Hey gang. Introduced myself in my first post yesterday. I had asked about which boat to build. I got some great advice and it is much appreciated. After chatting with my brother and my wife, and deciding on the boats purpose, we decided that the Black Brant III would be our best bet. Aside from the one man layouts I built a few years back, this will be my first "big" boat build. I priced out the materials and was wondering if anyone knows what kind of value this boat carries once built, assuming good construction? I know that building something with my own hands and shooting birds out of my creation is priceless, but as far as resale if and when the time to upgrade happens. Thoroughly enjoying this site.
Black Brant III Value
- Thread starter Aaron B
- Start date
They are often hard to sell. Over the years we have watched many linger and go for pennies on the dollar. They do move with the right buyer, but that seems more rare than not.
Were I to build with any chance of selling, I would use name brand for everything I could, no bargain brand for wood or epoxy. That will add several hundred dollars to the build. A home built plywood boat very justifiably makes people nervous.
Aside from selling as you are planning the build plan to max out horsepower, the hulls need more power than you would think.
Were I to build with any chance of selling, I would use name brand for everything I could, no bargain brand for wood or epoxy. That will add several hundred dollars to the build. A home built plywood boat very justifiably makes people nervous.
Aside from selling as you are planning the build plan to max out horsepower, the hulls need more power than you would think.
Pete McMiller
Well-known member
Ditto what Tod posted. I've got about $2500 (2002 dollars) in my BB3 and have never expected to even get that back if I ever sell it. They are good, solid boats that can last a lifetime but few people value them as much as they're worth.
Thanks guys! I was just curious. I'm a toolmaker by trade and was a carpenter/cabinetmaker. I always have something going. I made my own decoys and hunting knives. I love to be busy on a project. We built our own home 16 years ago and 2 years ago built our hunting camp. Besides training the new pup, looks like the wife and I will be working on building a Black Brant III this summer. Thanks for the input. Most everything I build now a days I give away, so this will be money spent on a hobby I enjoy and chalked up to entertainment. I guess there could be worse ways to go thru 2-3k dollars.
Troy Fields
Well-known member
Aaron, For what is worth, about 5-6 years ago, I paid $2000 for a Devlin Scaup, boat, motor and trailer. The motor was an older 25hp Johnson that needed some TLC but it did run. I ended up selling that and purchased a 25hp Suzuki to go on the Scaup. I still have that package today. Good luck with your build.
This is a picture when we used the Scaup as a two man layout for a sea duck hunt here in Maine.
View attachment scaup.jpg
This is a picture when we used the Scaup as a two man layout for a sea duck hunt here in Maine.
View attachment scaup.jpg
Andrew L.
Well-known member
Hi Aaron
I built a BBIII 2 years ago & had about $3,000 in materials & parts. This included a deal on a trailer at $300, gas tank, wiring, electrical panel, ect. Only thing not included in that was the motor.
Similar model boats have become quite popular in the last few years from custom aluminum makers. County Line Boats, for example, offers custom sneak boats that cost more than building yourself (~$5,000), if you compare apples to apples. There are some other makers out there with less than desirable thickness to the hull that would run you about the same as building one in wood would. In fact, I found a maker in Iowa that was slightly cheaper but I still opted for the wood boat.
All that to say, if the sneak boat model continues to grow in popularity you may be able to get your money back out of a well built BBIII. As far as getting back money for your time, good luck
.
Plenty of good resources on the site for the BBIII build if you use the search tool but feel free to reach out if you have any questions along the way.
I built a BBIII 2 years ago & had about $3,000 in materials & parts. This included a deal on a trailer at $300, gas tank, wiring, electrical panel, ect. Only thing not included in that was the motor.
Similar model boats have become quite popular in the last few years from custom aluminum makers. County Line Boats, for example, offers custom sneak boats that cost more than building yourself (~$5,000), if you compare apples to apples. There are some other makers out there with less than desirable thickness to the hull that would run you about the same as building one in wood would. In fact, I found a maker in Iowa that was slightly cheaper but I still opted for the wood boat.
All that to say, if the sneak boat model continues to grow in popularity you may be able to get your money back out of a well built BBIII. As far as getting back money for your time, good luck
.Plenty of good resources on the site for the BBIII build if you use the search tool but feel free to reach out if you have any questions along the way.
Phil Nowack
Well-known member
Andrew L. said:Hi Aaron
I built a BBIII 2 years ago & had about $3,000 in materials & parts. This included a deal on a trailer at $300, gas tank, wiring, electrical panel, ect. Only thing not included in that was the motor.
Similar model boats have become quite popular in the last few years from custom aluminum makers. County Line Boats, for example, offers custom sneak boats that cost more than building yourself (~$5,000), if you compare apples to apples. There are some other makers out there with less than desirable thickness to the hull that would run you about the same as building one in wood would. In fact, I found a maker in Iowa that was slightly cheaper but I still opted for the wood boat.
All that to say, if the sneak boat model continues to grow in popularity you may be able to get your money back out of a well built BBIII. As far as getting back money for your time, good luck
Plenty of good resources on the site for the BBIII build if you use the search tool but feel free to reach out if you have any questions along the way.
oh really?
Andrew L. said:Hi Aaron
I built a BBIII 2 years ago & had about $3,000 in materials & parts. This included a deal on a trailer at $300, gas tank, wiring, electrical panel, ect. Only thing not included in that was the motor.
Similar model boats have become quite popular in the last few years from custom aluminum makers. County Line Boats, for example, offers custom sneak boats that cost more than building yourself (~$5,000), if you compare apples to apples. There are some other makers out there with less than desirable thickness to the hull that would run you about the same as building one in wood would. In fact, I found a maker in Iowa that was slightly cheaper but I still opted for the wood boat.
All that to say, if the sneak boat model continues to grow in popularity you may be able to get your money back out of a well built BBIII. As far as getting back money for your time, good luck
Plenty of good resources on the site for the BBIII build if you use the search tool but feel free to reach out if you have any questions along the way.
Thanks Andrew. Actually, Andy the owner of County Line Boats, is a good friend of mine. If we lived closer to one another I would give him my business. Like I said earlier, this will be a great project for the wife and I to do some "bonding".LOL.