When I brought my deal home I still had not decided if I was going to use the hull or not. Essentialy I bought it for the motor, hardware & trailer.
After some research I found out the boat had some pretty cool history, & Jim Anderson (126driver) had nothing but good things to say about it. At that point I decided to restore the hull.
I thought around 3K would cover the hull. Well all said & done I was right around 6K before paint. The labor was at least 3 times what I thougt it would be. Ended up right around 500 hours. Now I did all the inside work myself, with the help of my buddy Paul & the best mixer & clean up man around, Cole Man.
The outside glass work, Paul pretty much took care of. The outside was in pretty bad shape. I needed a pro to get her right. That & spraying the paint was the only thing I paid labor on.
Would I do it again, probably not. I am hoping to be able to build another boat some day, but It will start with a new hull. And I will fab. all the hardware.
But I could not be happier with the results.
As she sits right now I am into her for around 23K. This is initial boat, motor & trailer costs plus materials & parts. It took me pretty much 3 years to get her running (they are never done).
As Wayne pointed out "Restoring is half the fun"
Fiberglass work sucks, Fabbing new parts & putting the whole deal back together was awsome. And I could not put into words the pride I have in her. Especially on the water when she whoop's ass on all my friends.