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Fleet Admiral
- Joined
- May 26, 2009
- Messages
- 9,715
In reaction to the reaction to the 10 Commandments, and from observations of people looking for boats that want conflicting features (including the size/price conflict) here is some advice I gave to a friend, based in part upon my own recent--and successful--shopping for a family boat. I hope you all find it useful, and keep in mind, with boats, one size doesn't fit all. But I think the order in which you approach the process is what makes it work--or fail.
(BTW this is for a saltwater boat, to be kept in the water, and used by teenagers as well as their parents)
If you all are really going to get a boat, there are a lot of 19? and similar on Craigslist right now; fall is a good time to buy b/c people want to get rid of them before winter. There may be another run at the end of striper season, too. A good deal now can absorb a couple month?s extra storage cost. But as you have learned, nothing having to do with boats can be done at the last minute. Allow at least 2 months from the time you start seriously looking to the time the boat is in the water at your house ready to go. That includes new boats.
Before you start shopping:
Look at boat size and design by walking around the piers and dealers; disregard for now price and condition/age.
Determine from this your size, hull configuration and power, based on your prevalent use first and occasional uses second (for me it was fishing, then cruising, then tubing). Hint: subtract 2 from the hull plate capacity for safe and comfortable capacity.
Determine generally your age range for hull and motor but be ready to be flexible here.
Determine your price range, keeping back $2,000 to get the boat rigged and ready.
Only then, start shopping (which includes spreading the word about your target).
Once you are shopping, be able to price up or down the features and repairs/mods you will or won?t have to do. For example, if you want trim tabs or a GPS, price them installed so you can evaluate the prices of boats that do or don?t have them.
If you shop before you have your target, you will try to make the boat you see fit, rather than the other way around.
While you are doing all this, read the forums at iboats.com. This is very important, I think, especially since you haven?t been around maintaining boats a lot. You will have a lot of questions answered, you can ask a lot of questions, but most important, you will get an idea of the real deal of owning a boat?what you need to do, know and contend with. However, keep in mind that many people on that forum are fresh water weekend bow rider users w/ inboards who use their trailers each trip*, and also many are intense DIY?s who have time, tools and skills to fix themselves the inevitable problems and challenges.**
Happy hunting!
*no offense intended but I know this is not the type of use that my friends will be doing or boat they'll want, so they won't focus on aspects such as trailering or waxing the piano hinges on the lockers.
**again no offense but my friends don't "have time skills or tools" so advice to "just pull the carbs and do a link and sync" would lead them to underestimate the real requirements of boat maintenance.
(BTW this is for a saltwater boat, to be kept in the water, and used by teenagers as well as their parents)
If you all are really going to get a boat, there are a lot of 19? and similar on Craigslist right now; fall is a good time to buy b/c people want to get rid of them before winter. There may be another run at the end of striper season, too. A good deal now can absorb a couple month?s extra storage cost. But as you have learned, nothing having to do with boats can be done at the last minute. Allow at least 2 months from the time you start seriously looking to the time the boat is in the water at your house ready to go. That includes new boats.
Before you start shopping:
Look at boat size and design by walking around the piers and dealers; disregard for now price and condition/age.
Determine from this your size, hull configuration and power, based on your prevalent use first and occasional uses second (for me it was fishing, then cruising, then tubing). Hint: subtract 2 from the hull plate capacity for safe and comfortable capacity.
Determine generally your age range for hull and motor but be ready to be flexible here.
Determine your price range, keeping back $2,000 to get the boat rigged and ready.
Only then, start shopping (which includes spreading the word about your target).
Once you are shopping, be able to price up or down the features and repairs/mods you will or won?t have to do. For example, if you want trim tabs or a GPS, price them installed so you can evaluate the prices of boats that do or don?t have them.
If you shop before you have your target, you will try to make the boat you see fit, rather than the other way around.
While you are doing all this, read the forums at iboats.com. This is very important, I think, especially since you haven?t been around maintaining boats a lot. You will have a lot of questions answered, you can ask a lot of questions, but most important, you will get an idea of the real deal of owning a boat?what you need to do, know and contend with. However, keep in mind that many people on that forum are fresh water weekend bow rider users w/ inboards who use their trailers each trip*, and also many are intense DIY?s who have time, tools and skills to fix themselves the inevitable problems and challenges.**
Happy hunting!
*no offense intended but I know this is not the type of use that my friends will be doing or boat they'll want, so they won't focus on aspects such as trailering or waxing the piano hinges on the lockers.
**again no offense but my friends don't "have time skills or tools" so advice to "just pull the carbs and do a link and sync" would lead them to underestimate the real requirements of boat maintenance.
