What is a broken boat worth?

[TNbound]

I'm curious what you all think a broken boat is worth, as opinions on the subject seem to vary wildly.

Assuming the boat is in a condition that it could be repaired (or IS repaired) with a weld or some glass and epoxy, what would you call a fair price? I've seen people asking upwards of 500 bucks for welded boats, which seems a little nuts to me. The most intriguing was a pyranha Burn with a 1x1 foot patch which was clearly welded on to the bottom with the blowtorch/screw driver method that the owner seemed to think was still worth $350... I guess to me a weld seems like a pretty temporary repair.

I've had two broken boats, an XL13 and my Prelude, and I think that free was a fair price for them. The Prelude I had welded for 50 bucks and a six pack of Newcastle, and the XL13 I fixed on my dime and gave away to a new boater.

So, what do you all think?

[DougB]

It varies widely because the demand for each boat is different as is the demand within each local market.

As far as repaired boats, I've sold 2. One Starburst that was oil canning and had multiple cracks that were poorly patched in the field. This sold within hours of posting for $250. Another was a Swift Raven that had multiple cracks that were patched up very nicely. I got $150 plus a set of bicylce wheels. I had a Ocoee that's in such bad shape, no amount of patching will fix it. I traded this for a 12 pack of tall cans and it's since been cut in half and mounted for display in a garage.

It's the same for used boats that are not repaired. For example, I bought an unused Vertige X in NY for $800. I paddled it for 2 seasons then sold it in ON for $1100.

[Todhunter]

It varies widely. A repaired Royalex boat is not worth as much as well-repaired PE boat. There is a huge difference between a well-repaired PE boat and a poorly repaired PE boat.

[Bill M]

A well repaired rx boat is worth $300+ iho. An easily repairable one probably in the 200 range. Plastic is still a mystery to me.
Bill

[rowdus90]

I bought an ME a few years ago for a hundred bucks - It was all but destroyed, 20 or more hours of hard labor & about another 100 bucks in materials produced a boat I trust, my Kevlar patches/West System epoxy is holding up very well and showing no signs of stress.
I couldn't see sending a boat to the landfill that could still be fixed. It came with some decent wood gunwales, an older NRS bag that needed a patch or two, a saddle & thigh straps. I stripped it down, fixed her up and paddle it as my WW/solo camping canoe.
Just for an idea of what kind of shape it was in - It has ~15' of linear cracks (about 3/4 of the cracks didn't go through both layers of ABS, although several feet were completely fractured through) a few puncture wounds and a fist sized hole...She doesn't look pretty & always attracts some questions from other boaters.

[John Coraor]

Not only is it important to know the boat design in assessing price, but even more important is construction. Often "broken" composite boats can be very easily repaired in a manner that is structurally sound and almost as strong and light as the original layup. While a composite boat with repairs is always less valuable than a comparable boat without damage, neither their structural integrity nor their monetary value is compromised by well-executed repairs in the same way that tends to be the case with PE or ABS canoes.

John

[TheKrikkitWars]

Depends on what boat and how broken...

I usually reckon £150 ($240ish) is the most one should ever really have to pay for a welded kayak... and even then only small, solid welds....

[kaz]

I once sold a composite boat broken completely in half, and by that I mean 2 distinct pieces. Got $100 for it. That was in 1996. The owner of that boat fixed it and is still paddling it today.

[2opnboat1]

This would be hard to say, To me it would depend on how much the buyer was willing to pay. I think PE boats should sale for about a third of the new price. Royalex more like a forth

[Paddler]

Once a boat is cracked it's been compromised and is at far greater risk of breaking again, basically at that point your only paying for the outfitting.

[cheajack]

I have a Karnali C-1 with snowboard bindings for knees and rachet straps for thighs on a seat rail conversion that I welded a year ago and it is still going strong. I think the boat is worth $200 no skirt and no bags. Any takers?

[kaz]

Wrong forum.

[cheajack]

OK. Try this. I just bought an H3 hull with two cracks in the cockpit rim that had been welded sorta and I rewelded them. I paid two hunny for the hull and was glad to get it. My apologies to the assistant junior forum police.

[Paddler]

let me rephrase, once a boat is cracked it's been compromised and no longer legit for use on class V. On the majority of rivers using a cracked boat will be fine.

[cheajack]

I think all plastic boats are more likely to crack running Class V.