Advice/question on boat for sale

jkust

Rear Admiral
Joined
Aug 2, 2008
Messages
4,942
Something isn't quite adding up with the salesman's story which is to be expected. I'll just add that at least in my state, there is no sales tax payable on used boats from private parties or from brokerage transactions. There is sales tax payable from used boats bought from dealers however. Sales tax is only payable on the value of the trailer on the sale of a boat. Our sales tax is up to 7.875% so I only buy used boats from private parties since it is a meaningful amount of money on a bigger transaction.
 

Danny C

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Dec 3, 2010
Messages
124
Well, I am glad I learned about blisters. I have been involved with/reading up on/ researching/enjoying boating for over 10 years now and have never heard of it. Looks like I learned something valuable when researching boats. Very helpful. Also, I had not considered the sales tax that jkust mentioned. That is something that could definitely sway a decision from one boat to the next. I appreciate all the help/info/advice. This will save me money and headache in the future.
 

jkust

Rear Admiral
Joined
Aug 2, 2008
Messages
4,942
Well, I am glad I learned about blisters. I have been involved with/reading up on/ researching/enjoying boating for over 10 years now and have never heard of it. Looks like I learned something valuable when researching boats. Very helpful. Also, I had not considered the sales tax that jkust mentioned. That is something that could definitely sway a decision from one boat to the next. I appreciate all the help/info/advice. This will save me money and headache in the future.

Some boat manufacturers have specific blister warranties on their hulls actually. I happened to see Stingray's warranty yesterday that had I think 5 years for blisters.
 

tlombard

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
115
I'm also in the St. Louis area and have routinely searched Craigslist and other sources for the past few years before finally finding my new used boat two weeks before Christmas and I understand the wide ranging search. You just don't see what you are looking for listed in the area very often. In this area most of the listings are either older and cheaper or new/near new and really expensive. There just doesn't seem to be much of a market in between.

My original plan was to buy in the spring and I planned on spending $5-6k but that went out the window when I got bored and ran across my new baby because even though it was $2500 over what I planned on spending, it also checked every single item on my wish list and then some. And the reason for that price range I planned on was that in the 18-22ft range (I'm limited to 22ft at the lake where I own a lot) I can literally look on CL every day and find 2 or 3 that I would have been perfectly happy with in that range. For that reason I was never in a hurry and was enjoying the search. When you find the right one, you find the right one though.
 

Old Mud

Cadet
Joined
Sep 20, 2013
Messages
13
Danny, i agree with most of what is above ^^ .If those are in fact blisters Runaway. Nothing good can come from that. It could be someone did a bad paint job. If you run into the skeg gone on another one here is just one option.

No affiliation

Mod EDIT: Link and profanity removed, Mud please refrain from using profanity and remember host of this free forum is an online retailer, so competitive links get deleted
 
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mckinney004

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jan 26, 2016
Messages
46
Spend some time checking craigslist in SW missouri and NE oklahoma. We have lakes everywhere down here and boats are plentiful. I'm on craigslist every day browsing boats, although I'm looking at fishing boats instead. Kansas City, Springfield, St. Louis and Tulsa get the most volume, but keep an eye on Columbia, Lake of the Ozarks, SE Kansas, Joplin, and Fort Smith Arkansas. This area is loaded with boats. I would be very leery of driving half way across the country based on a salesman's word. I've seen too many times where a seller is either lying, or doesn't know better and advertises in good condition. Many people simply do not know the details to look for that could be major problems. If you have any questions on things around here let me know. I'm just North of Springfield, MO.
 

Danny C

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Dec 3, 2010
Messages
124
Hey guys, I have not seen these latest posts. I guess I need to turn on some notifications.

Tlombard, do you boat at Goose Creek? I ask because of the 22' limit. I have a lot there, but bounce back in forth between there and the Mississippi in St. Charles. I love both, two very different types of boating (coving vs beaching) but both have their pros and cons.

McKinney, I have been looking on CL for boats for over 10 years now. Kind of turned into a hobby. I check all the areas you mentioned pretty much every other day.

I have another boat on my radar that I will start a new thread about. Again it is far away (Florida) but I will be halfway there the next few weeks so the drive is shortened. I am more worried about the salt...
 

Old Ironmaker

Captain
Joined
Dec 28, 2015
Messages
3,050
Dan check Kilili.ca tough to read here it's large K small IJIJI.ca. Look for Ontario boats. We have a small window for boating here and it's guaranteed it has never seen saltwater, well unless brought up from the US. Boating here is nowhere what it is down south (anywhere in the mainland USA). We tend to use them at our vacation properties on weekends only usually from our May long weekend to Labour day on average. Getting a boat across the border with the correct paper work is a breeze. And don't forget with the weak Canuck dollar anything you but here is 40 cents less than the US greenback, so even if it looks not to be a deal it still can be. I would never buy a boat anywhere from a coastal city and nothing south of the Mason Dixon. The same goes for snow machines north of central Ontario. Too many hours on them.

EDIT: It may seem like a long way to go but it really isn't if the boat is the one for you, and the price is better than right. I live right on Lake Erie and come across boats regularly, sort of a back yard broker. If you tell me your budget I can keep my eye's open. Is there a Personal Message system on this site? I'm new here.
 
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tlombard

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
115
You nailed it. Goose Creek is where I do 99% of my boating. Currently we just have a beat up old pontoon down there the last few years and I decided to step up my game for this summer. I'm undecided on the river. I took my first pontoon out on the river a few times many years ago and we also took my friends 18 foot ski boat out on there a few times. However once the spring hits we just store the boats at Goose Creek so the river is out mostly. And from where I live on the south side, Goose Creek is probably closer than putting in up in St. Charles. I can get to Goose Creek in under 50 minutes from my front door without speeding. Plus I can't store a boat at my apartment so I either have to pay for storage (might as well pay for it at the lake) or keep it at my dad's in Arnold which is even farther from the Alton Pool.

I probably will try and get up on the river at least once this spring though after checking everything out. I love the idea of just being able to cruise for awhile and see new scenery. Maybe head on over to a place in Grafton for lunch. I need to really check the boat out and be confident in her reliability before that though unless I have another boat with me. My next time out in Usain Boat will be my first.

Not really related but I did decide on Usain Boat for the name. I have two friends who keep talking trash and wanting to set up a race for this spring. They aren't serious (because they know they'd lose) but it is still fun to argue about it. Usain Boat is 18' with a 4.3L that has a few upgrades when the engine was rebuilt so I don't think they stand a chance with their 20 year older 3.0L and 2.3L in the same size boat! So I decided to name my girl Usain Boat just to mess with them. A guy on a Cardinals forum that I frequent had a great idea to go along with it and said that I should get a larger boat and name it Insane Bloat. I thought that was great so now I'm going to name the pontoon Insane Bloat. I share that with my dad and his girlfriend and I don't know what they will think of that but I'm going to do it anyway. Insane Bloat and Usain Boat will be tied up together a lot this summer down at Goose Creek!
 
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Danny C

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Dec 3, 2010
Messages
124
[FONT=&quot]Old Ironmaker : Thanks for the tip. There are a lot of reasonably priced boats up there, from what I can see. I am not opposed to traveling for a good deal so I may have to check it out.

Tlombard: I used to boat 100% Goose Creek until a friend got me started on the river. Now I do about 30% Goose Creek, 65% river and 5% Kentucky lake, table rock, ect. From where I live in south city, it is about an hour either place I go and I keep my current boat at my house, so it is a wash either way. I love Goose Creek, but I hang out with a great group of people on the river. I really like the hang out on the sand bar mentality. Both have their pros and cons. I am the same way about being comfortable with the boat first before hitting the river. I always start the season at Goose Creek. There is a lot of piece of mind that if your boat breaks down, you just have to paddle to shore instead of ending up in the Gulf of Mexico...

Next time you are thinking of hitting the river let me know and we can meet up. I was always too nervous to go on the river until my friends agreed to meet me at the ramp and show me all of the ins and outs of the area. That most likely saved me a prop or two. Now I can't get enough. Its not so scary once you get used to it. If not the river, I will look out for you at Goose Creek. I am usually anchored out in "party cove" in my current '83 checkmate enticer with the 115 Merc on the back. Not many on that lake with anything similar. Always looking to tie up with some good people.[/FONT]
 

tlombard

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
115
I can't picture the boat off the top of my head but it sounds extremely familiar. I'll be out just about every weekend on my new to me 2004 Caravelle either with or without the wakeboard tower, depends on if I can engineer the bimini top to work with the tower on. Otherwise we'll have to decide each day which we want and leave on behind.

The past few years I've been out on an older blue and white pontoon, normally tied up with the group that includes 'Play Pen' which belongs to a friend of the family. I think most people around know the owner of that boat... and if you know the owner of that boat then you might know my dad. Rusty. If you know him, that's all I need to say. You wouldn't forget meeting him!

As for the river, I wouldn't be opposed to hitting the river with somebody who knows what they're doing from time to time once I get things shaken out on the new ride. We were probably not thinking straight when we took a friend's boat for a couple of shakedown cruise attempts on the river a few years ago but we could be at a ramp in 20 minutes after working on it so we did anyway. Thankfully we realized that it wasn't right a couple of times before we got out of the protection of the marina! Although the noise the first time and steam and overheating the second were pretty obvious to notice. The third time went great though! We took it to the sand bar a few times after that but once I bought my land at Goose Creek we never went back.

I'm looking to get it down to Goose Creek as soon as I think it is safe with not having to worry about winterizing it again so I can have time to be prepared for summer if it needs anything after sitting for the winter. The other great thing about Goose Creek is that with already having the pontoon down there, we can drop that in and somebody can follow along on that just in case there is trouble.
 

Old Ironmaker

Captain
Joined
Dec 28, 2015
Messages
3,050
I received your PM Danny but am having a heck of a time responding. I'll keep my eyes open for a boat for you.
 
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