New or really used...

Buttanic

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 25, 2003
Messages
711
Re: New or really used...

Originally posted by DJ:<br /> I've had several new and many used, some complete rebuilds.<br /><br /><br />The total rebuilds were completely reliable and I knew EXACTLY what I had.<br /><br /><br /> :D
I have done several total rebuilds. At the end I know what was done and that it was done right.
 

mattttt25

Commander
Joined
Sep 29, 2002
Messages
2,661
Re: New or really used...

i think the answer partially depends on what type of boat you want.<br /><br />also, i think the simplest answer is to buy the most boat you can AFFORD.
 

swist

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 1, 2004
Messages
678
Re: New or really used...

New boats are not panaceas. There are plenty of lemons out there. Unlike cars, boats are sold in such comparatively low volume that it takes a long time for the market to realize that a particular make/model does or doesn't have a good history.
 

swist

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 1, 2004
Messages
678
Re: New or really used...

On the other side of the coin, I would add that you need to assess your own skills before taking up option 2. First of all, things like fiberglass work (among others) require skills that you don't pick up from reading the back of a can of resin. The other thing is that most small boats are pretty good at hiding what ails them - you can't just unbolt the deck to fix that corroded fuel tank that will, by Murphy's law, start leaking the minute you pick up your fixer-upper. Rot, water soaked coring (by the way, why is Sea Ray such a good choice - they have had a huge issue with this on several models), and other such problems can't be fixed without tearing the boat apart, and that's probably even beyond what you have in mind for option 2,
 
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