Buying a Boat

[BlackOutUT]

I know this is a car forum, but I'm assuming many of you own boats. I'm getting really close to pulling the trigger on some summer fun. But i realized I have no clue about the best way to go about it.

I know I'll save buying used, but any tips on how to deal with dealers? How much can you usually get them down? Any good websites to find the equivalent of invoice pricing?

 

[YJSONLY]

Bust Out Another Thousand

 

[99GreenCobra]

No different from any other motor sport. We started with a bay liner powered by the 3.0l. Made me hate boating. We now have a 22' pontoon with a fuel injected yahama outboard. Life is much better now. Both my purchases were used and private sales. I hate buying from a dealer.

 

[Camaro_94]

Well... what kind of boat are you looking for?

 

[ford fanatic]

The best two days in a boat owners life, the day he buys it, and the day he sells...

 

[BlackOutUT]

Yes I've heard all of the boat cliches. But as GreenCobra said, it really is no different from any other motor sport. Gotta pay to play. Right now I've got my eye on a Moomba Mojo.

 

[B0B]

Bust Out Another Thousand

The best two days in a boat owners life, the day he buys it, and the day he sells...

You wanna go boating? Get a friend that has a boat. LOL. Boats are fun, thats for sure. I have a '97 Searay 185 bow rider with the 4.3 and its a great boat. Its expensive, and they sit a lot.. But they are a lot of fun. Don't get a bayliner. Don't buy a wake/ski boat unless you plan for that to be its sole purpose. If you want a good all around boat, look at a runabout with an inboard/outboard setup. Don't get an outboard, especially a 2 stroke. Do a lot of research on what you're looking at that interests you. Chances are, if you find a really nice, low hours boat, for a great price, it is because there is an extreme limiting factor on that boat like being under powered or consuming too much fuel.

Let me just say this now, and you think about this for a long time. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. If you think you just got a great deal on a boat, you didn't. You inherited somebody elses nightmare.

That said, good luck OP, I've been boating my whole life and it is hands down a lot more fun than cars.

 

[Kevins89notch]

 

[fangstang]

lol

 

[BlackOutUT]

You wanna go boating? Get a friend that has a boat. LOL. Boats are fun, thats for sure. I have a '97 Searay 185 bow rider with the 4.3 and its a great boat. Its expensive, and they sit a lot.. But they are a lot of fun. Don't get a bayliner. Don't buy a wake/ski boat unless you plan for that to be its sole purpose. If you want a good all around boat, look at a runabout with an inboard/outboard setup. Don't get an outboard, especially a 2 stroke. Do a lot of research on what you're looking at that interests you. Chances are, if you find a really nice, low hours boat, for a great price, it is because there is an extreme limiting factor on that boat like being under powered or consuming too much fuel.

Let me just say this now, and you think about this for a long time. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. If you think you just got a great deal on a boat, you didn't. You inherited somebody elses nightmare.

That said, good luck OP, I've been boating my whole life and it is hands down a lot more fun than cars.

Thanks for the input. I have def been around the water a lot throughout my life. I simply have never gone through the purchasing process myself.

Why do you say to not go with a wake/ski unless it's it's sole purpose? I find those types of boats, while expensive if you don't use them for their main purpose, are fairly awesome all around boats. I myself love to ski and have really enjoyed wake boarding the few times I've done it.

I really don't see why boats get such a bad rep from so many people. Yes they sit a lot. But so do many guys performance cars. Many of those cars don't see the light of day 6 months out of the year. Here in Texas Lake season is 6 months easy. If I lived I'm North it would probably be harder to justify. I guess boats tend to be impulse buys for a lot of people though. Hell idk lol.

All I know is I've been debating snagging a boat for at least 3 summers. This is the one I take the plunge.

 

[NJ03SVTCobra]

I will be in the minority here, but I love boating and think it is well worth the investment even when it can be steep. I grew up boating in the Adirondacks in NY and my parents had a 1966 16.5' Cobia with an 80hp Johnson. When I was 6 my dad bought a used mint condition 1989 Bayline Capri with a 125 Force. It saw less and less use as I grew up and just sat in a heated, covered garage. Last year instead of selling it, he gave it to me. The boat saw an entire summer's worth of use last year, with friends and family using it a ton and it was a blast. Water-skiing, tubing and even just jumping off the boat and swimming are fun, but going out with friends and family on a great weekend is what makes it worth it, IMO.

 

[NJ03SVTCobra]

Regarding the whole wake/ski for the sole purpose; I disagree. Ski/Wakeboards boats are still great for regular recreational use. If you want a compromise, go for something like a Sport Nautique which is a great all-around boat and still fantastic to ski behind.

 

[99cobradave]

The best two days in a boat owners life, the day he buys it, and the day he sells...

Haha! So true. That is no longer a cliche, that's a fact! Anyhow, boats are a PITA, words cannot describe. But. I like having a boat. I'm on my 3rd boat, a few things I've learned: Never buy new, buy a used boat. If you don't use a boat at least 10 times a year, it's better to just rent a boat or find a friend who has a boat. Get the biggest engine you can afford.

Good luck!

 

[wht93gted]

I've been around boating since I was a little kid, and still am today.

Just get a small boat, the one my parents have is obnoxious, if you ask me. It takes about 6 weekends in the spring to get it ready, and thats only ready enough to go in the water. Once it's in, it's just continuous maintenance all summer long. It burns about $100\fuel an hour, normal parts are stupid expensive once it has the word "marine" in front of it.

- Normal hose clamp, $1.
- Marine hose clamp, $20

The waxing, painting, cleaning, fueling, etc.... Even using it is an ordeal. Every time they go out, there's the fear of something breaking. 3 times last season we had to pull it out from bending a prop.
I'd much rather waste my money on something fun, like vacations. I'm all with the guy who said "get friends who have boats". Then you get to enjoy it, and not worry about it.

 

[jonw357]

Do your homework when looking for a boat. I have 3 boats- 21ft Chirs Craft, 30ft Bayliner cruiser, and 18ft bass boat. If you are lazy and do not do the regular maintenance on them you will have problems. Most people just put gas in them and ride them till something goes wrong. Take care of it and you will have trouble free fun with it!!

 

[B0B]

Regarding the whole wake/ski for the sole purpose; I disagree. Ski/Wakeboards boats are still great for regular recreational use. If you want a compromise, go for something like a Sport Nautique which is a great all-around boat and still fantastic to ski behind.

The reason I'm saying this is because if you buy a wake/ski boat, you're stuck with a fixed propeller. It gets out of the hole quick, but they don't reverse well, and you can't raise the prop out of the water to go in shallow water. Also, you're looking at something with a bigger engine that will be more thirsty, and if you're out cruising around it can get expensive.

A fishing boat will be great for fishing, but the hull design as well as the engine and cockpit configuration will make it a pain to have a lot of people aboard and to pull innertubes and skiers.

Runabouts are generally cheaper, but seat a lot of people and are pretty good for an all around use. They tend to be underpowered if you have a full boat and are trying to pull somebody up on a wake board.

Just some things to consider. Not saying you can't do everything you want with almost any boat, but you will be handicapped in some way, especially the more extreme you tend to go towards one direction. Nothing to say at all that you can't just buy a wake boat and do everything with it.

OP, it is really what you want that will make you happy, but plan on losing money if you trade up, just like you do in a car. I would try to get what you want from the get go instead of buying a "starter boat"

 

[vettez062002]

I am so after another boat this year. I want two jetskis. I prefer the honda aquatrax turbo R12/F12s or a kawi ultra 300. Im also after a boat for ripping. something like a 30ft scarab or cig, baja. something bad ass for ripping up the lake. hell Ill even jump all over a 70s 19ft tahiti or something along those lines with a big block. berkley jet drive and bassett headers... just waiting for the right deal to com across my doorstep.

 

[coposrv]

You wanna go boating? Get a friend that has a boat. LOL. Boats are fun, thats for sure. I have a '97 Searay 185 bow rider with the 4.3 and its a great boat. Its expensive, and they sit a lot.. But they are a lot of fun. Don't get a bayliner. Don't buy a wake/ski boat unless you plan for that to be its sole purpose. If you want a good all around boat, look at a runabout with an inboard/outboard setup. Don't get an outboard, especially a 2 stroke. Do a lot of research on what you're looking at that interests you. Chances are, if you find a really nice, low hours boat, for a great price, it is because there is an extreme limiting factor on that boat like being under powered or consuming too much fuel.
Let me just say this now, and you think about this for a long time. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. If you think you just got a great deal on a boat, you didn't. You inherited somebody elses nightmare.

That said, good luck OP, I've been boating my whole life and it is hands down a lot more fun than cars.

Been around boats all my life. This is pretty much 100% on except for the I/O requirement. outboards are the easier of the two to work on are damn reliable.

 

[earico]

DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Maintenance is key. Then have fun.

My boat is by far the best purchase I have ever made. The best family fun we have ever had. If you like to do your own maintenance then the Mercruisers are a little easier to service and cheaper for parts than the Volvos. Both drive systems are good and reliable though. Little things will go wrong and it's the nature of a boat. Like screws backing out over time and etc. Just have to do a full once over every year and take care or the little things.

Mine is a 2005 225 Four Winns Sundowner. 22.5' or 24' including platform. Bought it 1 year old but never used or propped. It was a boat show queen. Saved a ton that way but also knew it hadn't been mistreated. If you buy used just be sure to check it over thoroughly or have someone do that for you. I see you are in Austin. We will be back in SA this summer and back on Canyon Lake. Might see you out there :beer:

 

[smashedheadcat]

I was a marine tech for a year before joining the military. I was just a young kid at the time, but I learned enough to know that boats aren't much trouble as long as you keep with the preventative maintenance. None of it is hard to do yourself if you don't mind turning a wrench.

For new boat pricing, it is tough to say, but here are some general guidelines:

Most any boat will cost $1000 per foot. Bigger name brands will be $1500 or so. Add the cost of options (stereo, depth finder etc.), and add the price for power/drive. That'll get you in the ballpark of what you can expect to pay. You won't find a new 22 ft boat with a nice stereo and a fuel injected 454 for $30K.

The arguments on which drive to go with..... it depends on what you want to use the boat for.

If you have deep water, it's hard to beat a I/O. The engines are very similar to car engines, and when maintained, will last an awful long time. Just replace the wear items before they cause problems and do all of the required preventative maintenance. The outdrives these days are very reliable as well. Change the gear grease each season if you drives requires it and it will last a long time.

I believe my next boat will be a Yamaha something or other. They seem pretty nice and have a unique layout. They hold plenty of people, have nice stereos, lots of storage and cup holders, and should perform well pulling skiers or towables. Another boat I love is the 2012 Sea Doo 230 wake. It's a gorgeous boat, but I've heard they require the wrench quite often.