buying a fishing boat

[ohhenrygsr]

Man im looking at every medium to buy. In canada in u.s. dont know who to trust whom to buy from.My buddy tells me "watch out don't by a force engine" don't buy a tracker I just want a good used fishing boat.Dont know of any marina's ugh. Ok i have vented i'll be ok

Hey Caribou, It's a great time to start looking for a boat. But I would probably stick to buying in Ontario. The dollar is not at it's greatest moment right now and you'll sure be adding extra cost for nothing. Buying across the border is great and pictures do explain a thousand words but nothing like seeing the boat in person.

 

Check out marinas give them a call, most people who purchased a new boat will trade in there used. Marinas usually do a trade evaluation on the boat to see if it's even worth there time to resell to the next customer. If your looking at a private sale then make sure you still take it to a marina to have it inspected, sorta like a certification. Happy Boat Hunting.

 

Cheers

[craigdritchie]

Gotta agree with Henry, buy the boat here. For a boat in that size/price range, whatever money you might save will be eaten up by the currency exchange, and your time/gas/hassle of going down there to see boats, arrange a mechanic to go with you, etc etc. Just not worth it, especially when you'll have zero post-sale service cross a border. At least here, if you buy it from a dealer, you have that.

[Cosmos]

I would recommend to buy it in US. I bought mine in US last month. It was easy process to bring it here - THANKS TO ALL GUYS HERE. I just followed a recommendations from one of old boat buying threads on forum. Different in price is huge even for small boat I got. Even with currency rate it's still worth it. I sold motor which came with my boat and bought another one here in Ontario. I saw a lot of good deals on kijiji - check Pennsylvania (Erie side) or New York State. I bought in Pennsylvania - was 4 hours drive from Newmarket one way. Border crossing is simple process if you have done your home work and have all paper work.

[HTHM]

I am looking at the US route right now as well, and am finding that the exchange is taking away the savings. Mind you I am looking at mid-range boats. What and when did you buy Costa?

[BillM]

I would recommend to buy it in US. I bought mine in US last month. It was easy process to bring it here - THANKS TO ALL GUYS HERE. I just followed a recommendations from one of old boat buying threads on forum. Different in price is huge even for small boat I got. Even with currency rate it's still worth it. I sold motor which came with my boat and bought another one here in Ontario. I saw a lot of good deals on kijiji - check Pennsylvania (Erie side) or New York State. I bought in Pennsylvania - was 4 hours drive from Newmarket one way. Border crossing is simple process if you have done your home work and have all paper work.

 

I agree if you're going to spend 15-20k, but not for a 14ft tiller... You aren't going to save much if anything.. Hell you might actually spend more once you factor in exchange.

[woodenboater]

Unless you only plan to fish skinny water in very calm conditions, I would probably just sail past jon boats. If you have to hustle in bad weather, the jon boat is going to take a pounding as it slams every wave on the way back to the dock. V's will cut though chop better = more comfortable ride.

 

and agree with some others, if you're thinking of a 12 or 14 footer, I'd look in Ontario as any US savings will probably be eaten up by the drive to get the boat.

[Cosmos]

Guys,

 

I bought 2005 alumacraft 145 fisherman tiller on galvanized trailer with 2005 long shaft 9.9 hp 4 stroke. Still worth it, I will do it again with no doubt. For me savings were big.

Bill, you can't imagine what kind of jewels you can find cheap.

[bushart]

Little extra factoring....

 

I just filled the F150 from empty the other day....$165

 

Now say a tank each way----may eat any profits on a small purchase boat

[BillM]

Guys,

 

I bought 2005 alumacraft 145 fisherman tiller on galvanized trailer with 2005 long shaft 9.9 hp 4 stroke. Still worth it, I will do it again with no doubt. For me savings were big.

Bill, you can't imagine what kind of jewels you can find cheap.

 

I know, I bought our Lund from Michigan. But look at the exchange rate these days and the price range of 14ft tiller and it doesn't make any sense to buy one in the US.

[fisher]

I sold my boat a few months ago. In the dead of winter. No water test, no start up either (it was winter time and the buyer didn't want to have to re winterized it). The deal was a such a good one that the buyer basically bought it without much look over and didn't want to pass it up as he had done with other deals he lost out on. He asked lots of questions and basically trusted me. Also for the price I sold it, he realized that I felt it wasn't worth trying to rip off somebody and then worrying if they'll seek some revenge in the future.

 

In my experience I think you can usually tell who might be trying to hide something and who is being honest. Sometime we want to believe that someone is being honest for one reason or another when our gut says something just doesn't seem right.

They guy was at my house and I was vey upfront with any issues it had. Every boat has a quirk or two and I am sure he could tell I was being honest about all of mine. If I were hiding something I would be elusive or vague with my responses. I would meet elsewhere - not my house. I would not give my home number. I would not call him from my workplace. Etc.

 

Always go with your gut. If something seems off, it probably is. listen to your instincts

 

Having said all that, Not sure I would have bought a boat without at least a test run.

 

An important question to ask a private seller is why they are selling. Should be a story. Try to gauge the truthfulness of the response to get an idea of if they are going to be truthful on everything else.

Edited March 26, 2014 by fisher