I have never watched a new boat being built but I imagine there is a lot less work in that then in a total rebuild. My guess is at least double the hours, maybe more! Every part of a rebuild is a one-off, which takes a lot of hours.
I love to see when a true professional restores one of these old gems but I think, unfortunately, there is always going to be a disconnect between average market value and cost of goods sold. There just aren't that many buyers that are willing to pay $50K + for a rebuilt 1970 boat. Rebuilding old SeaCrafts is probably not the most profitable business model but I'm glad there is enough of a market to warrant a few exceptional restorations for us to drool over.
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