Used boat shopping.

[mistaredone]

Still looking for a Nitro fish n ski. So far the good boats go in the matter of hours and lots of junk out there. I ran into a guy two months ago that brings them up from South Carolina. Well he’s back with more boats and they are well priced. He says he has documtaion for duties at the border so id assume the boats clean from the US side. I’ve looked into licensing a boat for the first time in Canada and seems simple. Anything I should look out for on this transaction?  I’m having a mechanic look the 07 150 mec. 

[hutch4113]

If he is selling them, does he not look after that?  That is what happened when I bought a US boat.  When I picked it up it had all its new registration numbers, ownership, etc.

By the way - where is this guy?  I might be in the market for a new used boat myself.  PM me if you could.

 

 

[misfish]

Would he be going by the name FISHON?

 

Buyer beware.

Just ask around.

[mistaredone]

No. Do you have any links about fishon?  Might have some good precautionary info. 

[craigdritchie]

I would be extremely careful with buying any used boats from the southern US right now, especially considering how many of them were written off last year between the three hurricanes (Harvey,  Irma and Nate) and four major tropical storms that all made landfall in the US. There are many people patching up these trashed boats and re-selling them. Shiny new gelcoat and some Armourall on the seats does nothing to repair hull cracks or splintered stringers.

Seriously ... buyer beware. You don't want to get stuck with a hurricane boat, and US insurers wrote off well over 100,000 of them last fall alone. Before you lay out any cash, have the boat looked over by a certified marine mechanic.

[Sterling]

48 minutes ago, craigdritchie said:

I would be extremely careful with buying any used boats from the southern US right now, especially considering how many of them were written off last year between the three hurricanes (Harvey,  Irma and Nate) and four major tropical storms that all made landfall in the US. There are many people patching up these trashed boats and re-selling them. Shiny new gelcoat and some Armourall on the seats does nothing to repair hull cracks or splintered stringers.

Seriously ... buyer beware. You don't want to get stuck with a hurricane boat, and US insurers wrote off well over 100,000 of them last fall alone. Before you lay out any cash, have the boat looked over by a certified marine mechanic.

On that note, great deals to be had from US insurance write-offs. Especially if you're a DIY type person or mechanic. It's amazing what sort of damage can write off a boat, when zero functional damage has occurred whatsoever. This is truer for aluminum boats than glass.

Probably going to get some flak for that. I'm ready.

[John Bacon]

26 minutes ago, Sterling said:

On that note, great deals to be had from US insurance write-offs. Especially if you're a DIY type person or mechanic. It's amazing what sort of damage can write off a boat, when zero functional damage has occurred whatsoever. This is truer for aluminum boats than glass.

Probably going to get some flak for that. I'm ready.

I am not sure if it is true or not, but I have been told that you cannot insure a boat that has been written off.  That is something that you would want check before buying one.

[mistaredone]

This is why I always come here. Really good advice. Thanks guys

[Sterling]

3 hours ago, John Bacon said:

I am not sure if it is true or not, but I have been told that you cannot insure a boat that has been written off.  That is something that you would want check before buying one.

Very interesting. I sold my "write-off" boat to my dad. I'll ask if he was able to insure it. The boat had two dings on it, 100% cosmetic. 

If you're right, I wonder if you could still get marine insurance on the remainder of the boat's content. Electronics, etc. 

[craigdritchie]

4 hours ago, Sterling said:

On that note, great deals to be had from US insurance write-offs. Especially if you're a DIY type person or mechanic. It's amazing what sort of damage can write off a boat, when zero functional damage has occurred whatsoever. This is truer for aluminum boats than glass.

Probably going to get some flak for that. I'm ready.

I don't think there's any issue with that provided the buyer clearly states that the boat was a hurricane write-off. Where it gets greasy is when someone cleans it up, makes it look like an undamaged boat, and doesn't say boo.

I know one story involving a 23-foot center console that went down in a hurricane and spent three months laying on the bottom of a bay, completely submerged in salt water. Someone fished it out, cleaned it up and once the sand and seaweed got washed out it didn't have a scratch on it otherwise. A bit of Armourall spruced up the upholstery, and a new outboard made it look like a brand new boat. Problem was, all the electrical wiring, steering components, pumps, T-top frame and other metal fittings corroded from the salt water. Apparently you could pull the cleats off with your hand, and a zillion little hairline cracks in the hull let water soak through to the aluminum stringers. The boat might have looked new, but it was a death trap.

Just last week there was a story in the papers about some guy who bought a big cruiser in Florida, brought it home and had it sink on him in Lake Michigan. Bad enough the boat went down, but he's now facing an environmental salvage fee of over $100,000.

Like I said, buyer beware ...