First time boat buying? Utterly confused!

[erikpn]

It's so unlike a car! I know makes and models and can look up reviews, and test drive it and take it down to a mechanic to check out before buying. None of that seems available on boats.

I'm looking for a small boat to use around the Puget Sound in Washington, fishing and crabbing. It'd be nice to be able to take it into freshwater and fish some lakes too, but that's not as important. It's usually pretty flat on the sound, but the wind can stir up a bit of chop.

I'm looking at used boats. I'd like to keep it under 3k dollars. What's a good fit for me? What should I look for?


I've heard all the stories about them being holes in the water that owners throw money into, and would like something reliable and that can easily be fixed if something goes wrong. so I was looking at simple aluminum boats liek this- http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/boa/1326620231.html

No stereo/electronics, just an outboard on a piece of aluminum so how much can go wrong, right?

I also see larger fiberglass boats like this.. which look like they can handle the bit of chop the sound can give out better. But would they be reliable? http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/boa/1337135617.html

I can wrench on cars and am fairly mechanically inclined.

What're the pros and cons of each? What should I check out or do in the process of buying a boat? Just show up and look around it and pay up? What should I look for? Thank you!

 

[H8tank]

Re: First time boat buying? Utterly confused!

Go buy that fiberglass one today and start enjoying it.

That other one is a toy.

 

[rjlipscomb]

Re: First time boat buying? Utterly confused!

No mention of age, wife or children. Both of your options fit your wants. The bow rider/run about has more versatility but is probably not as good a small fishing boat as the aluminum. Boats are generally about +'s and -'s. The bigger boat better on the chop, the smaller boat easier to launch/retrieve by yourself. You get my point. IMO, pick a boat and go have fun. After a while, you'll understand your wants and needs a little better and may decide to upsize or downsize. Don't fret over it, we've all been there before.

 

[erikpn]

Re: First time boat buying? Utterly confused!

25 years old, no wife or kids.

What should I check over when buying a boat? Should I ask for a test ride?

 

[werthert]

Re: First time boat buying? Utterly confused!

Troll the forums for a few weeks and get a little educated. Why do you want a boat and what do you plan to do with it?

 

[erikpn]

Re: First time boat buying? Utterly confused!

What about boats like this? I see a lot of mid-late 80's bayliner capris on craigslist. Is anything wrong with them? http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/boa/1328593149.html

 

[JimKW]

Re: First time boat buying? Utterly confused!

I think you should call about the first fiberglass you listed. Looks to me like it could be a real good deal. See if you can get them to take you out on it and then look for somebody to do a prepurchase inspection since you know so little about boats.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: First time boat buying? Utterly confused!

25 years old, no wife or kids.

What should I check over when buying a boat? Should I ask for a test ride?

so you need a cuddy cabin then! It will solve both of those problems for you.

 

[erikpn]

Re: First time boat buying? Utterly confused!

I think you should call about the first fiberglass you listed. Looks to me like it could be a real good deal. See if you can get them to take you out on it and then look for somebody to do a prepurchase inspection since you know so little about boats.

I don't know anybody who knows a lot about boats to do the inspection though. My aunt and uncle live nearby and just bought a new 19' something or other for 20,000, but I don't think they really know much about it either ha. Any of you guys up in the Seattle area wanna give me a hand?

Or just pointers about what to look for on a prepurchase inspection?

 

[oshkoshboating]

Re: First time boat buying? Utterly confused!

Howdy!

I know how you feel - went through the same before I bought mine.

Like werthert suggested, read through this forum.

Did you read this sticky yet?
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=300472

 

[rjlipscomb]

Re: First time boat buying? Utterly confused!

Given the end of season is near (I think...?), spend your free time reviewing the posts on iBoats. You'll gain a lot knowledge fast and get to know some people who can help when you've narrowed your down. As read through here, think about why you want a boat and for what kind of activities. There has to be plenty of boaters from your neck of the woods on iBoats.

Feel free to jump in and ask questions and get involved, it is addictive.

 

[mike343]

Re: First time boat buying? Utterly confused!

Erik,

find a friend (or a friend of a friend) who boats where you want to. Talk to him, maybe get a ride, aned look at local boats.

 

[bigskiohio]

Re: First time boat buying? Utterly confused!

Get a aluminum with merc 120 or 140 i/o. easy to work on ,cheap, used parts everywhere, light enough to tow with anything. Then once you you figure out you need faster and bigger you will get your money back.

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: First time boat buying? Utterly confused!

...or...you can just buy the darned thing. Figure out what's wrong with it later .

Make certain you invite all of your friends to go along the first time you have it out...don't worry about launching and retrieving...it's normal for the temp gauge to be in the red part of the dial. The plug should only be in when it's out of the water. Almost forgot...make sure you start it and run it wide open in your driveway. Those muff looking things hooked up to the garden hose are for flushing the dog's ears.

I keed..I keed.

 

[Zrob]

Re: First time boat buying? Utterly confused!

so you need a cuddy cabin then! It will solve both of those problems for you.

Good One!

I am not a boat owner yet, well besides my silly 10' aluminum John that I use for fresh water. Personally I would go for a fiberglass one I think aluminum makes too much noise.

 

[tmfd]

Re: First time boat buying? Utterly confused!

...or...you can just buy the darned thing. Figure out what's wrong with it later .

Thats pretty much what I did, not recommended! Luckily I haven't run into much, had the dealer replace a side panel. I only heard it run on muffs, you should take it out and run it if possible. As I said, I didnt check it out to very well before, but so far I am happy, I got lucky. Dont be impatient like I was (am). Good luck and good boating BTW I ended up with an '88 Starcraft FMS 16 w/Johnson 60 for $5,500

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[LIQUID PROZAC]

Re: First time boat buying? Utterly confused!

research research research--don't rush and by all means do a sea trial

 

[ezmobee]

Re: First time boat buying? Utterly confused!

If you're not really sure what your usage will be then a 16-18' bowrider would be a good start. For outboards anything but a Chrysler or Force is fine (the bayliner you listed above has a Force even though the seller describes it as a Mercury which is an underhanded move) For inboard/outboards stick with Volvo or Mercruiser with the one exception of the Merc 470 (a large 3.7L 4 cyl that was problematic).