TOPIC: 1959 Holiday Boat

I have this 1959 Holiday boat. I've had it for many years and I'm wondering what to do with it. I used it up until 2003.

I'm not sure what the model is but LOA is 16' plus some some change, Beam is 76". I has a 1971 merc 800 OB purchased new by my father who owned it before me.

Overall condition is fairly good, it has most, if not all of the original hardware. Restoring it would be fairly easy I would think.

Question is...is it worth it? Is this boat worth anything besides the MANY pleasant memories of using it? (my wife and I used it on our honeymoon among others).

Any thoughts on this boat?

rapurnell,thats a beauty,whats wrong with it,it looks good in the pics,even if it does need some resto,just the memories of your dad and your honeymoon should be enough to restore it,and after your done the memories of doing the restoration will also be worth it.
heck i think i just saw my dads old sunbird cuddy cabin on the way home from camping ,im going back just to see if it was.
check the transom 1st then the floor for soft spots,and if the motor hasnt been run in awhile replace the impeller,or you will over heat the motor quickly.
if you need help,the folks here are great,they can help with any problems you might have,john

John,
Yes it is fairly decent. I bought it from my dad in 1986, and he bought it somewhere around 1970. It has spent most of it's life garaged. My dad sold his Glasspar G-3 so the family could have more room. Now if I had that G-3 there would be no doubt I would restore it. Sweet boat.

Trouble is I have another boat that I use all the time, and I don't have the time or inclination to do much with the Holiday. It's just taking up space in my garage. Just adding a windshield would really help it's looks. I was thinking I might try to sell it but have no idea how much it would be worth.

Any Idea what it is worth and where I might find a windshield for it?

Thanks,
Rich

John,

The transom is sound. Although a thorough inspection would be in order.The motor needs a new water pump impeller, and the propeller shaft needs new oil seals. Trouble is the main drive shaft needs to be resurfaced so the seals below the water pump can seal properly. This is one of the reasons I stopped using the boat originally. I was getting water in the lower unit so I decided to replace the upper water/oil seals when I discovered the corrosion on the main drive shaft. The prop shaft seals started leaking on their own after sitting a few years. The motor itself has always run beautifully and I have no reason to believe (aside from sitting) that it won't still. That Merc 80hp generates a lot of power. We've pulled as many a 4 skiers with it.

Rich

rich,as far as value goes its a real nice boat,but there isnt a blue book for values for boats.
as for windsheilds go to the glassifiedshere,there is a great guy named dave albertson(cc1000),he has alot of winshields,send him an email,i think he wanted 150 bucks for nos windshields.
put it in the glassifieds here and craigslist,you shouldnt have any trouble selling it,good luck john