Important Considerations When Buying Your Boat

Important Considerations When Buying Your Boat

When you decide to buy a boat, make sure you have an idea of what you want before you spend your money. Due to the cost of a nice, late model watercraft, it is important that you don't make a hasty decision that you will be unhappy about for years to come.

First Things First

Your first consideration is what your needs are in a boat. This should not be based solely on the desires of one person in the family. That would be like the husband who got the car that he wanted when he was young: a two-seater sports car. The only problem was that he and his wife have four kids, and only one mode of transportation. So determine what will be the primary usage of the boat. There can be other ways for the boat to be used, but the primary use of the boat should be the determining factor.

The first thing to determine is the primary use for the boat. There are boats for fishing; water skiing; towing wakeboards and water tubes; racing; cruising around; sailing -all great choices. Some boats will function in several capacities, which offer more enjoyment for family and friends. Then also consider how you are going to transport your boat - you don't want to be pulling very long boats on the road to different marinas, docks, and waterways.

Size Does Matter

Consider the size of your family. If you have the national average of 1.8 kids in your brood, you don't need a large boat unless you are planning to carry a lot of guests. A family that goes to the lake or out on the sea, who only has one child, usually carries at least another little friend along, too. Plus there can be the other child's parents, so the numbers keep growing. And once you buy a boat, you may become even more popular!

It makes good sense to plan that more people than just the immediate family will be in the boat on any given outing, so try to allow for additional passengers. If your budget allows for you to purchase additional footage, it's usually a good idea to go for the larger boat. Just be sure to save room in your budget for the right sized engine for your boat; if you are pulling skiers or water sports tubes, you'll need more power than if you are just going out fishing.

The Kind That's Right for You

What kind of boat you want is another serious consideration. There are fishermen who were coerced into buying speedboats for the sake of the children being able to ski, and long after the children lose interest, Daddy is still saddled with a speedboat. Fishing out of a speedboat is possible, but a hindrance.

The pontoon is another option for the family boat. It's big enough to carry quite a number of people and it is easier to fish from than the speedboat. You can pull the kids around on towables, but it isn't great for skiing. It's a little cumbersome when you're pulling it on a trailer, too.

One of the best steps to help you in the decision process it to attend local or national boat shows, so you can get an idea of what you like, and don't like, about the different kinds and makes, and what will be the best model for you and your family, based on your boating habits. And attending the boat shows, viewing all the new models, will help you later if you decide to buy a pre-owned boat.

Buying Used

When you decide on the kind of boat you are going to buy, you may want to shop for a used one, before you swallow that big "new boat" hook. If there has ever been a shortage of used boats for sale, it's definitely not the case now. However, if you are considering buying a used boat, you may want to wait until September, when the owner is thinking about making payments while the boat is sitting dormant for the winter.

You may have mixed feelings about second hand vehicles, and you should be careful if that is the way you decide to go. There was an old saying about buying a used car, "You're buying someone else's problems." This isn't always true, but it is worth remembering. And don't buy used just because of price. We may think "This boat is such a steal that I can't pass it up." When someone has to let go of their watercraft at a discount, it might be hard to pass up, but if it's not what you want, is it really a bargain?

Some marinas offer a service to inspect a boat for a prospective buyer to provide some peace of mind. There is a cost associated with this; some many charge $8 to $10 per linear foot, but it is a thorough inspection that usually turns up any genuine problems. Some people trade boats every couple of years, so you might find a honey of a deal and never have a problem.

If you decide to buy a used boat, you will obviously pay a lower price for the size and kind of boat than you would if you bought it new. Boats lose value the same as automobiles, so as soon as you drop her in the water, she's used.

Buying New

If a new boat is what you really want, there are several good reasons to float that way. It's obvious that a new vehicle is better looking than one that someone else has been piloting, and you can expect everything to work perfectly. It will even have that new boat smell, with all the latest technology for that model.

There is no reason to expect mechanical problems with a new boat, and even if there are, the warranty will cover any legitimate problems. Unless you decide to do something really crazy and wreck the boat, your warranty should protect you for a while from any repair bills.

Some boaters don't want to buy a new ride because they fear they will get a lemon, and there is a minor chance of that. Also, sometimes people think that defects in the boat won't show up until the warranty has run out. Dealers will tell you that major defects will usually appear while the warranty is still good.

In Conclusion

Owning a boat is a lot of fun and offers a great deal of enjoyment for the entire family. A boat purchase is not something to be rushed into, however, and your experience will be a much more enjoyable one if you take your time and explore all the possibilities before making a final decision.

About the Author

Jane Warren is a water sports enthusiast who runs the website www.towabletubesdirect.com. Her website is a valuable resource to providing information about different water sports brands and their products like towable tubes, water skis, water trampolines, kayaks, wakeboards, and related accessories. TowableTubesDirect.com provides reviews and pricing of the best sellers, like the Airhead big slice, which makes it easy for people to find what they are looking for.



Jane lives in Atlanta with her husband, Jim. She frequently enjoys boating, tubing, swimming, scuba diving and other water sport activities, and spends several months a year in Grand Cayman. They have a boat that they use there, primarily for scuba diving, and pulling riders on a towable tube. They also enjoy cruising around the bay, and other parts of the island. The highlight is a trip to the Stingray City sandbar, where they can drop anchor and spend some time swimming with the rays!