Open bow or leave it closed

[speedymopars]

OK, won't go into the whole story again about the accident and such, but right now, I have to make some decisions. I have a 5-6 passenger closed bow cheyenne v hull (think daycruiser).
I can, for an extra 2K, convert it to an open bow before the new gel coat goes on.
Should I? Between it all, I will have about 19K into this "new" old boat, and it will be completely new when it gets done. 21K if I have the conversion done. New interior, new engine, new stringers, carpet, gel coat, etc. New but with a 74 title. I don't have a divertor at this stage, and I have an A impellor. The power plant will be a tunnel rammed Mopar big block, ported heads, stroker, etc putting out around 500 HP, give or take a few.
I know the benefits are being able to take more people, but there has to be some drawbacks and maybe even some bonuses I am not thinking of. I really would like your input. Remember, any money I spend now I really won't ever get back.

[H20MOFO]

I Saw An Old Eliminator ( DAYCRUISER)21' In Hot Boat About 8 Months Ago That Was Converted, Looked Sweet. I'm Not Totally Sure If It Was A Jet.
I Do Remember It Did Have A Ford. ORIG IT WAS WOOD GRAIN 1980'S STYLE. THE B-4 AND AFTER SHOT WAS AMAZING.

[squirt'nmyload]

i wouldn't do an open bow OR a flame job :D :D
seriously though, if it suits YOUR needs, then go for it! :)

[atxwrangler]

I Saw One That I Liked,i Think It Would Modernize The Ride A Bit,and Give You More Usable Room.:)

[Scapegoat1]

I think it will look good and it will most likely run about 3500+. if done right

[Jet2Riv]

Converted my 79 Crusader to an open bow and love it
Did it about 10 years ago and Dont regret it at all
One thing I missed in my budget was the new wire harness, when i split up the gauges on the dash
:) :) :)
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/500/DSCN3946.JPG
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/500/DSCN3825.JPG

[atxwrangler]

wow! that looks great!

[ck7684]

Personally, I dont care for the looks of open bows. If thats what you want why not just buy one?

[socalmoney]

I Saw An Old Eliminator ( DAYCRUISER)21' In Hot Boat About 8 Months Ago That Was Converted, Looked Sweet. I'm Not Totally Sure If It Was A Jet.
I Do Remember It Did Have A Ford. ORIG IT WAS WOOD GRAIN 1980'S STYLE. THE B-4 AND AFTER SHOT WAS AMAZING.
Anyway you could post those pics?

[H20MOFO]

I'm Not So Super Hot At The Whole Pics Yet. When I Go Home Tonite I'll At Least Try To Find What Issue It Was. May Have Been Longer Than 8 Months Thats My Best Guess. Jet2riv Nice Dbl Jet Set Up .

[TrollerDave]

What size hull do you have? Can you post pics of your boat? I think it is a good move as long as it looks cool like JET2RIV's boat. That old Eliminator in Hot Boat looked awesome.

[H20MOFO]

Sorry Socalmoney. I Don't Have It. Ive Been Gettin ***boat For Only 2 Years And The Oldest Issue I Can Find Is Moneysucker Fav.june 06. P124. I Wish Someone Would Find It Cause Now It Drivin Me Nuts. I'm Pretty Sure It Had A Turbo 400 Trans.(not A Jet) And It Was The Same Color Scheme (WITH WOODGRAIN)As JET2RIV (dbl Jet Guy) B-4 They Painted It. I'M MISSING QUITE A FEW.(ISSUES)

[jrork]

Hmmm, granted my vote is worthless but I vote leave it alone and skip the flames

[pw_Tony]

If done right...... open bows kick ass....
if done wrong.... you're going to kick your own ass :D

[minnesota_duane]

Converted my 79 Crusader to an open bow and love it
Did it about 10 years ago and Dont regret it at all
One thing I missed in my budget was the new wire harness, when i split up the gauges on the dash
:) :) :)
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/500/DSCN3946.JPG
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/500/DSCN3825.JPG
Ir you can make it look like this thing DO IT!!!!!!!
I think my Hawaiian would look great like this.
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q122/Minnesota_Duane/07-20-07_1238.jpg

[H20MOFO]

Speedy If You Do Do This You Need To Find This Article Imo. It Wasn't A 2 Page Deal. It Was A Whole How-to-deal 5 Or 6 Pages. If You Want To Do It I'd Say Yes.

[QuickJet]

I've never understood why anyone would want peple sitting in the front of their boat. Who wants a couch on the water?

[minnesota_duane]

For me half the fun of boating is tieing up and hanging out with freinds, so a "couch" on the water isn't all that bad. Also not a bad thing to look forward and see a hot lady or two kicking back on that couch.

[centerhill condor]

I'd leave it closed. Storage room and all that. Its a skill thing, too. Personally, I don't have the skill set to do the job.
Also, if the weather comes up and you've got water over the bow...
CC

[riverbound]

I would say go for it. Just try and stay away from trendy updates (tribal flames, checkers, etc...) Open bows will always get more resale than a cloaed deck due to the fact that they are more useable. And for 2k it would definitely be worth it IMO.

[Outlaw]

the article your talking about has a late 70's eliminator v drive (browns and oranges) they converted it to an openbow, updated the interior
and painted it white with blues, it looked like a newer boat when it was finished.