Just buy a boat already....

[jdlough]

To first time boat buyers. If you find a used boat that looks good enough, just buy it.

I know you've been looking at Craigslist for months, and you've seen the same boats there for months, so you think you have all the time in the world. BUT, when a decent boat appears, you have to just get out there and nab it, quick.

Don't wait too long looking for that "perfect" boat. First, there ain't no such thing. Second, as a noob, you may not know what you really want.

It's April. Time to get your boat. Get out on the water for a season. Test it out, see what kind a boat you really want.

It's not like buying a house. If the boat doesn't work out, sell it. Buy another one. No big deal.

I wasted a year looking for the perfect Deck Boat. Couldn't find one, so I "settled" for a Dual Console, as a first boat.

Turns out, in my choppy water, a Deck Boat would have been a mistake, and the Dual Console is perfect.

Just remember that you are not really just buying a boat. What you are really buying is a MOTOR that happens to have a boat attached to it. Make sure you are buying a good motor.

Do a sea trial. As long as the motor starts 99% of the time, you will be a happy first boat owner.

After a season, you can complain about the stupid stuff you don't like about your boat, and you will then be a true boat owner. If you are lucky, your complaints will be that your cup holders suck, and your gas gauge is stuck at 1/4 full all the time. We veteran used boat owners are used to crap like that, but the boat runs just fine.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Just buy a boat already....

Just remember that you are not really just buying a boat. What you are really buying is a MOTOR that happens to have a boat attached to it. Make sure you are buying a good motor.

As long as the motor starts 99% of the time, you will be a happy first boat owner.

i respectfully disagree. ya can have the best engine and drive in the world. however, if the boat's rotten and there's no where to attach the engine to slolid or the transom is rotten and there's no where to mount the gimble housing too, solidly. your not gonna go boating w/o lots of problems, the worst would be sinking and ruining a perfectly good engine and drive.

imho, it's boat condition first, then engine/drive. and don't do yourself a injustice for the engine/drive. get a engine/drive that is common for least amount of troubles, parts and ease of labor wise...

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Just buy a boat already....

Good boat-good motor=good experience. Can't have one without the other. Patience is a virtue.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Just buy a boat already....

I hate my cup holders

 

[jdlough]

Re: Just buy a boat already....

Hmmm,

OK, you got me. I was only considering outboard boats. As long as you can lift the outboard up to trailer position, hang yourself off the prop end of it, and the transom doesn't flex, you are ok for most issues.

For I'Os, you are correct. There seems to be much more rotten transom issues for a used I/O, and those issues are harder to detect for a novice. For instance I have been outboard boating for years, and I have no idea what a "gimbal" is. I know it's some kind of I/O thing, like "bellows". Each to his own.

And again I should have specified. I was just thinking of the mostly under $5000 used outboard boats. With them, it's easy to test if the transom is solid. It's easy to test if the deck is sound (just by stomping around). At this price range, a marine surveyor is generally not used. So, the main things are, "do you like the boat good enough" and "does the motor work all the time".

I think too many people are concerned with brand names, and seating layouts, and such.

So, I revise my position. For an outboard boat, if the floor seems solid, and the transom doesn't flex when you hang on the outboard, and the outboard is reliable, do a sea trial and buy it.

All's I'm saying, is that it's not a life-or-death decision. Get a boat, get out on the water. Use it for a season. If you don't like it then, sell and repeat.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Just buy a boat already....

To first time boat buyers. If you find a used boat that looks good enough, just buy it.

Easier said then done . . . the problem is that many first time buyers do not know what they are looking at. So, they cannot tell what looks good versus what looks bad.

All to often we get to see their #1 post on iBoats with questions about the boat they just bought that ran fine in the PO's driveway, but cannot get above idle out on the water . . . "and the floor seems a little mushy . . . is that a problem?"

Anyway, I would not encourage a first time boater/buyer to get ahead of their knowledge base, because, like you say, the boats will typically be out on CL and elsewhere for a while. . . and the hits just keep on coming, so if you miss one, another one will be along soon.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Just buy a boat already....

If you buy a boat now you'll pay top dollar for it, if you wait 'til late fall and winter they go on sale and it's a buyers market.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Just buy a boat already....

I agree with JD and where he and I are, the "rot" we hear about all the time is not that big an issue, b/c we're in a salt water market, which means less rot to begin with and coastal boaters usually don't buy those fragile lake boats.

I agree that people are over-thinking this. For the under $5000 boat, you don't get a survey and you seldom get a test drive. You are coming out ahead if you get a short time to run it past a mechanic. The good deals won't wait.

here's another reason for a new boater to buy now: the season is upon us. It takes a few weeks to rig, license, insure, and do start-up maintenance on a used boat. You want to take it to a shop and have them go over the motor and change the water pump. A good shop is already backed up. Get in line now!

However, a new buyer has to pay for reliability. He has to get a well--running, fairly new motor.

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: Just buy a boat already....

I hate my cup holders

LOL... I am so stinkin' rich that my cup holder is a guy named James... Just kiddn, I am really so broke I cant afford to pay attention:facepalm:

 

[shrew]

Re: Just buy a boat already....

Good boat-good motor=good experience. Can't have one without the other. Patience is a virtue.

Good Boat (Minus) Good Motor = Good Experience? How does that work? That is not a boat, it's called a "raft".

 

[eclark53520]

Re: Just buy a boat already....

I can have a lot more fun on a bad boat with a great motor than on a great boat with a bad motor.

Take your friends out for the day and spend four hours fixing the motor, see if they go with you again. Take them out on a junky boat but a motor that lets them ski/wake board all day long, they'll have a great time.

I'm considering buying a 1-3 year old Mercury 115, and just buying a boat with a blown/no motor. Once the boat is junk, junk it(or sell it) and buy another boat with a blown/no motor...

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Just buy a boat already....

Good Boat (Minus) Good Motor = Good Experience? How does that work? That is not a boat, it's called a "raft".

What do they call a row boat nowadays?

 

[dingbat]

Re: Just buy a boat already....

What do they call a row boat nowadays?

A raft with oars

 

[CaptOchs]

Re: Just buy a boat already....

Wow.. Obviously you've never been burned on CL.. LOL..

I've come up with a scale for appraising boats. Assuming the price is accurate (which it almost never is,) is what to expect to get out of the deal.

>$999 = Its junk. Prepare to spend a lot more money and a lot of hard work to get it running. Red flags are "just the trailer alone is worth..." & "needs TLC."
$1000-$1999 = If priced accurately, can expect issues but at least a functional boat. Expect a fair interior and maybe some minor power-train issues.
$2000-$3999 = Again, if priced accurately expect something decent. Expect a better interior and a good running engine with perhaps a few minor issues. At this price range have a mechanic look at it.
$4000 + = Expect a good boat, but have it looked over still.

It's amazing people will go out and buy a junk boat and think they can fix it up themselves cheaply. Those same people wouldn't go to a junk yard and pull out 40 year old car thinking it would be easy to fix it up.

 

[island mike]

Re: Just buy a boat already....

I also dissagree with the o.p..
Not a life and death situation you say??????
you make it sound that its perfectly okay for someone that has no experience to go shopping for a boat and if they like it just jump in and put everyone around them and themselves in danger?? I could tell you a story or two...
Old boat+no experience=disaster I have seen plenty of it!
Dont encourage people with no experience not even talking about the dangers that old boats hide...
vey bad idea
Island mike

 

[wutevvvver]

Re: Just buy a boat already....

I am one of those folks who "just bought it already". This is my first boat owning experience( other than my canoe in the garage) so I was unaware of alot of the hidden stuff on a boat. The seller tells me the engine is in good shape and the mechanic recomended rebuilding the carbs , change water pump, and change oil in the lower unit. After debating a while and going over the boat hoping I knew what to look for I bought it. Well, first time I cranked it up the fuel pump quit. (gotta love VRO's) so there went 400 bucks. Rebuild the carbs another 350. Fixing all the hosed up wiring that some ole boy did with his eyes closed and 10 miles of electric tape (still working on that). All in all it hasn't been a complete disaster, I have learned alot about outboards and buying used boats. Buyer beware I guess is the theme here. By the way, before I ever put my family in it, I "tested it out" a few dozen times first. I might have been a dumb*** for buying it, but that's how we learn right, make mistakes. Atleast that's what I keep telling myself.

 

[jdlough]

Re: Just buy a boat already....

Fair enough.

 

[BonairII]

Re: Just buy a boat already....

It's amazing people will go out and buy a junk boat and think they can fix it up themselves cheaply.

Lots of people here do that. They get free or cheap boats knowing that the boats need a lot of work and end up spending $1000-2000 in parts and their labor to get it up to snuff.

To me it would be easier to spend the $2k on a good running rig. Plenty of good running boats/motors in that price range in my neck of the woods.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Just buy a boat already....

I agree on your overall point, OP. I'd sure hate to hold off on purchasing a boat, when waiting for another few months might yield a killer deal. Jumping into financial decisions never hurt anyone [/sarcasm].

Seriously, there is no reason anyone should jump into buying a boat, regardless of their boating experience or the value of the boat in question. Research and patience are almost always a virtue when it comes to purchases like these. Very rarely does someone make a post about their first boat they jumped on for $3K and it's a vintage Chris Craft barrelback, lol. Better to spend $2-300 on a basic marine survey in order to justify a $4K purchase. We're talking 5% of the value being spent in order to save at least that much in one trip to the certified marine mechanic. Inboard/outboard/I/O makes little difference, as most beginners don't know squat about either setup.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Just buy a boat already....

I really want a set of cup holders that can be switched to chill the beer in between drinks or keep your coffie warm on cold nights.