There's always a fool who is dying to brag how much he paid for a toy. If you get lucky and your boat is in the same location as the fool, you can name your price. I saw a nicely built stripper guide boat hanging from the ceiling of a high end sporting goods shop near Lake Placid (the Mountaineer in Keene)about a month ago.It had a price tag of either $8,000 or $8,800. Odds are its going to be bought by a individual with a credit card on an impulse. (of course how much the store takes on a commision will be an issue)

If you seriously look at recent sales and you exclude the highs and the lows, depressingly, you probably are not going to make a living building boats and selling them. The major exception seems to be staying ahead of the crowd by coming up with new designs or building a different boat. I think Nick's artistry with wood and his ongoing design work, is an excellent example. The recent crop of stripper Adirondack guide boats and Rangeleys are going to be of more value as there are less builders for the short term. Within a year or two, the market will get saturated and the leaders will find some other design to build. (bateuxs?)

There is also usually someone who will work for less than a living wage. I have met several retirees who build boats for a hobby and sell them for little more than the materials. Some of the wood canvas canoes coming in from Canada alledgedly are subsidized by a tribe or the government as a way of keeping people employed. There's a top quality strip canoe builder in the Portland Me area who builds boats and donates them to a non profit. The non profit gives him a write off, which cover his expenses. The non profit then either raffles the boat off or auctions it. Newfound had a nice boat for sale recently that an individual had won in a raffle and didnt have a use for.

I kind of cringe if I ever have to try to collect insurance on my strippers. I built them and know that the insurance company will never pay me what they are worth. It would be interesting to see if anyone in the group had gone through this.

> I'm now ready to varnish my stripper and am waiting for the CT weather to
> warm up. (I like to varnish in th garage) People often ask me "How
> much to get one of these built for me? I no longer hesitate for a single
> second and respond "Around $8000."

> This year I really addressed the reality of all the time , decision making
> and worry you put into building these things. A fiberglass dinghie can
> cost up to $2500. Some of my flunkie friends make $ 8000. in a few weeks
> if business is good. I wouldn't make a stripper for a nickle less for
> anyone. Thats why when you build one, you truly have a covited piece of
> art work.

> I once had some of my boats on displey in a well-to-do town in Fairfield
> county, CT. I told people that time "around $4500." they
> responded, "that's all" They had a much truer handle on the
> value of things and what time and craftsmanship are worth.