First-time Boat Buyer

[Land_Surfer]

I am currently in the market for my first boat. Preferred type is a "sleek and stylish" (wife's specs) bow rider with plenty of room for 5-6 persons (no head please), 20 - 25' and not more than 10 years old (I don't want an ugly boat . Skiing won't necessarily be its top priority, but will be "attempted" and speed & agility are preferred. However, first and foremost is reliability! I want the security in knowing that I made a good investment and can take it straight to the water and expect no major downtime.

Being the "shade-water(tree)-mechanic" that I am (heavy equipment is my specialty), a "used" lower unit worries me. Experience tells me that gearbox problems can easily be masked and you never know where a boat as been or how well it has been taken care of. My initial impression, based upon "neighborly" experience, of most boat owners are "fun seekers" with minimal working knowledge of their own boat, lack basic mechanical problem solving skills and can only afford 1) the boat payment or 2) maintenance & repairs, not both (boat payment usually wins). Therefore, I am most definitely going to be looking to reputable dealers only.

Correct me if I am wrong on any of the above, please.

On to the point, based upon the information above, what sort of recommendations can you give to a future first-time "pleasure" boat owner who wants to remain within a price range of $15,000 - $20,000? Which brand(s) is considered the most reliable / best value when used? What to look for in a quality used boat? If I go with a new one, what assurances are there that my boat will hold its value (I don't want the payments to out weight the value)? Are the new 20+ foot Yamaha twin-jet boats good value? I do like the jet boats for their drivetrain simplicity and relatively low maintenance. Thanks!

 

[studlymandingo]

Re: First-time Boat Buyer

Well, you are in a forum where the majority of boating enthusiasts do have a knowledge of their boats and motors; there are lots of folks out there that love their boats and care for them well. 2-stroke outboards are pretty tough too; read through some of the repair sections on this forum and you will see lots of 20, 30, 40 year-old, and even older outboards that are still in good shape. You will also see lots of people who bought their boats from a dealer to find that the dealer had given them erroneous information "we did a compression test and it was fine" the new owner finds it isn't running quite right, checks the compression, and finds there is barely over 80lbs. The dealers have used boats because the "fun seekers" have traded in their boats that have been abused and aren't quite what they used to be.

I personally prefer to buy from an individual, for one thing you meet some cool people that love the water and love boats. You can tell a lot by talking with the seller, you know who you are buying from. The way someone talks about the boat speaks volumes; many people are very fond of their boat, and therefore take great care of it. You can ask the seller why they are selling, lots of times it's because their needs have changed due to a growing or shrinking family, or they can now afford a bigger boat, or they can't afford the big boat they have.

Sure there are unscrupulous sellers out there; but the price range you have stated, you will be most likely looking at newer boats that will have newer motors.

As to what kind of boat, that will really be determined by the boating you will be doing. How many people will be boating with you? Will you primarily be cruising about, or will you be doing some fishing? You mentioned skiing, how much towing will you be doing? Where are you boating, in a lake or river, or in open saltwater?

The new deck boats are nice, they are very roomy and can comfortably accomodate several people; they are generally powered well so they have some speed and towing power.

As far as holding its value, there are many great boats out there in that price range, the majority of boats are built with similar quality. Some of the brands are more well known than others and therefore are perceived as more valuable.​

 

[studlymandingo]

Forgot about the jets

Forgot about the jets

As far as the jet-boat question... Jet boats can be loads of fun, with no prop sticking out they can run really shallow with no prop damage. The downside is they lose about 30-40% of the efficiency in the jet drive, therefore they don't utilize all of the horsepower of the motor. They also are harder to maneuver at idle and using reverse can be tricky for a first-time boat owner.