by: William Skalla II

How to find that perfect wooden boat restoration project. There are essential just

three simple steps to follow in order to obtain the a desirable brand and make of

wooden boat at a discount to market price. Things to consider, for instance within

the contentnental United States the value of money varies greatly. Where a job paying

$16 an hour in the midwest would be a respectable job, this same wage on the west

coast would barely support living conditions. Some key areas of the country to target

for boats in general is the midwest region surrounding the great lakes. Typically boats

are always going to be cheaper within this region then they would be in on the east

or west coast. Noteably though the size of the vessel your looking for might not be

available in these regions as ocean fairing vessels will be larger.

What are the three main considerations for finding a good wooden boat restoration

project, outside of boat condition, which might be a plus that is covered in another

article. The three considerations to be made are as follows, what proximity to home

does the restoration process have to be, finding the obscure gems, finding the unlisted

gems.

What proximity to home does the project have to be, well the reason this comes up is

the first topic referenced to above. Certain areas of the country will value assets at

different prices, a $100,000 boat in the midwest may sell for $200,000 or more on the

east and west coast. So if you have the time to work on a wooden boat restoration project

within different regions of the country this might be the easiest way to save considerable money acquiring the boat of choice. Unfortunately for most of us this is not an option as we

are unable to spend extended times away from home due to work or other issues. It still may

be cheaper to purchase the boat and actually pay to have it moved, if the cost of the

boat is $100,000 less in this region that means you can certainly cover the cost of

moving the boat and still have saved considerably.

If looking in different regions on the country are not really an option then there are

two more techniques that are very usefull. One looking obscure regions, within a tight

geographical region prices are going to be the most expensive in metropolitan areas and

close proximity of harbors. Starting the search within the interior may lead to savings

as these boats are easily over looked. Especially wooden boat restoration projects, being

that they are in the interior regions they are ussually equipped to be moved. That means

you won't be stuck at some marina working on the boat. It would be considerably easier

to tow the boat home and be able to work on it.

Looking in places outside of the harbors is ussually the best way to find that low cost

wooden boat restoration project; however, it is still important to check with the marinas.

Every year people decide to undertake a restoration project or let a wooden boat sit too

long. Many people find that they either get tired of the maintanance of wooden boat or that

they are no longer interested in the restoration process. The biggest hinderance to restoration project can be the storage cost of leaving it a marina, infact many times

these storage cost are more the capital spent on the boat. These leads to the abandonment

of many boats, instead of paying the storage fees they owner opts to desert the boat and

relinquish claim to it. The marinas are not interested in owning a project boat and are willing to get rid of at a extremely discounted rate in order to recoup the monies previously

owed to them.