Longer and warmer days can make us think of lazy days on or near water. When we think about going for a boat ride or fishing on any lake or river, some of us might begin dreaming of owning our own boat. Living north of the 49th parallel, the summers tend to be shorter. So we want to know that we will get the most use and value for our boat-buying dollar. Boat Buying Tips can be enjoyable, but it can also be annoying, frustrating, exhausting or all of the above. You need to ask yourself some questions before deciding on a boat because there are many things to consider.

First of all, what kind of boat are you looking for? Is it for water skiing, tubing, fishing or just for sightseeing? Where and how will you be spending most of your time? How many people will normally be in the boat with you, and what kinds of features do you want or need? For most of us, price is also a major factor. Know how much you are willing to spend on a boat. New boats have great appeal but some of us may limited to purchasing a use boat simply because of the price tag. (A word of caution: in the used boat market, a bargain is not necessarily a bargain. And a boat bought in the United States and brought to Canada usually has no warranty in Canada. Since I am a marine mechanic in Canada, this article will be from a Canadian perspective)

I was brought a boat bought at an auction in the States late in the season. So it wasn’t until the following spring that it came into my shop to checked over. The first time I fired up that 200 HP outboard, the knocking was so loud that you could almost hear it clear across town. The outboard was shot and require a $5000 fix.

Another man brought me a boat he’d bought in Texas to used for water skiing. He thought he’d gotten a great deal. He brought the boat to me because he noticed the instrument panel wasn’t functioning properly. You couldn’t tell engine speed because none of the electronic gauges were working. The instrument panel was a one piece unit, so it cost this customer $800 just for the instrument package. He had been sale the boat with the promise that there were no problems.