What makes for a good restoration candidate?

[JonnyBoats]

I would be interested in hearing what factors people consider in selecting a ?classic plastic? boat to restore or use as the basis of a makeover.

For example, if one were selecting a Bristol 27, I take it an earlier one with a lead keel makes a better candidate than a later one with steel ballast? Is this true in general or just for the Bristol?

[Tim]

1. First and foremost, the boat must be of a design that you like. Nothing else means a thing if you can't throw your heart and being into the restoration/rebuilding because you love the boat. Frankly, the whole process hinges on this. It doesn't matter if everyone in the world agrees; you need to love the boat. Otherwise, it's easier, quicker, and more satisfying to buy a boat that isn't in need of the work. A lot of people seem to be able to buy and sail boats that don't stir their, or anyone else's, souls. There's no point in restoring if the end result doesn't make you double back for another look each time you leave.

2. I believe certain designs may be more worthy of expensive restorations than others, though this is somewhat subjective. There needs to be some redeeming value to the boat in order to at least begin to justify the efforts required to restore her. Things that might make a boat worthwhile for this effort include overall aesthetic beauty, excellent sailing characteristics, historic pedigree, and so forth. If you couple your own tastes from #1 above with the basic criteria of #2, it opens the door to a wide variety of designs from which to choose.

3. The details are certainly important, but don't always have an overall effect on whether or not the boat is a worthy candidate. Things like rig type, ballast type, layout, etc. are important factors, but their importance varies according to personal taste, willingness to deal with whatever intricacies of each type there are, and so forth. Steel or iron ballast, for example, may be less good overall, but is it enough of a deciding factor? Maybe: it depends on what other boat candidates are available to you. But I wouldn't necessarily discount a boat based on ballast type alone, if there were other redeeming qualities of that particular boat.

Also in this category is overall build quality of the boat, particularly the hull. Having a sound hull to begin with is certainly a plus when thinking of large rebuilding/restoration projects. There are enough problems to deal with in any job like this; knowing that the hull is ready to go certainly eases the concern. A boat with a hull requiring major structural work (imagine a hull with a balsa core in the same condition as so many of the balsa decks out there) would require a whole new level of commitment. Likewise, a chintzy solid fiberglass hull that wasn't properly built or supported in the first place might make a poor candidate.

As always, it all depends!