TOPIC: putting a value on a 1973 Larson

Hello, everyone. I have a question about putting a value on a boat. I am the program coordinator of a vehicle donation program at a non-profit agency in Minnesota. We accept donated vehicles, partner with area shops to refurbish them, and then match them with people or families working their way out of poverty who are at risk of losing their employment due to a lack of dependable transportation. Sometimes we receive very nice vehicles that we sell on consignment, using those funds for general program operation support.

Once in a while we receive an "oddball" donation request. This week a gentleman came to our office wishing to donate a runabout boat. It's a Larson All American Runabout w/canvas roof, 1973, 14 ft. Complete w/1960 Starflite 75HP Evinrude outboard motor, depth finder & AM/FM radio. This boat is yellow & white, has an older professional restoration & comes w/a ShoreLand'r trailer.

When we get vehicles, it's fairly easy to look them up on KBB or NADA, but I'm stymied by this boat. Additionally, when people donate a vehicle they generally say "either match it to a family or get what you can for it". If we donate it to a family, they receive a tax write off for the fair market value of the vehicle. If we sell it for scrap, they receive the scrap price. But with this boat, the party wishing to donate is asking for a reserve price of $8500, which is the amount they put into restoring it.

I informed them that we cannot guarantee a price for items we sell outright on consignment, and setting a bottom line price as dictated by the donor is sort of new territory for us. I have pasted a link to an auction site with a couple pictures of the boat. Additionally, the seller has a folder with pictures of the restoration process in all stages. I don't doubt that it was stripped down and restored from the ground up, but I'm not able to judge whether $8500 is a reasonable price to set. Is it lowballing? Too high? It's a generous offer to our agency, but I don't know if it is something that we can move and therefore we should accept.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!

www.liveauctioneers.com/item/11181103_runabout-boat-larson-all-american-runabout

Unfortunately, I think that price is a wild dream. You are however in MN where it was made, so there may be a bit of hometown pride that may help increase interest.

JonathonM,

WELCOME ABOARD. - Sounds like your non-profit is doing a GOOD DEED for the poor.

BUT my belief is that you have a ZERO chance of getting anything near 8500.oo for a 1973 Larson, as they are neither old nor rare.

yours, satx

Thanks for your kind words and responses. Yes, I more or less believed that it would be hard to ask for that sort of price for a fairly common boat, no matter how well restored. I just don't have a great deal of experience with boats and valuing/appraising boats. But just because something is old doesn't mean it's classic.

Look at craigs list in the Twin Cities under boats. You can find early 1970s fiberglass outboard boats listed everyday for free or a few dollars up to several thousand.

A 1973 Larson with a 1960 outboard motor and good trailer, everything in good working order, will be valued at $1,000 or so, on a good day.

Andreas

I'm no expert on Larsons so I could be wrong, but I don't believe that's a 1973. Looks more like the early 60's to me, possibly about the same age as the motor that's on it.

Thanks for the attentive eye. However, when he presented the portfolio of restoration pictures it included the original user's manual from '73. I suppose he could have just found the manual somewhere else and included it as an attempt to verify vintage. Who knows. I spoke with the person the other day (he's representing another party who is the seller), and stated that while it is a nice boat and a quality restoration, we can't really "guarantee" any sort of price. He understood, but I get the feeling that the seller may have delusions of grandeur about the value of the boat. Just because a person puts $8500 into a boat doesn't mean that the value is now irrefutably $8500.

You are absolutely correct in stating that investment into a restoration of the boat does not equal market value.

There is a pretty nice 1968 Larson outboard on the Minneapolis craigs list right now for $1,500; boat, motor and trailer.

Andreas

JONATHAN: WELCOME . I agree with all the info stated above by fellow members.. Your auction picture does look like early 60's ? 1) Look
on the outside right upper rear of boat , if there is a long H.I.N.
indent code about 11 letter / #'s long the boat is 1972 or later.
Last two digits will be year like 73. !! Interior hidden decal may tell if 1960 vintage , Like a Glasspar manufacturer. ?
2) The 60 motor adds no value as too old for mechanics, smoke
for current water lakes. A new buyer may rather a four stroke for
reduced pollution.
3) My initial guess at your 1st post was going to be around $1,500
Just like a house swimming pool improvement, a owner choice &
can not expect a large return on upgrade.
4) E-Bay is full of these charity sell -offs, ANGEL TREE , MUSTANG RANCH, you or prior owner can see past sales in less than 5 minutes.
Ask about boats / info anytime..
Again the correct year needs to be documented to represent
knowledge... Prior dept of Motor vehicle may have errors, as titles
were issued after early 60's , etc, etc.

This should be a link to a copy of the 1973 Larson catalog: web.archive.org/web/20060904161945/http://larsonboats.com/_download/_brochures/1973.pdf I don't see anything in there that looks like this boat. The style looks more like early 60's to me. Not a real good view of the motor on the auction site either, but the motor actually appears to be a little newer than 1960.

If the boat pictured in the link is THE BOAT that is being discussed, it sold for $500 last year at the Mikkelson Boat Museum auction...

(and if that's the case, I've got a real nice Dorsett Calypso to donate)

That's another curious thing. I found that image at liveauctioneers.com and came to the same conclusion, that it sold for $500.

There are two parties involved. The owner of the boat, and the person selling it/representing the owner. And the person who is representing the owner is also the owner/proprietor of the Mikkelson Museum.

As the story goes, the boat was bought for a small amount but had been sitting outside and unused for some time. A restoration was done, and now the owner of the boat is trying to sell it for what was put into it. BUT...at what point was it sold and to whom? Was it restored, sold to the current owner for $500 and now he's trying to sell it? Was it sold at auction in unrestored condition, then restored and is now being sold outright for the higher amount? It just seems...fishy.

I don't think they are trying to overtly pull a fast one, I just think someone had delusions of grandeur as to the potential value of this boat and they're trying the best they can to recoup their losses. I don't know if I would feel safe hitching my horse to that wagon. Sorry for the mixed metaphor.

I also thought that boats was mid 60s vintage.
Sometimes you have to "fire the customer". Don't waste your time or jepordize your reputation on this boat. Tell Mikkelson to sell it himself.

The motor is a 63, and the boat is also in that time period, not a decade later. If it is in boat show ready condition and comes with a trailer, it is worth $3500 tops. (on the open market) and I mean absolute tops, to someone who really really wants it. The Larson All American is a real plain Jane boat and there really isn't anything special about them. It is just a nice classic boat, nothing more.

I own a 1941 Larson Falls Flyer that my dad paid nearly double what it would sell for to have it restored. (flawless Tom Juul restoration) Good thing we really really like Larson boats. However, I do not need another fiberglass runabout.

Fishy is correct. Pass on this one and don't get involved in potential problems.

Andreas

Thank you, everyone, for your valuable feedback and advice! It's plain to see that the forumers here are knowledgeable and are informed enthusiasts. The extent of my boat knowledge starts and ends with my 16' Dacotah fishing boat and 20 horse Evinrude. You've all been an immense help.