Dilema, questions, FRUSTRATED!

[Spectre5922]

Some of you may have seen my posts about my 19-6 that I acquired and what I have started doing to it.  This is probably going to be long, so forgive me.  I have talked about my buddy that helped me get my boat and all of the help that he is giving me.  Well, I met him through the friendship that my wife had with his wife.  Now, that friendship has turned toxic QUICKLY because my wife continues to be friends with someone that his wife has become enemies with.  Our wives are completely at odds and are not talking.  This is putting a heavy strain on the friendship that I have built with him.  He is sticking up for his wife, and of course I am sticking up for mine.  We agreed last week that we won't discuss it or let this affect our friendship, but you know how things can get.

Now for the problem.

My boat is stored at his place.  He is a MASSIVE help in the work that I am doing to it.  Without him, I am lost as far as how to do certain things and also have nowhere to store the boat while I work on it since I live in a suburban area with a VERY strict HOA (neighborhood nazis).  If our friendship goes south due to our wives, I am stuck with a hull that needs finishing and nowhere to store/work on it and an incomplete knowledge of what to do or the budget to do it having to pay retail for supplies.  Also, I have been trading out working for him after hours to help pay for materials that he is donating to help with the boat, and since he works on boats for a living, I get discounts on parts/materials that he doesn't donate.

What I have right now is a 1976 19-6 hull with no motor, a soft spot on either side of the coffin, the hull is in pretty good shape with the exception of a few blisters on the transom, a modified console that needs finishing, all electronics/wiring/hoses stripped off the hull and a trailer that could use some work.  I have the brand new tank that I had fabricated for it with a new sender in it, a newly rebuilt teak door setup that we pulled off another boat and modified for the back side of the console and that's about it.  I do have a trailer that it is sitting on that needs a new tire, jack, receiver and fender.  I also applied for the boat title last week, so it has a good title that will be in my name.

I have already noticed a difference in his atitude around me even though we get along great without the subject of our wives coming into play.  He has only been married to his wife for a little over a year and she can be very vindictive.  I could see her saying "I don't want him (me) over here anymore and tell him to get his boat out of here."  If this thing goes completely south and our friendship is destroyed over our wives, what can I look at as far as how much to ask for a project like this in the Houston, TX area?  I have almost $800 in it plus a LOT of sweat equity, but I pretty much know that I would be dreaming asking for what I have into it.  I would love to keep it no matter what, but the timeframe of the rebuild would quadruple and the expense would probably do the same without his help and I just can't afford that right now.  If our friendship is destroyed, I will HAVE to get rid of the boat.  I am starting to wish that I had never even gotten into a deal where I am dependent on someone else to finish something but the lines on the boat are just SO DAMN SEXY.


Any advice would be greatly appreciated guys.

[Capt. Bob]

This question of value gets asked time and again on the Forum.
There's no chart, formula or reason but it's real simple.

Your boat is only worth what someone will pay, period.

When it comes time to sell you ask what you want to get and go from there. If no interest is shown, you lower the price.

To put it bluntly, these boats are worthless on the open market but can have value to a niche group of people that are looking for them.
For someone unfamiliar with the brand, they are looking for a "real deal" on a boat  so that leaves your market to the re-builders. Since they know going in (as you have found out) that the whole process isn't cheap, the boat has to be to begin with. A clear title is needed for everyone except the "come and tow it away crowd".

Good luck.

[seabob4]

The boat situation, well, that was part of the wives friendship, and, as it would seem, they weren't really friends at all, maybe aquaintances at best.  I have remained friends with a good many people that other friends of mine hate, detest, whatever, simply because I tell them that this person has never done anything bad to me, his/her behavior has always been on the up and up, therefore why should I hate someone simply because a friend of mine tells me I should?  That's about as childish as it gets...

This does not sound like it's going to come out good.  That being said, I would seriously start looking around, asking people, whatever, as to where you can store your boat at least, maybe for free with some bartering, or at least at a cost you can afford.  The other stuff your "friend" helps you with?  Well, you'll see in time where that goes.  But what you don't want to be faced with is a day (maybe sooner than you think, you know women) where you have to have the boat gone...NOW!!  Then you are truly SOL.  You might buy a couple days in the driveway, but, given your HOA, that's about all you would get.  

We can help you with how to restore your boat.  We are friends here, and notice, I didn't put the word friends in quotes.  But you need to prepare soon for what appears to be the inevitable...

BTW, my backyard is almost an acre.  You are more than welcome to stow her here (not the wife!) for as long as you want.  Hell, I might even re-wire it for you when I get bored...

[Blue Agave]

Solution......Get rid of the wives  

[Aswaff400]

what do you do for a living? for the storage issue, talk to your boss or the higher-ups, see if you can "rent" a spot in the parking lot or behind the building... most places i know will do this for their employees for really cheap if not then free

[fitz73222]

So what was the end game? If the boat was completely finished and water ready where would you be keeping it? Even if the relationship was sound; keeping it at your buddy's should not have been an option. Those situations don't usually last forever. With few exceptions, no one really likes to be looking at someone elses boat in their yard. Moving it to mow or blocking a driveway becomes a PITA in short order. Get creative about storing it in Nazi neighborhood. Many homeowners associations just require the that there be a fence in front of the boat to block the view from the road if you can keep it on the side of the house assuming no zero lot line clearance issues. Can you get the boat into your backyard and keep it from being visable to the zoning Nazi's? I have the same issues in my neighborhood and I'm able to keep a fully covered 22-2 at 30' long from cowling to tongue off of the radar. I move her around with my old international cub tractor and keep her where no vehicle can get to. My advice is to be proactive and get it out of there before that "Now" day comes or figure out what the wives problems are and put there asses in their place. This is an Aquasport for God sakes and exceptions need to be made!

[Aswaff400]

So what was the end game? If the boat was completely finished and water ready where would you be keeping it? Even if the relationship was sound; keeping it at your buddy's should not have been an option. Those situations don't usually last forever. With few exceptions, no one really likes to be looking at someone elses boat in their yard. Moving it to mow or blocking a driveway becomes a PITA in short order. Get creative about storing it in Nazi neighborhood. Many homeowners associations just require the that there be a fence in front of the boat to block the view from the road if you can keep it on the side of the house assuming no zero lot line clearance issues. Can you get the boat into your backyard and keep it from being visable to the zoning Nazi's? I have the same issues in my neighborhood and I'm able to keep a fully covered 22-2 at 30' long from cowling to tongue off of the radar. I move her around with my old international cub tractor and keep her where no vehicle can get to. My advice is to be proactive and get it out of there before that "Now" day comes or figure out what the wives problems are and put there asses in their place. This is an Aquasport for God sakes and exceptions need to be made!

some good points fitz. we're always on the HOA's radar, at one point we owned 5 trailers, where only allowed 2 which have to be out of site. were allowed to have a boat/rv/trailer on our front yard/driveway from 7pm thursday to 7am monday... if a trailer was in our yard 10 am monday, we got a notice the next morning sayinr remove the trailer of fines will ensue... it doesnt help when the person across the street calls the city on us every little thing we do or have... the guy 2 houses down is a guide and always has his boat in his driveway, i asked him if he ever got a complaint from the city/HOA, he said nope, when he's done washing the boat after use, he pulls it out in the street and leaves it hitched to his truck, sits on public property and is then technically part of his vehicle... i started doing the same with my boat/trailers, stopped getting complaints...

[Necessary Evil]

I rented an RV storage unit to house my boat. It has become my rebuild shop as well.

[Spectre5922]

Sorry for getting back so late.  It has been a very hectic few days at work!  I appreciate all of the responses, especially the friends comment.  That is why I like it here so much.  Everyone is so nice and helpful...  Even to noobs like me.    
I have not mastered the art of the multi-quote yet, so I will just try to remember what everyone said and respond.
First of all, it looks like everything is going to turn out okay.  Our wives are still not buddies again and may never be.  We have talked about the situation and agreed that we are not going to let our friendship be ruined because our wives can't be big girls.  It definitely puts a slight strain on the friendship since we both love and (sometimes) listen to our wives when they talk to us.  We just realize that neither one of us caused this problem, nor can we remedy it, so why let it destroy a friendship.
To answer the comments/questions....
I never would have gotten into a boat if it weren't for him.  He is a boatwright.  He owns his own boat repair business and is located in a rural area about 10 miles from my house.  He said before we ever got started in this deal that if I ever got a boat, I would be more than welcome to store it at his place.  His house sits on 20+ wooded acres plus his 4000 sq. ft. shop.  He has a huge boat storage area in the back.  Storing it was never an issue or concern until I got a case of the what-if's.  Storing it at work would definitely NOT work.  I am a residential construction supervisor and not only would I not be allowed to store it in the community that I build in (another strict HOA), but the gas would kill me transporting it to and from my house to work on it (I live almost 30 miles from work and my truck gets 9 mpg unloaded).
He called me last night and told me that he wants me to come over and work on my boat and one that he has in for repairs with him tonight.  Also, he has just donated a very clean set of guages, a nice set of rocker switches, a 3800gph bilge pump, a reallynice and restorable set of teak doors for the console and some other goodies to the cause.
I really hope that everything continues to go okay.  If not, you guys have convinced me to take out a section of fence at my house and put the boat in the back yard to work on it.  I don't mind paying for boat storage once it's finished if I need to, but I need all available funds for materials for the rebuild if possible.
The very good news is that it looks like I'll be getting a bonus at the end of the year and will be able to free up a few thousand to dump into the boat.  That should go a long way towards getting her ready for a newer motor.
Thanks again for all of the advice and support!  If any of you are ever down around the Houston area, give me a shoult and you can come over to my place for dinner and we'll get some fishing in!

[seabob4]

Well, that's more like it!  And it sounds like your buddies place is about perfect for storing/working on her.  

Sometimes things appear to be more serious then they really are (and visa versa).  A few days of thinking things through, a bit of talking and reasoning, and, viola, all gets squared away!  Calm, cool, collected wins hands down everytime...