new buyer...HELP

Subject: boat buying

Hey there,

I need help figuring out what kind of boat I should buy. I’m hoping you will help!

I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and I’m not even sure where to go. I ride up in Muskoka Ontario ( original home of WAKESTOCK)

I need to finally hook myself up with a boat! I m not super rich but I don’t want to go too cheep on my purchase. Any help here would be great. My riding ability is intermediate and probably wont go much beyond that. I m on a large river so its usually pretty butter conditions (small chop) I love listing to tunes when I ride and on a average there are like 6 of us riding. The boat would get a lot of use. I need something reliable, as the boat I have now breaks down once a week. I’m not sure what else to say,,,If there are older boats I should look at that’s cool too. Please steer me in the right direction.

Thanks

Barton

That's pretty broad....how about starting with a budget...got one in mind?

Try Port Sandfield Marina 705 765 3147 talk to John Matthews or Derek mader they have new and used inboards.

Bart,
After you get a budget in mind, you might want to check these (used) sites:
www.boatraderonline.com
www.flipsell.com
www.iboats.com
and maybe, www.boatsexpress.com if transport is needed?

If I'm reading you right, sounds like an older boat will be fine for you. I don't know what your definition of "not super rich" is, but sounds like used is the way to go for starters. One of the most important things to check is the compression. Also take the floor out and check for exposed/rotten wood. Exposed is OK as long as it's not rotten, you can re-glass it (and use it for bargaining power) but no exposed wood would be better obviously. Try to turn the motor mount bolts that go into the stringers. If they just spin and spin chances are it has rotten stringers.

Of course I'm partial to Nautiques which I feel have always been top quality. Mastercrafts, too. I wouldn't hesitate to buy an older one of these, either, if they've been taken care of. If I had the time and money for two water toys, I'd buy an old Stars and Stripes MC to keep my SN company! ;) Scour the internet and look at as many as you can so you know what to pay for what you want. Good luck, keep us posted!

Bart,

You might try giving Silver Spray Sports a call. They are located in Fenton, MI but would definitely be worth the drive. They are a dealer for Correct Craft and typically have a good used boat selection. I enjoy dealing with Silver Spray enough that even since I've moved to Ohio I will still drive 4 hours to have them service my boat. They are that good of a dealer in my opinion! If you do give them a call talk to Jeff or Patti Smith.

Dont know if there are any dealers around, but I'm really happy with my Moomba, low cost compared to most other new boats. We were looking at used Nautiques and they are definetly nice, just decided to get new instead of used.