How do I go about buying my first boat?

Question

I'm 21 years old, own my own house that is already paid off, I have some credit card debt to pay off but not too much. I am very interested in purchasing my first boat but am blind going about doing it. I never took out a loan before, and I make about 1800-1900 dollars a month. Anyone out there experienced with boats that can help me out?? Also, what to do and what not to do?

Answer 1

Ok here is the truth . Take all of your hard earned money or foolishly take out a loan at which by the time you pay it off your boat will have no value.

  Take a boaters course then go boating .When it needs repairing expect to spend lots of money. Make sure you keep it well cleaned and most importantly waxed because the sun is hard on the gel coat.

If you trailer dont forget you have to register it and pay for tag registartion everyyear./Oh dont forget to pay for boats registration..Also when you take friends out dont forget you will be supplying the refreshments and snacks/food.

  Now so far we have spent a lot  but oopps boat broke down again and dam those $75. an hour repair bills.

  Ok Now we are having fun.Actually this may help you to understand the meaning of   The first happiest day in a boaters life is when they buy it and the second happiest day is when they sell it

Answer 2

Hi, Well first you got to ask your self these questions:

1st. What am I going to be using this boat for? (Fishing, Cruising with the family...ect...)

2nd. What size of boat do I need? ( The longer the boat, the more stable in the water and more people/equipment room, but harder to tow and launch if you don't have experience)

3rd. And the biggest one of all, what do I want to spend?

There are ALOT of different type of boats out there. Fishing, Pontoon, Speed, Cuddy Cabins, Cruisers, and I can go on forever here.

Depending on the size, you usually have 2 types of structure materials to choose from, Fibreglass and Aluminium. If your going smaller (no larger than 16 foot), I recommend aluminium as its light weight and doesn't crack like fibreglass can if you accidentally hit something. And there easy as pie to tow and pull out of the water. When it comes to fibreglass boats, your getting higher end. Fibreglass boats are nicer I think. You can get them in great sizes too (upwards of 60 feet!). But if your looking for a good family/friend boat, I highly recommend a "Bow Rider" type boat.

Now if I should keep going...lol.....Motors! You got a great amount of makes and models when it comes to boat motors. But your other question should be, Inboard or Outboard?? Outboards are cheaper (to a point) and easier to work on. Inboards are more money, but are much....much quieter out on the water. When it comes to makes (Mercury, Evenruid, Suzuki, Honda......) that is up to you. I personally recommend the Mercury's, but that is me. But with all this and a trip to your local marine dealer, you should be able to find one that is perfect for you. Good luck and God Bless!

Tim (ford_guy90)

Answer 3

My first advice is - WAIT.  

Decide what type of boat you want, how are you going to use it.

There are boat shows in the fall of the year into the early spring where dealers show off the newest and offer some great deals.  Go Look and talk to the dealers and reps and get information on the boats you like.  If a new boat is in the works you may want to ask about last years models - left overs or even a dealer demo.  

Used boats are a great deal, most people do not use a boat very often and the hours do not get very high.  When buying a used boat you need to ask some questions about why they are selling, regular maintenance done, any problems, and ask for a test ride.

While you wait to decide which boat to buy start saving the money.  It will build up faster with the interest being paid to you instead of you paying the interest.  The more you have to put down the better.  

A boat is not as easy to get a loan for as a car, so you will need to shop around for loan rates.  Ask someone you trust to look over the papers before you sign.

Good Luck and Boat Safe ! !

Answer 4

First thing you need to do whether it is for a car or a boat, is to get preapproved by your bank or credit union. They can tell you, based on income and debt, how much money they will loan you. Once you have a maximum dollar figure, then you can decide what type of boat you want in your price range. It will most likely be a trailerable sized boat. Do you have a vehicle that will tow it? If not, you'll need to keep your boat in the water, you will have dock rental and other boat yard annual fees such as bottom painting and winter storage.Hope this helped.

Answer 5

My first suggestion to you would be to contact a marine lender or your bank and ask how much they would qualify you for. This will then give you an idea of what you can buy.

Second suggestion would be to take a boating course over the winter. This will help you to learn the rules on the water.

Next comes looking for a boat. Once you know what you will have loaned to you makes you decide on new or used. "New" just means on deciding what you can afford and finding what you like. Most new boaters start out in a bowrider or a small cuddy or cabin cruiser (up to 25' in length). Not too big to handle.

Used boats will allow you to buy bigger but with it come possible problems. You don't know the previous owner so your stuck with what they did/did not do to the vessel. However, if you can find one where it is only a couple of years old, serviced by the dealer with low hours on the engine you'll be in good shape and saving thousands of dollars.

That's should be a good means to get you started on the road to owning something that will give you hours of pleasure.But do not rush into it...take your time...decide on what you want...what you can afford...and then go for it! You'll be extremely glad you did!!!

ADDED NOTE: David gave basically the same info but if you can find a "boatel" in your area where the boat is stored inside and dropped into the water with by a forklift you have no need to have a vehicle that can tow the boat (unless you have to get it to the "boatel" but hey...borrow someone's car or truck and save the $$$ for fun boating!).

Answer 6

I don't know much about banking, but I do know boats. Do you know what you want? Don't get more than you need- a lot of systems means you're always fixing something. Go for reliability, and with the price of fuel you might consider what it will cost to run. Are we talking sail or power? Trailer? Blue water or lake? How big? I would be happy to advise.