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Thinking about buying a boat

DRTDEVL

DRTDEVL

Mothfukle
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
78
Messages
768
Loc
Austin... TX? Nope. Minnesota!
Yeah, yeah... Break Out Another Thousand. A hole in the water you throw money into.

Now that that's out of the way, a guy in the neighborhood is selling a basic 1988 Lund aluminum fishing boat. It has a 1992 motor. He got the boat for free from a family member a few years back, but the family member didn't properly winterize it and the lower end was cracked. 2 years ago, he brought the boat to a friend of his who does marine service, and he spent a couple grand rebuilding the engine and the lower unit. Fast forward another year, and he injures his left shoulder so he cannot operate the outboard. He ended up buying a center console, so the boat just sits. It's on a easy loader trailer with relatively new tires, has a Garmin fish finder, trolling motor, lighting, live well, and three swivel seats. Comes with all safety equipment and a fuel tank. He's only asking $2,500.

Where can this go wrong?
 
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This is a website dedicated to a hobby that most of us like to dream about, plan, build, and buy vehicles for trips that never happen. The same goes for boat ownership.

Edit: I've got a mint condition 54 year old speed boat that's available for $2500 as well if you're looing for worse ideas.
 
Juztyn00 said:
This is a website dedicated to a hobby that most of us like to dream about, plan, build, and buy vehicles for trips that never happen. The same goes for boat ownership.

Edit: I've got a mint condition 54 year old speed boat that's available for $2500 as well if you're looing for worse ideas.
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Details?:homer:
 
A little aluminum boat is never a bad idea, though that sounds kinda spendy for one that's not running. :flipoff2:
 
It could go wrong when you hit the beach at mach chicken.

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Boats are one of those subjects that turn all the boomers here into even bigger idiots than they usually are.

The reason boat shit is expensive is because the customers are assholes and everyone bakes dealing with them into their prices. If you're not paying other people to do shit (and basically everything on a small boat is basic shit) for you it will be a way cheaper hobby than cars.

That's a good deal for what it is. Buy it.
 
Wife and I were at the local boat show this weekend just wandering around for something to do. Anybody into wakeboard/surf boats? $400,000 for a 24' boat that's only good for putting up a huge wake? :eek::eek::eek: And here in Michigan the water temps are only good for 5 or so months a year! Fucking crazy!
 
white-rhino said:
Wife and I were at the local boat show this weekend just wandering around for something to do. Anybody into wakeboard/surf boats? $400,000 for a 24' boat that's only good for putting up a huge wake? :eek::eek::eek: And here in Michigan the water temps are only good for 5 or so months a year! Fucking crazy!
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So when do you get the new boat?
 
white-rhino said:
Wife and I were at the local boat show this weekend just wandering around for something to do. Anybody into wakeboard/surf boats? $400,000 for a 24' boat that's only good for putting up a huge wake? :eek::eek::eek: And here in Michigan the water temps are only good for 5 or so months a year! Fucking crazy!
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It also gives you something to bitch about as more lakes clamp down on wake boats lol
 
I think I'm going to go meet up with him at lunch time and have him bring a battery. Hopefully he can also move it to where we can put a large trash can full of water behind it in order to fire the engine and verify it's running condition without having to take it to a lake.

We have back-to-back snow events coming up in the next 96 hours, so it's unlikely I'll be able to test it on the water this week. Maybe if everything looks fine, I'll drop a deposit on it until we can take it on the water a few weeks from now. The easiest testing ground would be Eastside Lake, it's only about 6 miles from here. I would probably initially use it on Albert Lea Lake and Fountain Lake, both are about 15-20 minutes from here, eventually moving on to the more populated lakes and rivers a bit north of here. I might even take it out to Okoboji in the future... wherever the fish are to be found.

This will be a great way to pass the weekends in the summertime with my son, he's currently six and loves "fishing" (so far, I have a red plastic fish shaped casting trainer that he just casts into the river over and over again, but he'll graduate to actual bait and hooks this year).

I was initially looking for a cuddy cabin or cabin cruiser to take on the larger bodies of water, possibly weekending most of the summer away on the water. But I can't say no to the price, especially considering it's a best offer situation. If I can score that thing for less than two grand, it doesn't matter if I only get one or two seasons out of it before ditching it for something larger. Who knows, I might just decide to keep a small one and a large one depending upon what we are doing.

I really need to sell some of these projects I have sitting around, otherwise I won't have a place to park it indoors.:flipoff2:
 
An aluminum boat with a relatively new outboard doesn’t really fit the cliche “hole in the water….” Etc

Mine have been cheap to own and maintain. There has never been a surprise.
 
white-rhino said:
Wife and I were at the local boat show this weekend just wandering around for something to do. Anybody into wakeboard/surf boats? $400,000 for a 24' boat that's only good for putting up a huge wake? :eek::eek::eek: And here in Michigan the water temps are only good for 5 or so months a year! Fucking crazy!
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lol I know. Was just looking at wake boats the other day and was like wtf. I couldn’t justify 100k for a boat let alone 3-400,000k. :lmao:
 
How long is the boat? Depending on the lakes you want to run on that would be my biggest concern.

$2500 is cheap, who cares if it needs another motor. I am still beating around in a 1978 Lowe and 1986 Century. Absolutely nothing wrong with them. No reason to buy newer.

I don't understand why people think they have to be so expensive. But on the other hand not everyone should own a boat.
 
Tiha said:
How long is the boat? Depending on the lakes you want to run on that would be my biggest concern.

$2500 is cheap, who cares if it needs another motor. I am still beating around in a 1978 Lowe and 1986 Century. Absolutely nothing wrong with them. No reason to buy newer.

I don't understand why people think they have to be so expensive. But on the other hand not everyone should own a boat.
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I didn't ask the length... but it looks to be about 16'. Rated for 5 people.

Most of the lakes here are pretty shallow and you need a smaller boat to run on them. I wouldn't take this into the main channel of the Mississippi, but definitely the tide pools and marshes.
 
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ThePanzerFuhrer said:
lol I know. Was just looking at wake boats the other day and was like wtf. I couldn’t justify 100k for a boat let alone 3-400,000k. :lmao:
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People must be buying them, or else they wouldn’t be making them. That being said, the 400k wake boats are just a dick swinging contests. There’s new $90k boats that basically do everything just as well. That’s for a new boat, 30-60k and you can have a very nice used wake boat.

Don’t have one yet, but it’s my next big toy. I grew up boating with my family and loved it, want to do the same with my kids.
 
DRTDEVL said:
I didn't ask the length... but it looks to be about 16'.

Most of the lakes here are pretty shallow and you need a smaller boat to run on them. I wouldn't take this into the main channel of the Mississippi, but definitely the tide pools and marshes.
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Sounds like you know what you are doing.

we have saylorville lake here. I never take the little boat on. The lake is so rough people have been physically ejected from boats at 17ft and under. Something weird about that lake.

Many of the smaller lakes had a 10hp limit, but I think they are kind of changing all that to no wake limit which makes it easier.

my smaller boat is 16ft. It has a 25hp. merc on it. I never get to wind the thing up unless we go out on the river and that is always scary.

Up there in the great white north you have many more lake options than me. I am jealous.
 
Preface: I'm not a boat guy, just grew up around them with friends and family. I've seen them work out great and fail miserably for people.

What engine?
Do you already do boat/water/fishing stuff?
Do you fish?
What are your plans with it? I assume fishing, because that's all it's really good for.

If your local water is smooth and slow enough to be comfortable with that boat, it could work.

Value will depend greatly on the engine. Cheap 10hp vs nice 30hp will sway the value a lot... also make a huge difference in how the boat drives.
 
Yotota said:
Preface: I'm not a boat guy, just grew up around them with friends and family. I've seen them work out great and fail miserably for people.

What engine? -Don't Remember
Do you already do boat/water/fishing stuff? -Fishing
Do you fish? -Like a bird
What are your plans with it? I assume fishing, because that's all it's really good for. -Fishing is life

If your local water is smooth and slow enough to be comfortable with that boat, it could work. - Smooth and shallow Albert Lea Lake

Value will depend greatly on the engine. Cheap 10hp vs nice 30hp will sway the value a lot... also make a huge difference in how the boat drives.
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I haven't had a boat in a long time... sold my boat in 2005, it was a V-hull 14' Jon Boat with a 3 hp Mercury outboard and a homemade trailer. Not a performance machine, but was good enough for fishing the Withlacoochee River and Lake Rousseau while I lived in Beverly Hills, FL. This boat would be a massive upgrade from that little thing.
 
DRTDEVL said:
I haven't had a boat in a long time... sold my boat in 2005, it was a V-hull 14' Jon Boat with a 3 hp Mercury outboard and a homemade trailer. Not a performance machine, but was good enough for fishing the Withlacoochee River and Lake Rousseau while I lived in Beverly Hills, FL. This boat would be a massive upgrade from that little thing.
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Sounds like you're starting out from a much better place than most boat buyers. :lmao:

Value it based on the engine and make the guy a fair offer. $2k with a nice/bigger engine, $1k with a small cheap engine and plan to upgrade it. Anything under $2k all-in is a relatively cheap investment if you can get some fun out of it and potentially sell it after a couple years for close to what you paid.

Someone else asked about boat/trailer titles. No idea how your state handles that for registration, but it's also a consideration.
 
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