If you had to do it all over again...

[landlubbertoseadog]

As I start to look at boats to purchase and daydream during these troubling pandemic times: If you had to buy a boat all over again, what would you tell your younger, boat buying self? Any regrets? Any tips? I know this has been addressed before and I have read through the threads. Just climbing the walls while my family is entering the 7th week of being stuck at home and need more to read. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. Thanks all!

 

[healhustler]

I haven’t any regrets, mind you, but if there is one piece of advice I would yield to, it would be to look for that particular vessel whose previous owner is burned out from spending gobs of project and upgrade dollars, leaving you to reap the benefits.

 

[Comodave]

I don’t think that I would change much if anything. Maybe not buy 23 boats...

 

[Harry]

I joined this forum in 2012 about 7 months prior to retiring in 2013. I read the forum daily trying to learn as much as possible knowing I planned to purchase a trawler in the future. I didn't purchase until the spring of 2017, so I had taken in a lot of knowledge from this forum prior to purchase.

The one thing I had read several times is... Don't buy the biggest boat you can afford, but the smallest boat you can live with....or something like that....

I ended up buying a 1985 35' trawler. If I had to do it over, I would have purchased something newer and larger, between around 42 to 45'.

My wife and I enjoy using the boat, but feel we would enjoy it more if it were a little newer and more modern. Also, I'm getting older and while I enjoy doing some maintenance, a little less of it wouldn't hurt either.

I haven't officially put it up for sale, but thinking about it some time this year.

Harry

 

[Comodave]

I used to sell boats for a dealer during boat shows. Had a customer come in and said he wanted to buy a cabin cruiser. He said every dealer told him to buy a smaller starter boat. He said that he wanted to spend long times at Lake Powell and stay aboard. I told him to buy the big boat first and get what he wanted. Then take the time to learn how to run it properly. He ended up buying a boat from me because I didn’t try to talk him out of what he wanted. I put him into a safe boating class and spent multiple days over the first month he had the boat in the water teaching him hands on boating.

I never recommend that you buy a smaller boat than you want. If you do you will end up buying another boat when you realize that you bought a boat that was too small, and take a big hit financially. Get the boat that you want and then take the time and learn how to run it safely.

 

[KnotYet]

I bought a 31-year-old steel yacht without hiring an independent surveyor to vet it.
That was a bad idea because they would have found many things I later had to repair.
I probably ended up spending 10 hours working on it for every hour I spent using it.
Maybe more.

So hire a qualified surveyor and don't fall in love until the boat proves worthy of you!

 

[Pete Meisinger]

I love my 36 foot Albin, as I have said over and over. If I had it to do over I think I would buy about a 40 footer, and maybe a few years newer, (mine is a 1978)

However those two "Do Overs" probably were not available to me when I bought the boat 8 years ago. Both would have added significantly to the purchase price, which I couldn't afford then or now.

pete

 

[Simi 60]

All depends on how much discretionary coin you have and what opportunities arise on the day.

 

[firehoser75]

My advice and/or lessons learned:
Power boats take more maintenance dollars than do same age sailboats (on average). I was surprised by how much money we spent after acquiring Pilitak, and she was in very, very good condition! Imagine if she had been a project boat!
So, the advice, plan on at least 10% of the purchase price (I would say $30-40,000) for repairs, maintenance catchups, upgrades, and "making it your own". If you spend less, bonus!
Other advice already given, be patient and buy a boat the previous owner has really "loved" and maintained, preferably with it also having good written records.
The previous advice assumes you want to spend more time using the boat and less time "fixing it".
Other than that, really think through how you think you will use the boat, and all of the other advice (many threads here) of how to prepare for the journey of boat selection to get it as right as possible the first time.

 

[Lou_tribal]

If I would have to do it all over again, I would have done it earlier so I would have been able to enjoy boating even more!

Now about boat itself no change, I go what I expected to get for the price I paid. Before buying it I checked to electrical, hull etc I wanted a sound hull with a solid engine, I got them. All the remaining is something I can improve on.
I got some surprises here and there but nothing that would change my mind.

Only thing I would change is the choice of marina, I would have selected my current one instead of the clueless structureless respectless clowns that damaged my boat last year.

L

 

[tiltrider1]

The advice I would have given myself back in 1999 would have been. Buy a newer more equipped version of the same boat. I am not sure if that is good advice for others as I kept my boat for 16 years.

 

[Sidclark]

I used to sell boats for a dealer during boat shows. Had a customer come in and said he wanted to buy a cabin cruiser. He said every dealer told him to buy a smaller starter boat. He said that he wanted to spend long times at Lake Powell and stay aboard. I told him to buy the big boat first and get what he wanted. Then take the time to learn how to run it properly. He ended up buying a boat from me because I didn’t try to talk him out of what he wanted. I put him into a safe boating class and spent multiple days over the first month he had the boat in the water teaching him hands on boating.

I never recommend that you buy a smaller boat than you want. If you do you will end up buying another boat when you realize that you bought a boat that was too small, and take a big hit financially. Get the boat that you want and then take the time and learn how to run it safely.

Amen to that. One of the things I tell all my first time or new boat buyers is to "buy your second boat first". It will save you time, trouble and a boat load of money...

 

[caltexflanc]

The adage "don't buy the biggest boat you can afford, but the smallest boat you can be comfortable on" is a good one. But you have to know what you can actually be comfortable on for the intended use.

The mistake we see time and again, is people make their buying decision spending a few minutes looking at various docked boats.

We learned what that phrase meant by chartering all kinds of boats of various sizes and configurations. So when we went to buy a boat to cruise and live aboard full time, it was relatively simple to find the "Goldilocks" boat for us. Almost 7 years later, we were so happy we bought the boat we did. Damn I miss that thing.

 

[syjos]

I would not change anything if I could do it again. We've gotten more than our money's worth out of Sandpiper in 20 years.

We've only had 2 boats over 34' in 35 years. And I wish I had gotten the 34 footer sooner instead of dinking around in smaller boats.

 

[ancora]

Never buy a boat with VOLVO engines!

 

[Nomad Willy]

I kinda wish I had my 1st trawler back.

I don’t feel like I made a mistake but I needed a different boat when we went to Alaska than we did before and now. We bought the Willard (name Willy) to use from Seattle to Cape Caution. The previous boat was an Albin 25.
We took our Albin 25 to Juneau and back in 03. Had a wonderful time and the only things we found fault with was space, banging head ect. and a viscous snap roll. The Albin was 2 tons and the Willard is 8. Huge difference. The Willard rolls plenty in beam seas but it’s a much slower more comfortable roll. We watched carefully for boat wakes but we can take practically anything w the Willard.
The moorage is considerably less for the Albin for the obvious 5’ less but also because the Albin dosn’t need covered moorage too. In the present state of the economy, less moorage would be golden.

But one usually looses a lot of money buying and selling. And if we can keep up w the moorage the Willard will serve us well.

 

[KnotYet]

An attribute that is on my 'musts' list is whether the boat moves noticeably when I step on board.
It must not.
Naturally, this means I'm usually interested in boats that displace around 30 T and up.
Sure there are many other considerations, but displacement 'weighs' very heavily!

 

[Ken E.]

This approach isn't for everyone, but I would do it again assuming that I had the time, again. Find a boat you like with the proverbial 'good bones' in serious disrepair. Pay minimal money for it, and then gut it, in stages so you still have the use of it while you work. In my case, new engines, gears, genset, interior, electronics, pumps, salon glass, hull paint, new galley apps, freezers, heads, corian, diesel heat, watermaker. Now, did I save any money compared to buying a later boat that didn't need all this stuff? No, I spent much more, especially at today's depressed used boat prices. But, I have a zero-time boat as I want it. And a fully engaging multi-year hobby. Only do this if the boat is a very long-term hold, preferably your last boat. Now, based on all the money that I've put in the boat, how much of it will I get back when I sell? Very little. But....here's the payback: I run the boat the boat to Alaska in May, in non-virus years, chase fish and explore all summer and return before October. Daily use, several thousand miles of running, usually in remote areas. Reliability of systems is the primary concern. Some rough ROI yardsticks: If the boat gives me 10 seasons of mostly trouble-free use in this application, I've broke even. If I get 15 years, I'm way ahead. I'm entering year 8, so I like my numbers so far. The only thing boat-wise I'd change is that it would still be a Hatteras, but I'd like a 48' or 50' sportfish rather than my 45' for the additional storage space. I'd still run it like a trawler, 8 kts.

 

[syjos]

This approach isn't for everyone, but I would do it again assuming that I had the time, again. Find a boat you like with the proverbial 'good bones' in serious disrepair. Pay minimal money for it, and then gut it, in stages so you still have the use of it while you work. New engines, gears, genset, interior, electronics, pumps, salon glass, hull paint, new galley apps, freezers, heads, corian, diesel heat, watermaker. Now, did I save any money compared to buying a later boat that didn't need all this stuff? No, I spent much more, especially at today's depressed used boat prices. But, I have a zero-time boat as I want it. And a fully engaging multi-year hobby. Only do this if the boat is a very long-term hold, preferably your last boat. Now, based on all the money that I've put in the boat, how much of it will I get back when I sell? Very little. But....here's the payback: I run the boat the boat to Alaska in May, in non-virus years, chase fish and explore all summer and return before October. Daily use, several thousand miles of running, usually in remote areas. Reliability of systems is the primary concern. Some rough ROI yardsticks: If the boat gives me 10 seasons of mostly trouble-free use in this application, I've broke even. If I get 15 years, I'm way ahead. I'm entering year 8, so I like my numbers so far. The only thing boat-wise I'd change is that it would still be a Hatteras, but I'd like a 48' or 50' sportfish rather than my 45' for the additional storage space. I'd still run it like a trawler, 8 kts.

I agree with you approach 100%

We did similar.

You also end up with a boat equipped the way you want it.

If we sold Sandpiper for a $1 tomorrow, we would not have any regrets. We have 20 years of great memories.

 

[MurrayM]

All depends on how much discretionary coin you have and what opportunities arise on the day.

Yup, except in addition to opportunities, there can be setbacks.

If I had to do it all again I'd have yes to my wife when she asked me to drive downtown with her 15 years ago. It would have delayed her by about 30 seconds, time enough so she wouldn't have been t-boned in the drivers side door of her Honda Civic by a guy in a Dodge Ram pickup who had a seizure and kept the gas peddle floored.

We'd still be sea kayaking.

The Rules of Life got changed, so we bought Badger, a 1980's Taiwan Trawler with a spongy spot or two on the decks, but allowed us and our daughter to gain so much in experiences.

Boat size and opulence has nothing to do with the memories of places explored.

Having said that, hopefully you'll be able to walk away from your boat after a trip, glance back, and think it's the best boat for you in the marina.

 

[GFC]

We bought Beachcomber for one specific purpose--spend an entire summer in Puget Sound and waters north. Haven't done it yet and probably won't get to. My MIL is 104 and still doing fairly well in a nursing home. She's the reason we have not done the trip because we don't want to be somewhere out of cell and radio range and have something happen to her. Now I have cancer and likely won't be making that trip.

Would I buy he same boat I did 10 years ago? Absolutely. The boat is 58' long, 15.5' wide and loaded she weighs about 65,000 lbs. With that beam she doesn't roll much at all and handles waves on the bow just great.

What attracted us to this make/model was that when you step on the swim platform the boat does not move. Then you walk forward through the salon into the galley with no steps except for a small step to get into the salon.

It has 3 staterooms, 2 heads with stand up showers and plenty of headroom. There's a ton of storage room on board for all of our "stuff". The longest trip we've spend on her was about 10 days and we had plenty of room and were very comfortable.

It has CAT engines which I love. The are quiet, don't smoke and are reliable as can be.

The fly bridge is where I always drive from and where we do our entertaining 99% of the time. We've had as many as 22 guests on board and, while it was a bit crowded, it was not overly so.

All things considered I'd buy this size/make/model boat again in a heartbeat.

 

[cosmo]

Our second boat was one that I coveted as a kid. I loved her lines and lineage (36 Uniflite DCMY). I found her and at first sight, fell in love. I overlooked many of her aged flaws and PO neglect with the mindset, "I can fix her." No matter how much love and money I threw at her, she didn't reciprocate to the level I/we gave. Broke my heart.

Never again will I overlook the many flaws because the surface flaws run deep. Our next and current boat is our love. She was purchased with the knowledge of our past two boats and desires we learned that we wanted.

I had to overcome the statement, "the heart rules the mind" and incorporate my wife's mindset of the boat (and mine) and my faith the boat will provide the same experiences I had when boating as a kid.

 

[MurrayM]

We bought Beachcomber for one specific purpose...

Sometimes, the best part of owning a boat is when Life is swirling around out of your control, you know it’s sitting there, patiently waiting for you.

Dare to Dream

 

[Peter B]

We bought Beachcomber for one specific purpose--spend an entire summer in Puget Sound and waters north. Haven't done it yet and probably won't get to. My MIL is 104 and still doing fairly well in a nursing home. She's the reason we have not done the trip because we don't want to be somewhere out of cell and radio range and have something happen to her. Now I have cancer and likely won't be making that trip.....

.....Would I buy he same boat I did 10 years ago? Absolutely. The boat is 58' long, 15.5' wide and loaded she weighs about 65,000 lbs. With that beam she doesn't roll much at all and handles waves on the bow just great.
All things considered I'd buy this size/make/model boat again in a heartbeat.

GFC, don't give up on that plan. Just wait a while. The MIL won't live forever - bless her - and you'll beat this ca prostate thing, just like I did, I'm sure. Once all the treatments are done and dusted, you'll feel good again, and probably fit enough to do the plan.

PS. I've always thought your boat looks like it's going fast - really going places - even sitting at anchor.

 

[Lou_tribal]

We bought Beachcomber for one specific purpose--spend an entire summer in Puget Sound and waters north. Haven't done it yet and probably won't get to. My MIL is 104 and still doing fairly well in a nursing home. She's the reason we have not done the trip because we don't want to be somewhere out of cell and radio range and have something happen to her. Now I have cancer and likely won't be making that trip.

Would I buy he same boat I did 10 years ago? Absolutely. The boat is 58' long, 15.5' wide and loaded she weighs about 65,000 lbs. With that beam she doesn't roll much at all and handles waves on the bow just great.

What attracted us to this make/model was that when you step on the swim platform the boat does not move. Then you walk forward through the salon into the galley with no steps except for a small step to get into the salon.

It has 3 staterooms, 2 heads with stand up showers and plenty of headroom. There's a ton of storage room on board for all of our "stuff". The longest trip we've spend on her was about 10 days and we had plenty of room and were very comfortable.

It has CAT engines which I love. The are quiet, don't smoke and are reliable as can be.

The fly bridge is where I always drive from and where we do our entertaining 99% of the time. We've had as many as 22 guests on board and, while it was a bit crowded, it was not overly so.

All things considered I'd buy this size/make/model boat again in a heartbeat.

Why do you think you won't do that trip? If this is really what you want you will do it, if not today it will be tomorrow.
You have cancer? So what? You will fight it and cure and will do your trip and enjoy it twice as more without the challenge you are facing.
Keep the head up, better look at the light than the darkness. Easier to say than to do? Indeed. But what do you want? Dig a hole or do your trip?

L

 

[markpierce]

Believe if one has owned a boat or two, they should have decided what characteristics the next boat fills their needs. Of course, life's parameters can change over time. Worked for me, and foresee no future boat changes.

 

[Comodave]

Never buy a boat with VOLVO engines!

+1 on that. Had one boat with them, not again.

 

[Swa]

Only regreats would be timeing. I closed on my trawler after being released from the hospital with a heart condition. (I was in the middle of the deal) I also have cancer and other health issues I'm dealing with. I'm only 62 though retired have too many projects going on. (kids,houses,cars,motorcycles,boats etc) I should have waited until I had everything more under control. So my advise would be to take your time. Get your life in order. (Downsize projects and obligations) You will find the boat you want. Just be sure you have time to enjoy it.

 

[AusCan]

I am happy with the boat I ended up with. The only change I'd make would be bartering a little harder with the PO to partially cover the cost of some of the repairs that have been required. I'm happy with a 30 footer, although a bit more engine space would certainly be nice.

 

[ranger58sb]

If you had to buy a boat all over again, what would you tell your younger, boat buying self? Any regrets? Any tips?

We've done pretty well. Could have by-passed our second boat... but first and third are winners.

I don't like either the "smallest you can stand" or "largest you can afford" mantras. Instead, I like Goldilocks.

I also like the idea of mapping out in advance all the actual features we want on a boat. Stall shower? Yep. Island berth? Yep Stairs to flybridge? Yep. Et cetera. It takes some thought, and in some cases it's better done after you've seen alternatives in person... so you can better evaluate options... It helps to be able to review boat floorplans as you think about those features; often you can see those in ads, magazines, or sometimes the Powerboat Guide...

Read everything ever written about boats, boat design, layout, boating, navigation, boat handling, etc etc etc...

And then go find some boat buds...

-Chris