Hello Everyone. I have stolen so many ideas and I want to thank everyone for posting their projects. My plan is to have my project completed by early Spring. I have learned a tremendous amount through this website and by trial and error. Here are a couple of tips for people who are looking to purchase a boat.
When purchasing off of Craigslist (Texas residents especially) make sure it has a title. I found this boat on craigslist for $400. I negotiated a sale price of $350. This boat needed some welding but was a great platform to customize. It did not have a title. I read online to get a bill of sale and you can apply for a title. Texas Parks and Wildlife says differently. They would not let me get a title using the bill of sell because the boat was already titled in another persons name (any craft over 15 ft long requires a title in Texas.) I had two options at that point. The first was to get a bonded title. The bonded title option would have been expensive and could have back fired if someone else tried to claim the boat. The second was to locate the person on the title and get a power of attorney signed. Texas Parks and Wildlife gave me the name and address of the person that held the title. I did a google search for a phone number. I called about 50 people in and around the Houston area. Finally, I decided to drive 45 minutes to the address and I lucked out. The owner's ex wife still lived there and gave me the contact info for her ex-husband who now resides in Louisiana. I contacted him and was able to get the required paperwork signed. He also told me some history of the boat. He actually sank the boat in lake conroe after hitting a stump. He sold the boat shortly there after because he did not have the money to repair. Texas Parks and Wildlife said so many people are not able to do that. Please make sure you get a title.
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The second piece of advice I would like to give is find a good welder or learn how to weld. The boat needed some welding. I researched online and found a guy in Pasadena that did aluminum boat repair. I took the boat to his shop. I will not go into all the detail but when I finally got the boat back 7 months later it was in worse condition than when I purchased. I did not know what to do next. I considered selling and taking a loss. My wife convinced me otherwise and I found another welder. Mr. Klein with Klein Fabricating was awesome. He was hesitant at fixing my boat. He said fixing other welders' mistakes usually causes more but I convinced him to take the job. He re-welded everything, cut the transom down to accommodate a short shaft, welded a Fulton swing away tongue so the boat would fit into my garage. We decided to remove the wood transom and he built a solid aluminum transom so I never have to worry about wood rot. The boat looked great when I picked it up.
Now, to the project. I am building a flats style poling skiff. I have been watching the other thread about the flats skiff very closely. They are doing a great job. I may steal an idea or two from them. Below are the pics to show my progress up to date:
[img][/i
When purchasing off of Craigslist (Texas residents especially) make sure it has a title. I found this boat on craigslist for $400. I negotiated a sale price of $350. This boat needed some welding but was a great platform to customize. It did not have a title. I read online to get a bill of sale and you can apply for a title. Texas Parks and Wildlife says differently. They would not let me get a title using the bill of sell because the boat was already titled in another persons name (any craft over 15 ft long requires a title in Texas.) I had two options at that point. The first was to get a bonded title. The bonded title option would have been expensive and could have back fired if someone else tried to claim the boat. The second was to locate the person on the title and get a power of attorney signed. Texas Parks and Wildlife gave me the name and address of the person that held the title. I did a google search for a phone number. I called about 50 people in and around the Houston area. Finally, I decided to drive 45 minutes to the address and I lucked out. The owner's ex wife still lived there and gave me the contact info for her ex-husband who now resides in Louisiana. I contacted him and was able to get the required paperwork signed. He also told me some history of the boat. He actually sank the boat in lake conroe after hitting a stump. He sold the boat shortly there after because he did not have the money to repair. Texas Parks and Wildlife said so many people are not able to do that. Please make sure you get a title.
[img][/img]
The second piece of advice I would like to give is find a good welder or learn how to weld. The boat needed some welding. I researched online and found a guy in Pasadena that did aluminum boat repair. I took the boat to his shop. I will not go into all the detail but when I finally got the boat back 7 months later it was in worse condition than when I purchased. I did not know what to do next. I considered selling and taking a loss. My wife convinced me otherwise and I found another welder. Mr. Klein with Klein Fabricating was awesome. He was hesitant at fixing my boat. He said fixing other welders' mistakes usually causes more but I convinced him to take the job. He re-welded everything, cut the transom down to accommodate a short shaft, welded a Fulton swing away tongue so the boat would fit into my garage. We decided to remove the wood transom and he built a solid aluminum transom so I never have to worry about wood rot. The boat looked great when I picked it up.
Now, to the project. I am building a flats style poling skiff. I have been watching the other thread about the flats skiff very closely. They are doing a great job. I may steal an idea or two from them. Below are the pics to show my progress up to date:
[img][/i