Grass is always greener... at a little higher price.

[ChoochCharlie]

It started with my wife surprisingly telling me that if I drag home a boat cheap, I can get one. WooHoo!
Cheap to her is less than about a thousand dollars.
So I started looking at projects and old beaters. Then she shared some Instagram photos of some of our old friends tooling around in a free-to-them old boat. Oh. It needs to run and be usable? OK. Their boat was one of those Craigslist miracles that only happen to fake people on the internet somewhere, or so it always seems.

So then I start looking at $2000 to $3000 boats. Almost pulled the trigger on one.
But now I have noticed that there are many $5000 to $7000 boats that are in really nice shape. Some are even garage kept and with low hours.
But that price range is going to have to wait another season.

But I know, as soon as I have the cash in hand for a 5-7k boat, the 9-12k boats are going to make the 5-7k boats look like they all have a rotten transom.

Sigh...

 

[agallant80]

Re: Grass is always greener... at a little higher price.

Yeah. It never ends. I wish I spent 15k more to get the 28 instead of the 25. At least in the used world you can play the trade up game without eating it too bad. I bought new I will take a total bath if I try to trade up. Can't complain though. I knew what I was getting in to buying new....

 

[gm280]

Re: Grass is always greener... at a little higher price.

If you don't like constantly doing little repairs (and some times huge repairs too), than boating/fishing isn't your hobby. Because even a brand new boat will need something done to it before you pay it off... Now if you do like projects, jump in and join the crowd on here for much fun and of course sweat, itchiness, blood, tears, and lots and lots of money... But it is so much fun...at least to me...

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: Grass is always greener... at a little higher price.

Here's what ya' do.....

Spend $1000 for the boat of your dreams. It's a basket case, so will need to be rebuilt top to bottom, but at least cosmetically it looks pretty good.

Spend around $6000 or so fixing it up to like-new condition. You now have the boat of your dreams in great running condition, which you can probably sell for $3000 if you're lucky. (But since it's the boat of your dreams and it's now in perfect condition there's no need to sell it). (Been there and done that ).

Seriously, my suggestion would be to find a boat for as little $$$ as possible that you think will meet your needs. Do whatever it takes to get the seller to take you on a test run before you buy it to make sure you're not getting ripped off. Assuming the boat ran good on the test drive check to make sure it isn't taking on much water (a bit is to be expected if there's any spray coming in etc.), and then make sure the transom is solid by pushing and pulling HARD on the lower unit and making sure the transom doesn't move one little bit. If all these basic criteria are met then pay a reasonable price for it (after passing these tests it's already in better shape than half the boats on craigslist), and enjoy it for a year or so. After a year or two of boating you'll likely find that there are things you'd like to be different in your boat. At that time sell your existing boat and find one that meets your needs better.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Grass is always greener... at a little higher price.

just wait--- over the past 40++ years I have owned every style of boat made from 14' to 40'. Finally found what I really want-- a 21' EdgeWater with a small cuddy. Bought an indoor dry slip to help keep her clean and free of bird poop. If I had an extra $130,000 I'd buy her big sister at 24'..... but I'm happy with her until the Atlantic gets snotty.

 

[laserbrn]

Re: Grass is always greener... at a little higher price.

I went through the same kind of thing, but I just went ahead and bought cheap until I had a bit more experience and I felt I could make an educated run at this hobby. Otherwise it's full of pitfalls and potential danger!

I bought a 14' aluminum skiff and and outboard motor for $650 total (it wasn't summer already). I built a neat little deck in it with some carpet to make it a little more suitable to fish off of comforatably and sold it for $800.00 when the season ended.

I bought a 19' fiberglass outboard bowrider for $1800 and used it for 2 seasons. It was an okay boat, but it wasn't built well and I really used it primarily for fishing as I didn't know how structurally sound the boat was. No jumping wakes or pulling tubes for that old boat. I sold it for $1500.00.

I finally bought a 24' boat with an engine that didn't run. I knew I wanted a skipjack after a few years of being around and went on the hunt for just the boat I was looking for. I've now put about $6000 into it and it's still sitting in my driveway. The engine now runs, the fuel tank's have been replaced, the decks/stringers have been inspected and I'm replacing just about everything on it. It's looking like I'll be about $12k into it when it's all done. For the same price I could've bought a boat that was running, but I don't really know the engines condition, don't know the structural integrity, don't know when anything has been replaced, therefore I don't know when it should be replaced again etc.

I know I could've spent $12k on a good running boat, but I suspect I still would've had 3k-4k in potential future repairs/maintenance that I just didn't see coming. At least this way, everything is in front of me. I know what she needs and I know what it's going to cost.

I suggest going the "project" route, but make sure you are realistic with what it will cost. It may not save you much money versus a new purchase, but when it's done, it's yours and it's something you are intimately familiar with. All boats in your price range will have issues and need maintenance/repairs. This isn't a poor mans hobby.