Are You Ready for a Restoration?
You know you’re getting old when things you owned as a young man are now considered “classic.” The 289 Mustang I abused back in the early ‘70s today might be—after the application of thousands of dollars and as many hours of skilled labor—the pride of someone’s classic-car collection. At any rate, I hope so: That was a great car, and deserved better treatment than I gave it, trying to drive like Steve McQueen.
Same thing with boats: Find a top-end model from decades back that’s showing the years but whose fiberglass hull is still in good shape, and you can return it to like-new condition. Or even better than new, by installing modern machinery, systems and technology. And after all the checks clear, you’ll most likely be ahead of the game financially versus buying a comparable new boat. Plus, you’ll have a one-of-a-kind vessel, not one with two or three sister ships down the dock. It’s how I plan on living when I finally hang up the computer and move on board to live out my golden years, maybe on a boat built while I was still fishtailing my Mustang around the back roads of eastern Long Island.
Restoration, of course, means different things to
