advice on purchase

[bklait]

we are going to be first time boat "owners" I grew up with them in my family so I am not a first time boater. We are looking for a good used boat, something for overnight trips (sleeps 4, 24-28ft or close) with a galley, head (with shower) a "do it all" boat, something for fishing, tubing and just relaxing. We will use it in salt/fresh water (mostly fresh). There are a ton of used boats on the market and the prices seem to be almost random. I want the boat to be "trailerable", but that will be rare. We are looking to spend in the $30,000 range. Can anyone steer us in the "best" direction? There are way too many choices for a first timer, and I don't want to screw it up

 

[Chris]

Welcome to the forums - thanks for joining us.

Since you have a budget in mind, I would probably look for the best boat at the price you want to spend. Sites like Boat Trader are pretty good for on-line dreaming and searching.

As far as trailering, that probably depends a little on what you tow with. So you'll want to look at the towing capacity of your tow beast and see what it's capable of towing and stick to looking at boats that fit within its towing capacity.

One thing to keep in mind with salt water use, is that it's much harder on a boat versus freshwater use. So typically a boat that's been used in saltwater will be worth less on the used market than one that hasn't been. So if you use your potential rig in saltwater, it will also depreciate at faster rate as well.

Also, for saltwater, you will probably also want to look at a boat that has a closed cooling system. That's assuming it's an I/O or inboard.

-Chris