My dear father-in-law dropped off an old 18' fiberglass boat with a 35hp Mercury. The boat appears to be in structurally good condition, just needs a good cleaning and seats. The cables for the steering moves smoothly. Haven't tried starting the motor. I don't think I'm even going to try to tinker with it. Just reach my short arms into my pocket and maybe pay someone to go through it.

Where's that anchor wife color blind kraut? How much do you think it'll cost to me?

B - bust
O - out
A - another
T - thousand

There is no such thing as a free boat. Its like leftover bacon ... it does not exist. How old is the Merc, how long has it been sitting still, was it kept in a garage or out in a field. So may things that come into it. Did it run on ethanol fuel last ??? Was it fogged before it was put away ?? Could be a little as 300 bucks to get her serviced or it could be an anchor weight and anything in between.

I know next to nothing. I'll check the year of the motor tomorrow. It was last registered in 2015 and I would assume had ethanol fuel in it. Was kept outdoors in Wisconsin.

Sometime next week I plan on filling her up with water to check for leaks before I think about sending the motor in.

A boat is a hole in the water you shovel money into!

Big Bob has it right. What on earth did you do to pee your Father In Law off so badly that he bestowed an Albatross on you?

Yes. I once bought a boat!

X2 BigBob. My brother is giving up his charter business. 10 yrs. 2 launches. It is time. If he isn’t fishing with the boat. He is fixing the boat. His words not mine.

Did you get the paperwork for it?

An old outboard if can be made to run has value. If not it has scrap value.

An old boat trailer if can be made roadworthy has value. If not it has scrap value.

An old boat ( fiberglass hull ) that floats has value. If not , you have something that you have to pay to get rid of it , no scrap value in a giant piece of plastic. I've known people who had to cut up a boat into small enough pieces in order to save the cost of demolition. Not fun , many hours and plenty of saws-all blades. Obviously an aluminum boat hull has scrap value.

Depending on the brand/type of boat hull and the shape it is in will tell you if it is worth trying to fix up. I would not give you a nickel for a 10 year old Bayliner but a 40 year old Boston Whaler is worth something.

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Dad gave my brother and I a boat

I got out early with only $200 in the shredder

My brother stayed in a bit longer and lost about $300 . He did get the privilege of towing it from Nevada to Oregon....lol

We never had it on the water

He took it to a boat guy and they gave him an estimate to make it back into a boat .........he told them to keep it ....lol

my boat is called "the offshore bank" kinda explains it all

List it in the local classifieds and be rid of it and pocket some money

Otherwise be ready to empty your pockets many times

Can't be worse than trapping?

I've never wanted to throw my traps away .....lol

The two happiest days in a boaters' life... The day he buys it and the the day he sells it.

Yes. That is so True. I told my brother that one. He really liked that saying.

Sure had a lot of good fishing on that boat. But I was always a client

My 1984 sea nymph still going strong, replaced the motor and trailer in 2016, replaced the floor 10 years ago