I have spent well over 40K on my rebuild. go look in the cig form "bullet rebuild". lots of people have said, you could have had a top gun for what your spending or any other newer bigger boat. true but I have no note, know the hull condition, new motors drives, trans, gembles, all new dash wires rigging. no bare metal any were all powder coated or anodized etc. now take that money spent on all the new stuff and glass work and go buy a newer bigger boat. then drop 30k on motror 6k on drives, new transom because someone didn't fix a leak or bad seal. the list goes on and on. unless you can get a fairly new boat then I see no point in taking someone else cover up and crap cheap fixes. found a lot of that on my boat and now its better then ne.w could not afford a boat as nice as the rebuilt boat will be.

Agreed, you know what you have and in the end you`ll end up with exactly what YOU want.
I spent and continue to spend a stupid amount on my boat that I know I`ll never get back but I know every bolt nook and cranny and it`s exactly how I want it.

sell and upgrade, I spend enough time chasing subcontractors all day. Nothing worse then having to fight to get what you pay for in the first place. When its time to do a major restoration have 2 boats !! I have done minor and major projects my 2 cents.

i have done it / am doing it, it has taken 4 years to get to the point that i could use it. And do not regret it at all. Mine was a complete rerig, removed old engines, trs drives and transmissions and converted to bravos with extension boxes. Went from a 55mph boat to an 87mph boat thus far. Have not touched interior and paint yet other than gaugs but that will be sooner than later.
However i did not buy everything new. If idid i would be well over $40k thanks oso swap shop!
Benperfected is another one he has got ungodly amount of money his boat search the web under scarab panther
unbelievable what he did with his. Light blue with red panther.

I'm looking at a boat now. The seller is a few thousand over market value on his ask. My biggest argument is dropping in a 383 over the stock 350, is an upgrade but it didn't add value. That's the problem you can add all kinds of upgrades, but it won't add value to a boat. The one I'm looking at is 27 years old, so its really hard to justify paying a premium for. And that's how most buyers see it. Id sell and get a newer boat.

I would agree with those that said to update, but put yourself on a budget. Fix what gets you on the water and running, then work on cosmetics. You don't have to do it all in one winter. That way, as someone mentioned, if life changes and you decide to upgrade a year or two later, you have less in it than if you did it all at once. My strategy would be to slowly upgrade what I had for cash, and always keep an eye open for the next boat. If you stumble on a great deal for an upgrade, you didn't spend the whole 40k so you can jump on it. You can always finance the value of your 311 and when you sell it pay it off. Doesn't matter what you're in, as long as you get out on the water. You won't get the 40k back from the 311, but your 55k new boat will depreciate anyway more than likely if you go newer, so you're throwing the money away in either scenario Ah, boats...

lots of great points, and the argument for both is valid, one thought is a 60k boat has alotta depreciation left, the 311 has basically bottomed, out, only money left to lose is the amount your willing to put into it, I would think a refresh would cost lss then the money your talking, but I guess it depends on the extent of your plan, If the size works for you what are u gonna do? sell it to bye a newer 31ft? doesnt make much sense when it sounds like u have a solid boat

Get rid of the "old stuff" because at the end of the day,Its still old stuff. Move up, live your life, have fun!

Winters a comin, take a long hard look at whats available for sale at what price, both from a buying and selling perspective. That should give you a heads up on what direction to go . It's always hard to turn loose of a family fave, probably why I have 3 boats and 3 jet skis.

Honestly I'd like to get into a 30ish ft cat, I've always wanted a cat and I'm sure the wife would understand if the right deal comes along. Never tried but I doubt you could wake board behind one. I'm starting to have intermittent ignition problems with port side and she ticks a little but still holds good oil pressure. I'm thinking carb rebuilds (leaking accelerator pumps) and new marine HEI's and run her another season. Maybe a great deal will pop up, if not pull the twins and give them a once over.