here is a stupid question
 

Ok some of ya on here know me and some dont,i have rebuilt a old magnum and my passion for offshores is almost a sickness....My question is how due i get more involved with either racing or building boats....My wife has given up with trying to talk me out of it, now she is supporting me and my sickness buy pushing me into a carrer change.......I have a little money put away for bills etc.......I was wondering if anybody has done this or thought about it...................Because i know must of us are boat crazy................You would think if a big boat dealer was looking for a rigger or mechanic they could use oso as a resume almost, heck you can follow my rebuild of the mag to a tee....

are you nuts??? never make your hobby your living,you will end up hateing it. I know I did. Good luck

Racing or building boats = Loose Your Azz. Don't do it! Stay a hobbyist or rig some boats for others on the side.

If you want to make a million racing boats, you need to satrt with 2mm:D

I've thought about it lots of times... My family thinks I'm crazy, but do what you love to do and the money will come. We've come to realize I've got the PBO disease (Power Boat Obsession) :D

Where do you store your Magnum?? I'm in your area all the time. Actually be in Riverview in the next few hours, then off to Macomb for New Years dinner.

Ileave it in my one of my dads buildings in flat rock.....It's in my driveway now.....

I know you are probably right.....

If you're well capitalized and in an area where there is heavy recreational boating there are possibilities. If you only want to work on "cool" boats, Michigan might not be the best place. Plus the marine industry is in a significant downturn- fuel is WAY up and the economy is soft. You're going to have to wade in and compete with alot of hungry folks with many years of experience and strong reputations.

Re-doing your own boat is something that someone might be able to be passionate about. Being motivated by showing pride in your workmanship and the anticipation of the fun times to come can mask some of the unpleasantries of doing the work. Doing it day in and day out might not be quite as special an experence for you.

I have a son in college right now and we've been having these career conversations. He wants a career he can be passionate about but he's not really interested in much that will pay the bills in the real world. As I continually point out to him, there isn't a job in the world that will provide you fulfillment if it won't provide for your family- now and into the future. You could have the coolest job in the world but if you can't maintain a decent standard of living, what's the point?

I know what I'd be telling you if you were my son-in-law...

I agree , keep it as a hobby and do some jobs for people on the side. Keep the normal day to day job to pay the bills and support the family.

When you do it for a living on your own you'll have to take whatever comes your way to get by and then it feast or famine. If you do it on the side you can be picky about the jobs you take in and keep your rates low enough that people will be interested in you more, especially if your quality is good.

I too have felt like you and I am posative that if I hit the lottery big I would end up squandering millions building my own boats. That being said, I am enjoying my hobby of poker running. I was blessed in college with the ability to race with an offshore team and pay for it with sweat and blood.
If you are obsessed with racing, there are alot of reasonable classes out there running single 525's and that can be sustained relatively moderately. Building boats is a lossing proposition right now. Look at all the big names right now. I know more than one that laid off over a third of their employees this year. Then there is the finance problem. I could go on and on but won't bore you.
Follow your heart but use your head and maybe you can find a way to expand your obsession without destroying your love and finances. I find traveling to new areas on poker runs has really eased my bug for doing more in the sport.

Another perk of being on the poker run or racing circuit is actually getting to know alot of the owners and execs. from the boat companies. It is amazing what you learn from some of these high end boat manufactures when you get drunk with them at these runs.:drink:

Did you ever think of trying another project whereby you buy something in need of your talent at a depressed price (it happens to be a buyers market nowdays) that you can rebuild and flip at a profit? You have to buy right so you can sell right or you will end up holding it or losing on it, but I've seen a lot of deals come down the pike lately that could have worked out for greater gain if there were someone who could provide their own labor to gain equity. A lot of these deals are not deals if you buy them and then pay a shop or dealer a ton to get them going. With the soft economy, and high gas prices, people are still going to want high performance pieces but they are not going to want to pay new inflated prices if they can buy a quality used piece for tens of thousand less, that they know has been massaged by a craftsman that knows his work. The $64 question is can you buy something, perform the necessary repairs and sell at a profit, so that each time you can reinvest your profits into the next venture. If you are looking at doing something on your own and you don't have the considerable backing that has been mentioned previously, this is one possibility, and you can still keep your day job until doing this over and over gets you where you want to go monetarily. Also, with the abiltiy to use the internet you can bring the world to you for the purpose of advertising and selling, thus eliminating the need to relocate until you are better able to do so. My $.02.

Keep it as a hobby. You DO NOT want to be in this business. You will get screwed often and good workers are hard to find. More and more marinas are for sale and going out of business for a reason.

Racing-OPA is the most affordable.We plan on making a retursn to the circut in OPA soon.

Sound advice thanks chris....

The problem with flipping boats is ya have to sacrifice somewhere to make a buck...I would just like a few customers a year that want good quality work and are not cheap....I really overbuilt my boat because it was a passion and i planned on keeping it, i try to put that kind of effort into anything i due.......Maybe i could just seek employment somewhere for sombody, in the marine field..

great advice

Every successful boat builder still in existence has "Paid their Dues"...bigtime. You will have a "No Name" boat for many years until people get comfortable seeing your name on many boats, many times a day. If you service the hell out of your customers and build a decent product at a decent price, you MIGHT make it as a boat builder EVENTUALLY.

I am a firm believer that if you want to get into a new field, talk to somebody who is already doing it and see how happy they are. Most people are happy to share their thoughts with someone who shows genuine interest.

My intrest really is not in the boat building buisness(that is almost impossible) I just want to be more involved in racing, rigging and being a bigger part of what is so great about this sport...I am not dumb by any means i just want to help others and due what i love.....When i go to the races 3-4 times a year i find myself in the pits looking and asking questiones about there set up and how the boat is running...I actually like that more than the race itself.....Hell i would be happy just handing tools to someone i can absorb more knowledge from.....I thrive to learn.....Its in my blood.....I cant stop looking, thinking,talking,learning everything there is to know about the sport....

If you want some more practice, come down here and help me put my Pantera project back together - Or, I'll bring it up there. I just don't have a shop space, so I'm stagnant until the weather breaks. I'd also be afraid to shoot paint myself, I just don't have any experience in it.

Getting involved in high performance boating was the best thing I ever did. I was a late bloomer, as I was 20 years old before I discovered how much I loved flying across the waves on Lake Michigan.

Somebody famous once said: "Find a job you love and you'll never work again".

I did the same 26 years ago. Now all I do is maintain the trucks and car. I work in a GM dealership and work on cars and trucks all week long. I love working on my boat in the summer months so why turn a hobby into a career as much as I would love to be around boats for a living it would sooner or later turn on you. Keep it as the most awesome hobby there is as long as you can afford it:D

You mean to tell me that some people can afford this??
I just thought it was the same as being a junkie.

Amen

True, I needed something to do during the winter so I just bought a 509 bottom end and am building a new engine for the boat. Now to find somethings to sell to finance the build:D

Its almost as bad as OSO!!! What the F am I doing on here tonite?????

[QUOTE=nocigarette;2388646]The problem with flipping boats is ya have to sacrifice somewhere to make a buck.. QUOTE]

No, that's the problem with business itself. It's all about sacrifice. Anyone in business that is successful had to give up something on the front end to reap the benefits on the long end. It's called the big picture. OSO is full of heavy hitters today who started at the bottom and most paid the price in one form or fashion for their success they now enjoy. The hardest thing anyone ever did was make a profit, if they did it legallly.

I have been following your build like you probably followed mine.......Man i wish ya were closer, pm me you phone # and we will get together over a beer some time.....

nocigarette, if you are in your early or middle years of earning power consider going for it if you have about 5 years worth of savings. If you are in your later earning years and have stacked up a very good retirement package go for it. Nothing quite like doing what you love for work.

If on the other hand you are older and have not stacked a big retirement package, keep your day job.
Best wishes and Happy New Year.

I am not like a lot of the guys here (big money) ...I have worked in the construction industry my whole life and have not lived beyond my means...With that being said i dont save the money my wife does, she is the one pushing for me to due what i love....She is real supportive in what ever i due.....I know i can always build on the side and i am not going to jump out of the operating engineers union just yet......I dont really want to lay out all my financial's , But i am only 33 and i have a good pension and i dabble in the market a touch (with my father in laws advice)......I just thought it would be nice to enjoy to go to work again.....I kind of miss that............

Nocig,why not take your old Mag and set it back up for racing?Sounds like you got a lot of old Mag racers up there,should be able to find one willing steer that thing for you.Get Smitty on the phone and find out what you need to do to join OPA and what class your going to race.I would bet after that first race you will Know what you want to do.

We used to have a group called boat racers anonymous. If you couldn't race for some reason (health, wife, etc), they would send someone around to drink with you until you got over the urge........

well said Tom :D

NoCig, if you want to race, I'll jump in the boat with ya.
I might even have a sponsor to throw a few $$ at us.

Race and fix,customize,rig boats as a side business, plus its a way to write off your racing expenses.