We Buy Classic Boats
Serving the antique for 25 years
USA - Canada - Europe
Buying Wooden Boats
Then pick up the phone and give Mitch a call for more information on any of the wood boats you see listed. We own the boats, and they are all located right here in our warehouse in Minnesota. Quite a number of our antique boats sell before we manage to get them photographed and on the website, so it doesn't hurt to call Mitch once in a while and remind him of what you are looking for. Also, be sure to sign up for the Email Alerts. There is a box where you can enter your email address near the top of this page. You will receive an email with a boat picture, description and price each time a new boat is listed on our site. We won't bother you with newsletters and other emails, just the boat alerts. Sometimes the really great wooden boats will sell the same day they are listed, so the Email Alerts keep you in the loop.
Unlike folks with only one wooden boat to sell, we are willing to help you determine what kind of antique boat will best suit your purposes. We have been doing this for 25 years, so we are able to give pretty good advice. (Once in a while we even advise someone to go for a fiberglass boat.)
Antique Boat Ratings: Just to get you started, ask yourself this: do you want a project, or do you want to turn the key and go? Our boats are rated Project, Good, Very Good, and Excellent. The turn-key boats would be the ones rated Very Good and Excellent.
Hull Style: Would you be best served with a classic runabout or a utility model? Men tend to prefer the runabouts, while women like the utilities because there is extra room for swim toys and coolers.
What about length? Newbies often go for the smallest boat they can find, thinking it will be easier to handle, but that is not necessarily the case, so call and ask us about that. (You may of course be limited by the size of your garage or boat lift.)
What about price? Don't by shy, if you have set an upper limit, tell Mitch what it is. Finding the right boat is all about eliminating the ones that don't work for you. Since we own our antique boats - the price of each boat is relative to the others. In other words, if one boat on our site is priced $2,000 more than another one, then it is worth $2,000 more. But if you look at a site where hundreds of different people own the boats, the prices will not be relative to each other.
What kind of maintenance are you able to perform for your classic runabout? Boats that are used every weekend for the summer months, need to be varnished about every 2-3 years. It takes about 4 hours to remove all the hardware, 4 hours to sand the old varnish, and 1 hour to apply a new coat. You will generally want to apply 3 coats, sanding between each coat. This has to be done in a dust-free shop. If you buy your boat from us, we will either guide you through this process, or do it for you. Call Mitch Monday through Friday to get your questions answered about maintenance or any other concern. You won't find an email address anywhere on this web site, because Mitch prefers to communicate by phone!
The Number is - 952-471-3300