I’m closing in on buying my first new boat gents. Exciting, but at the same time overwhelming for a guy who over analyzes everything.
I’m curious if you trade in/swap every few years? Or do you take as long a term as possible and pay extra to reduce the net effective rate?
I don’t care if I spend $10,000 or $25,000 to be honest if we are happy and I feel like the long term residual value (good to be a Minnesotan) makes it worthwhile for me
well ive only owned my boat for one season now but I plan on keeping it for the rest of my life. This was always the plan after spending so much money – I figured if im going to get something nice im going to get exactly what I always wanted and so far I don’t regret that decision one bit. IMO When it comes to purchasing new, your value doesn’t come into play until years down the road when your purchase is paid off and you now have a well cared for machine that is paid for to enjoy.
Only reason I would get rid of it would be to downsize after my family grows up.
Thanks crappie – I think I have a similar view. I’m staring at an Alumacraft Yukon right now. I think at 10 years from now (Brutal, 51 at payoff? EEEEE) I have to imagine the value will be at around $8k-$10k which puts my net effective annual cost around $1,200 a year. $100/mo is insane for what I will get (without fuel, insurance or interest, i get it just saying)
I owned my Creatliner Fish Hawk for 10 years since new. Wore it out 3 years ago, literally. Rotted deck and rotted transom. Sold it and bought a used fiberglass center console. Not sure how long I’ll have it but I’m sure it could last much longer than 10 more years.
I had my firs boat…Alumacraft F7…for about 25 years. Now I have an old 16 ft Lund Predator. And when I die I want you guys to put me in that old boat, push it out into Pool 2, and shoot fire arrows into it and burn it to the water.
SR
I’v only owned one boat bought a new Crestliner 17′ phantom with a 115 Johnson in 1987 for $8050.00. Wore out the motor and replaced it in 2000 with a 115 Mercury. Its been through a few depth finder and trolling motors and she getting a little tired and the floor is starting to rot and the paint not looking so good but the price on the new ones ????/ is a little outrageous. not sure whats next Ranger, Skeeter, Crestliner, all sound good but the family has different ideas, not sure how I feel fishing from deck boat the saga continues. we’ll see who wins.
I’v only owned one boat bought a new Crestliner 17′ phantom with a 115 Johnson in 1987 for $8050.00. Wore out the motor and replaced it in 2000 with a 115 Mercury. Its been through a few depth finder and trolling motors and she getting a little tired and the floor is starting to rot and the paint not looking so good but the price on the new ones ????/ is a little outrageous. not sure whats next Ranger, Skeeter, Crestliner, all sound good but the family has different ideas, not sure how I feel fishing from deck boat the saga continues. we’ll see who wins.
Keep up the good fight shawnf
I had my firs boat…Alumacraft F7…for about 25 years. Now I have an old 16 ft Lund Predator. And when I die I want you guys to put me in that old boat, push it out into Pool 2, and shoot fire arrows into it and burn it to the water.
SR
Can’t we just do that for you right now? I heard this weekend’s gonna be lovely weather.
Thanks crappie – I think I have a similar view. I’m staring at an Alumacraft Yukon right now. I think at 10 years from now (Brutal, 51 at payoff? EEEEE) I have to imagine the value will be at around $8k-$10k which puts my net effective annual cost around $1,200 a year. $100/mo is insane for what I will get (without fuel, insurance or interest, i get it just saying)
If you are looking for a boat to make financial sense go find a 25 year old boat and pay cash. Go fishing every week for the rest of your life and you will win! Otherwise…..yes you are over thinking it. 
Probably depends on the individual, and that individuals financial situation.
You get one boat, see what things are missing from it and move on when money’s good. If you are content with what you have, or lack the resources to get another then there ya go.
I personally have no issues with people financing 10 years. The amount of funerals of people Ive been to last few years of people dying way to young is crazy, and just seems to get worse with cancers and all this other crap floating around.
Only problem with financing that long though is knowing exactly what you want for that long. Heck, kids grow up, spouses might change 
, fish you’re chasing(has nothing to do with spouse change), style of fishing, bodies of water you fish, etc.
To answer your question I wouldn’t be surprised if I bought another boat in a couple to few years, with just buying last fall. Long term goal is keep upgrading with cash every few years over my lifetime, should put me in a spanky new boat come retirement time completely paid for. And by that time I’d have run through so many a guy would know EXACTLY what he wants.
This is all of course I start making lots of dough, then screw all that and buy new right away!! 
I bought a 3 year old boat back in 2000 and a friend is going to have his for sale it’s a bigger boat same year so I had mine for 16 years.
I have a 21 year old crest liner fishhawk 1750 I bought new in 96. She’s showing her age , but still gets the job done. I’ve logged countless hours and memories in that boat . Money well spent . Seems like every year lately though , I find a new boat I want , but when it comes time to pull the trigger , I back off . Possibly the FW voice in my ear , or the monthly payments , most likely both . Good luck on your purchase .
Had I known the great elusive JD Winston would show Inwould have asked in 2015!
Thanks gents. With a dad dead at 57
and a step dad at 70 I don’t see waiting as something palatable for me!
Until we can afford one that is a foot longer and 10mph faster. 
I am retired and own 3 boats.
I have never bought a new one.
Paid cash for all of them (and proud of it).
Each of those boats fits a very specific need.
The newest one is 12 years old. A 17ft pontoon boat. I have owned it for 6 years and sits in the lake in front of my retirement home (for lake cruising and family fishing).
The oldest on is a 1970 restored 11 ft Weere paddle boat (great small lake shallow water fishing platform).
And my latest purchase (2 years ago). 1981 Lund Pike Dlx 16. I was in need of some TLC when purchased. Fished with it one season and am now in the process of restoration (new paint, floor, carpet, I-link Minn-kota, networked dual Humminbirds, centric seats, well running 60hp Merc). When done, I will have a lot of time, and about $4000 into it (all paid for), but it will rival an new $16,000 lake toy.
My advice is to shop wisely and don’t finance. If you use it regularly, even if you take excellent care of it, the shine will be long off the apple long before it is paid for.
I bought a boat in 93 that I still have today. Paint on the outside is looking kinda rough with all the long road trips to Canada. Inside have put in new carpet, new electronics, heck at this point I think the electronics are worth more than the boat. Lastly think I am on my third set of seats. I thought this year was it, I was going to buy a newer boat, wife even says I should get one and get what I want as “this will probably be the last boat I own” thanks hon. I look at the prices and just can’t pull the trigger, sure boat will look better, go faster and have some more storage, but will I catch more fish or enjoy the new boat anymore? For me so far probably not. So to answer the question on how long does this IDOer own his boat 24 years and going strong. A boat taken care of will do its job for a long time.
Good luck with your purchase and I like the way you are thinking about the investment I would only tell you the fun and memories that will be generated by your boat purchase as the credit card commercial says is “priceless”
Bought the old green Lund with a summers use out of a resort on Pine Lake in 2001.
16 years with a number of log, tree, stump, dock bumps along with the plastic not looking too hot anymore, but for what I do, it’s great.
Enter the FW and Favorite Granddaughter.
We’re looking at a Skeeter Solera 189 very closely. Mostly trying to find a good Skeeter dealer. Let me know if you’ve heard of one.
I’ll be keeping the Lund for a few years at least. At least until the first bottle of nail polish gets spilled in the Solera… 
If you do your homework and shop around you can find boats that people are getting out of for great prices. Boats overall are very bad investments to be strapped with on a long term payment plan. I won’t purchase a boat unless I have the cash to pay for it. You can always move up if your investment is small, the smaller the investment the smaller the loss. Up until last year I owned a “63” Starcraft with a “64” Merc motor that caught many. many fish. When I sold it to purchase my new Lund I sold it for more then my investment some 25 years later. Boats do last a long time depending on how they are kept and what kind of gingerbread your trying to keep.
I really have a hard time trying to understand or make sense of fishermen paying more for their boats then their house and just a few years later doing it all over again. To answer your question, I buy to keep a long time and try to wear it out. I’m retired and fish a lot, many days a week.. and just wanted to have that new smell before I’m kicked aside. Take your time, find the one you like, pay cash, and enjoy it for a long, long time.
Pops
I’ve had my boat for 13 years. There has been many times that I have had 2 footitis but resisted starting over. Just recently I had to make a decision whether I wanted to buy a different boat or just give mine a makeover. I decided that my boat is still a great boat but just needed a facelift. I spent a fraction of the cost of starting over and my boat looks brand new again.
I’m with djshannon, I haven’t sold any of the boats that followed me home. I paid cash for them. I bought at auctions in the fall or on off season ads on craigs list, garage sales. I own 8 now and look a them as tools. The three 14 ftare for river fishing or Canada drag in fishing. A couple of 17 ft for bigger lake Canada fishing. I have an 18 ft Stratos fish and ski and a 20 ft Stratos bass boat. the last two are 25 years old but one has a 96 150 merc and the 18ft has a 150 merc 4 stroke. Electronics for the boats are the tough one. Remembering how to run the older depth finder and trying to learn how to use the Ipilot and humming bird to its capacity, is a challenge. I forgot the puddle jumping 12 ft tracker.
This has allowed me to fish all over Canada and montana on a cash and go basis. Start making your monthly boat payments into a savings account and when the moneys right the boat will find you. I just kept that account going till my retirement and it bought me lots of toys oops tools.
Mike
I’m 58 and have had 3 boats and 2 canoes. First 14′ Lund about 15 years, wife never interested in water or fishing. Next was a real nice sc alumacraft lunker for about 10 years, wife started liking nice days on the water, but a little small. Then real small on family vacations with 2 grandkids. Last fall we bought a new 1650 fish hawk with a walk through, plan on this as being my last one. Still fits in garage, easy to launch &load in small lakes and yet comfortable on vermillion or Mille lacs. If you take care of it, they will last a long time.
Enjoy!!!
Had my first boat for over 17 years a 1994 Lund Pro V 1660. Traded that up to a 2009 WX 2000T Skeeter in 2010, after 4 years some guy at a landing offered me an insane amount of money for the boat bacause it was rated for a 150 HP so I took the money and bought a Backtroller and did not like the boat so my wonderful wife with some imput from her let me trade up to another 2016 Skeeter MX1825 and we are set for another 20 years. Unless I change my mind again. LOL if I do that I will most likely be a single man. The intent is to get it paid for as fast as one can because for us financing toys is not out way of doing things. I owe about 1/4 of the total boat cost and if I had not changed my mind and traded from the Backtroller to the Skeeter it would be paid for. Lesson learned even at my age!
I own an Alumacraft Competitor 170 tiller that I bought new in 1994,and was bought with the intention of keeping for the long haul.
like most things I buy it is treated as an investment. So by taking care and doing upkeep, I should be able to enjoy for a long time to come.
All hail the cash only guys 
Same problem here, I am over thinking the whole thing. Planning on keeping for many years so I am leaning towards new with some payments to get what I really want and no worries about repairs for a while….. I am also on year 27 with my first and only boat. 79 Lund with a 50 Merc, been everywhere with this boat!
One recommendation that I would make for young guys buying their first or second boat, I bought my first boat as a $5,000 training boat and then jumped to a lifetime boat at $50,000. In hindsight, I sometimes wish that I would have had one more boat in between. I wasn’t really ready to know all the features that I would want in a high end boat when I bought mine. I’ve often thought that maybe a mid range boat would have given me a little more knowledge before making the big jump.
All hail the cash only guys
Yup! All hail those that pay in cash. So much smarter than the rest of us. With a young family if I waited until I had enough cash to even get a 16 ft tin boat capable of fishing the lakes I typically fish id probably be dead and or my family would be grown up and moved out. To all, spend your money or borrowed money as you wish and tell anyone that scolds you for your financial choices to take a hike.
I’m 6 years into my third used boat. I plan to keep it about eleven years. Had the previous boat ten years. The first boat only lasted a couple of years.
I’m already thinking about the next one but know the finances won’t be there for four or five more years.
11 years so far on my 1850 reata. I plan to keep it until the kids are in college. I’ll have an 18′ (or so) tiller after that.
I will keep mine indefinitely,no need to upgrade unless I relocate.Went through too many boats in the past,current one is going on 12 years,and 10 on the motor.I would replace the motor,but 8K for a new one?Enough parts available for it,so it will go for ? more years.
Right place,right time-cash is king.I only paid 1800.00 for boat/trailer(2yrs old),and 2500.00 for a new 50HP yamaha 2-cycle.
Locators are a different story,you are screwed once you install it on boat.And outdated in a few months it seems.
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