TOPIC: Another Newbie Intro

Hello All-
I was able to purchase a 1959 16' Seaswirl recently from its original owner and have been bitten by the Fiberglassic bug. It is amazingly original: upholsery, gelcoat, steering wheel and mechanism, engine controls, dash and speedo. It has not had one new hole drilled in the dash, deck, rails, floor or transom. Even came with one of the original gimballed drink holders. Still has the original 1960 60 horse Sea King outboard (which runs) and the Montgomery Ward trailer. Pics coming soon.
I may be doing something wrong, but I have been searching the site high and low and cannot find one reference to Seaswirl or Sea King; that seems very odd.
So, I have a couple of questions:
1. Where do I find the Seaswirl forum and/or resources for pictures, parts etc. for this boat? (the bow hardware/handle is broken)

2. I have some things I would like to do to it to make it more comfortable for my purposes, but I'm interested to hear opinions as to whether I would be "ruining" since it is presently so pristine

3. What should I have paid for a classic such as this?

Thanks in advance!
Scott
Bend, OR

Welcome aboard! here is some information in our library www.fiberglassics.com/library/index.php?title=Sea_Swirl

Andreas

Welcome! I'm no real help on most of those questions, but I'll throw out an opinion on modifications. I'm a firm believer you should modify the boat to suit your purposes as long as you do it well. Old boats don't have much monetary value these days and they may never unless it's a truly rare and important model like a Chris Craft Baby Gar or something. I believe the value of a boat, even monetarily, has a lot to do with the time you spend on the water. If the mods you do make it more enjoyable for you to spend time out, they probably will for someone else too. As long as they're done well (good workmanship, quality parts) I don't think you're hurting the value.

Having said that, I think keeping it vintage in appearance while improving the function is the sweet spot, especially if you are worried about resale.

But hey, it's just my opinion.

Scott. Welcome aboard. Always glad to see new posters. Finding an unmolested boat is hard and sounds like you got one. Waiting for some pictures. There are mods that you can make that would not compromise the original appearance. If you want to install an entertainment system just make a rack that can be glassed under a seat, or under the bow area or underside of the dash panel. I've done several mods before on boats with the thought of not drilling any holes and that maybe some day they could be removed.
I've been through Bend two years ago. You're fortunate to live in such beautiful area.