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Indiana Jones Boat

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simpletom

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Ok guys this is the scenario with this you effectively could help get the ball rolling and get this thing back into the public eye, I honestly believe it belongs in a museum.

This is the story, somehow my uncle owns the boat, from a old photo I saw when i was little it was a tender to a yacht called Lands End. My family has good tie ins with the motor yachting industry and this is how I assume he got it.

I've actually seen the boat in person about 4 years ago where i assume it still is, it was in storage and in serious need of restoration. The restoration is something my Dad is fully capable of doing as he is a skilled carpenter who has made his own boats and is also a fully trained marine engineer.

This is where I need your help, my Dad has no interest in it because it belongs to his brother, his brother has no interest in it because he's emigrated to Australia. So the bills need to be paid for the storage to even get it back. My Dad has no interest in it at all and the only way I could see him showing an interest to get this thing restored was if he knew the value it had. So this is a long shot but I'm hoping that there is someone on this forum who could give a close estimate of the value of this boat.

I don't expect people to believe me on this i was sceptical of its true origins before i saw it, but i feel i need an expert opinion on this as a film relic not just a valuation on a boat so i can approach my dad to get this thing out of storage and get working on it.

I dont really just want to let this thing disappear, where it is currently stored no one knows what it is other than a tatty riva style boat. My uncle is never coming back for it, so really i see it down to my dad to save this thing and he wont get started on it unless i can convince him its worth it. I've tried to convince him it would be a great father son project but this didn't work, so please give me something to go with to change his mind.

Just to clarify this isn't the boat that was chopped up by a ships prop its what i was told is the only one in the film with an actual engine.

I wont disclose where the current location of the boat so don't ask.

Cheers

Tom
 
The actual boat used was a "Chris craft" antique and most of that scene was filmed at Tilbury Docks in the UK.
Not sure if that helps or not, but you really need to post some pics.
 
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Well as standered with these type of things, what provanance do you have that it was used in the film.

As far as what it is worth, it's condition and again the Provanance you have will help in just how much you will get for it.

Don't take this the wrong way but these are tough times and I just don't see the value there.

Whip, Hat, Jacket, those are heavily identified with that character and as such command huge prices when sold.

Good luck in your quest
 
How much are you guys in the hole on the storage payments? After a certain time, I think 3 months if the bill isn't paid the storage company then my own everything inside their. Unless you can get in there to take some decent photos of the boat and it's condition, I doubt your going together confirmation if it's the real deal and how much it's possible worth.

Tim
 
The boat from the chase scene in Venice? Other than the rubber boat from ToD I can't think of any (?)
 
Hmmm.....

I don't see a ton of value in it, but if it could run and was water tight, you might have some value there. I'm not going to throw out numbers because everybody has a different price. Pictures and documentation would help tremendously. This is an odd item because though it was used in a huge film, it wasn't extremely important or iconic in the film (like a batmobile). I personally have never heard of a full size boat from a film go to auction, So this would be fairly new territory in the prop business.
 
I would think an antique Chris Craft would have value that any one with half a brain in the boat biz would recognize, Indiana Jones aside... so why would any one let it rot?

I mean, it's not like wooden boats from that era are cheap, right? 20 seconds with Google:

Classic Boats For Sale
 
moffeaton said:
I would think an antique Chris Craft would have value that any one with half a brain in the boat biz would recognize, Indiana Jones aside... so why would any one let it rot?

I mean, it's not like wooden boats from that era are cheap, right? 20 seconds with Google:

Classic Boats For Sale
Click to expand...

after seeing this site, and watching the video i posted I would assume the hardest part of the whole deal would be proving that the boat in question is the boat from the movie. COA aside, theres got to be markings right?
 
There's a couple of things to consider:
Obviously there were at least 3 working boats used in the movie, you see them all at the same time. (Well, you see 2 at a time on screen... So maybe 2 working boats...) Is the one your uncle has the one Indy drove, or one of the others... That will make a difference in it's value as a movie collectible. It should be easily screen matchable unless it's been repainted or something, so provenance will probably not be an issue...

More importantly- Make _absolutely certain_ you can legally take ownership of the boat. It doesn't matter if you don't think your uncle will ever come back for it, or even if he said over the phone you can have it, make sure it will hold up in court. If the storage place legally claims it due to rent not being paid, and you buy it from them, that should be good. But if you just pay the back rent and then take the boat, that could cause problems. Family or not, if you fix it up and some rich Indy fanatic decides to pay you a 6-figure sum for the boat, all of a sudden your uncle will be like 'Hey, that's my boat, I want the money'... Lawsuits have occurred and families ruined over stupider stuff.

As for the value, it looks like it could be worth $30,000-50,000 or more just as a vintage boat if it was fixed up and running... Isn't that enough to for your dad to take some interest in it? Even if it's worth 1/2 that in it's current condition, that would still be worth it I'd think (unless your uncle owes thousands of dollars on the storage rent...)

Things to consider, but I'd try to go for it even if it wasn't a prop (hell, I'd like to _have_ it, even if it wasn't a prop... It's a cool boat)...

Edit- add:
Looks like it's a triple-cockpit boat too, those seem to be the $50,000 and up priced boats...

Even this boat:
http://www.classicboat.com/antique-boats-20-custom-39h.htm
sold for $10,500... Hopefully your uncle's boat is in better condition? :)
 
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Appreciate the replies guys, I was really hoping to have some good news to share before I came back with any sort of update. I've spoken to my dad, he's expressed he doesn't want anything to do with the boat. I'm currently trying to touch base with my uncle and ask him about it see if he has any photos or documentation he will share with me and i can feed back here.

Thanks again for the feedback, i also appreciate the speculation from some people its only a given that without any photos or paper work to back up my story that most people will not believe me. I knew this when I posted the first time, hopefully when my uncle gets back to me he will have something for me to share with you guys. However without my dads help on getting this thing out of storage any consideration to a restoration build are out of the question.

Cheers

Tom
 
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