see where this is going ? by the time you get done,you spent in excess of $100,000 rehabbing this,there's no cheap way to do this...

My first reaction on seeing this photo was being sick to my stomach. What a sad sad state of affairs for a really good boat.

While I've only done one full and one partial restoration of quality boats ( the partial was a Bert 25 that was the victum of a divorce).... I will say that they are a "labor of love" for sure. Waaaay more time and waaaaay waaay more money that you would think up front. You better have deep pockets or a good skill set, a meticulous work ethic, and a willingness to learn if you want to do it yourself.... and you better REALLY like the boat, you'll have it a long time (barring family court judges with grudges against men) and never get your money out of it.

Personally I'm not a fan of the "put a bracket on and mount...." fix to any I/O powered boat.

Re: Jawz initial quote "spent in excess of $100,000 rehabbing this..". Given what you would have in your slip when this is all said and done and the price and quality of new boats, if this boat was structurally sound its a good deal. To do it on "the cheap", I'd put a pair of FWC SBC Crusaders in it and look for a pair of 280/290 SP Volvo drives and cut the transom hole larger for the Volvos... 280/290 series Volvos , if well maintained and not damaged are very reliable.

5 Gallons of gas and a match would really get it going! You would be "building a beast" of a fire.

It's a classic, but at some point a classic becomes a relic.

Boats sure are like women. Expensive to get, expensive to maintain, expensive to play with and it just gets worse with age!

Can't beat the deal on the reman Cummings. New non-computerized motor at reman pricing. If I could find the right project boat I would do it but haven't found the right hull yet.

hey bob,retriever,that boat,it has straight inboards-i think you're looking at the rudders thinking they're outdrives-a blackfin like this one has outboard rudders...

adding a bracket to a boat...well...if the boat's an inboard set up,it gets a little tricky,due to the fact the transom isn't cored like an outboard,or a stern drive boat.first,you will need to build a suitable transom core,and tie this altogether with the stringers,then i reccomend adding support brackets,these should run up the inside of the transom and tie into the stringers,assuring full support-not a cheap task here huh ?

You're right... I looked at the first photo and though they were MERC drives... Hey... black and stuck out the back!!! L.O.L.

Converting a straight inboard to O/B w/brackets is even crazier. Not only do you have the transom strength/support issue as you indicated, but you will totally louse up the trim of the boat.